Savvy B2B Marketing

Jamie

Diving head first into corporate blogging when you're not sure it's going to be your thing is like running on stage in front of a packed house without a script ... and maybe naked.

Though I am a firm believer in the value of marketing with fresh, relevant, conversational content (aka - a blog), starting and maintaining a blog is not a task to be undertaken lightly. It's not rocket science, but - as my Savvy Sisters explain below - it does require a pretty serious committment.

One way to test the waters is to have a dress rehearsal:

1. Make the time to walk through this list of 78 Questions to Ask Before Launching a Blog
2. Based on your answers about types of content and publishing frequency, create 2 - 3 months' worth of content

If you're still excited about blogging at the end of that exercise you're officially ready to raise the curtain and break a leg. If not, maybe you should stick to a newsletter or some other less time-intensive touchpoint communication. Good luck!

Wendy

Not to go Zen on you but - a blog is only useful if it is useful.

A useful blog gives current, focused, and helpful information on a regular basis. Readers need to know that if they take the time to go to your site, they will be rewarded with timely, relevant insights on problems or situations in their field.

Bottom line, your readers want to be rewarded for navigating to your blog. They also have expectations that the posts will:

• be within a focused field or topic – an occasional deviation is fine, more than that and you've lost your way

• impart a lesson or new information – figure out what it is you or your company can bring to the party – what sets you apart from the competition

• be well written – when your words are your party dress, make sure all price tags are removed before wearing it in public

Stephanie

The first consideration when deciding whether or not to blog is to define what you hope to achieve by blogging. Popular reasons for corporate blogging are to:

• Engage prospects, customers, partners, and other stakeholders (including an executive-level audience, as explained by Chris Koch of ITSMA in a recent blog post)
• Respond to third-party commentary
• Increase search engine visibility
• Drive leads (HubSpot found that small and medium-sized businesses that blog generate 67% more leads than those that don't blog)

On the surface, it seems most B2B organizations would be foolish not to pursue blogging. That said, like an e-newsletter, the benefits of blogging will quickly fall by the wayside unless the organization:

• Clearly defines its plan and approach to blogging
• Determines where blogging fits into the overarching content-marketing strategy
• Commits to consistency

Heather

Michele

While I think blogging has enormous potential to help a company establish though leadership, gain visibility and engage with their audience, this is not an endeavor I would suggest marketers jump into without a plan. Having a blog that hasn’t been updated looks worse than having no blog at all.  

So, how do you decide if you should have a blog? I suggest asking these 7 questions:

1. Do you have executive commitment?
2. What result(s) do you want your blog to achieve?
3. Do you have realistic expectations?
4. Do you have a customer-focused mindset?
5. Do you have the resources?
6. Do you have someone to manage the process?
7. Do you need someone to edit the posts?

If you want to get your feet wet with blogging, here are some suggestions:

• Choose at least 5 -10 blogs to follow regularly. See what gets readers excited!
• Actively engage on other blogs by leaving comments.
• Write some blog posts, even if you don’t know how you will use the content. How much time does it take you? Is it something you enjoy? (If you don’t, believe me, it’s something that will start to feel like a burden.)
• Try to become guest blogger on other related blogs (which is easier to do if you are an active participant on the blog).

Kate

Pros: Having a B2B blog is a great way to add all kinds of value for your customers and prospects. If the information in your blogs is easily searchable, PERTINENT to your prospects and customers, and not overtly SPAM-y or self-involved it gives your prospects some real insight into your company values and personality, expertise and areas of interest.

Creating a content plan that includes what types of articles are and aren’t appropriate is paramount. Don’t fill your blog with fluff, self-promotional dribble or barely relevant soliloquies. Having one person or department in charge of scheduling and editing can keep the blog on target and going strong.

Cons: Without a formal plan, it is very easy for the corporate blog to dry up on the vine. An abandoned and out-of-date blog just looks bad. Before you commit to a blog make sure you have the buy-in from the folks who will be writing it, and a formal plan for keeping it fresh and relevant.

Bottom line:

Keep it fresh, relevant and interesting for your readers. And keep it going.