The power of sharing
8 July 2009
If you’re in business, you can – and should – blog. But how do you make the most of the medium?
To blog or not to blog - is that really the question? I suppose there are still a few businesses out there that couldn't benefit from a blog - perhaps a bicycle courier or an office cleaner - but almost every other business segment imaginable can benefit from a blog.
In order to benefit, we must ask, what is a blog good for?
First things first: a business blog is not an opportunity to spam whatever readers you may have lured over to read your blog entries.
There's a great big line between self-promotion and useful information.
Too many corporate blogs cross that line, with all-too-familiar consequences: readers drop away. No one really likes advertising, even if it's cleverly disguised as ‘useful information'.
Nor is a business blog a soapbox where you share your random thoughts with the universe. (If you want to do that, start a personal blog.) Business isn't random, it's goal-directed and profit-driven.
Your blog should reflect your dedication and focus; if it doesn't, it might be revealing more than you'd like about the chaotic internals within your business.
Finally, a business blog does not have multiple authors.
It's best if one person within the organisation has responsibility for drafting the posts and engaging the community who reads and responds to them.
You don't want a confusion of voices - a blog with a multiple-personality disorder will leave your readers uncertain of your stability, your forthrightness and your mission.
On the other hand, there is one commanding reason to blog. A blog is an opportunity to share. It presents a platform that allows you to share with the entire hyperconnected world.
But what do you share?
Put simply, you share what you love to do - the reason you're in business. You share your expertise.
Every business is expert in something; the best businesses stick to their knitting and deepen their expertise. Your customers do business with you precisely because they trust your ability to do your job well.
Sometimes this expertise is explicit - a professional chef, for example, or a woodworker.
In this case the blog almost writes itself: you can write about your craft and its practice, the things you've learned, the tricks you've added to your arsenal of techniques, and so forth.
That's all you'll ever need to do to have a loyal audience spellbound, post after post.
On the other hand, in some businesses expertise is implicit - such might be the case with an accountant or a lawyer.
An individual charged with blogging for these businesses must dig deep and bring forth the craft of these businesses in an interesting way.
Accountants might provide tax and business tips; lawyers can post sagely advice that might prevent future problems with contracts or clients.
Each of these are important; each will bring readers back for more.
You'll be demonstrating your expertise publicly, and building your reputation with your present and future clients.
That makes blogging an incredibly wise business strategy.
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