Can Our Corporate Blog Still Be Saved?

If your corporate blog has been leaking oil as of late, there is still time to give it a tune-up in order to keep the problem from worsening.

Many small businesses use their corporate blog to have real-time communication with their customers and potential customers, while promoting their products and services.

Where the blog becomes an issue is when the online traffic to the site is dwindling, people are leaving negative comments regarding the blog, and the company’s return on investment (ROI) is decreasing due to competitors soaking up your business.

If one or all of the above scenarios have played out at your small business, then it is time to submit the blog for an inspection.

A number of factors need to be looked at including:

  • What is the purpose of our blog and are we meeting the criteria we set forward with?
  • Are we doing all we can with SEO efforts to promote the blog?
  • Is the blog offering readers unique content or is it quite frankly stale?
  • Does the blog effectively promote our brand voice or have we failed in this area?
  • Does our blog indicate to both current and potential clients that we are the experts in our field we claim to be?
  • Is our blog offering catchy titles to lure readers in, bullet points to summarize key points, and important keywords to assist in search engine promotion?
  • Are we linking up with other sites in order to enhance our search engine recognition and our company as a go-to source for information?
  • Is our blog catchy or plain boring? If it is the latter, consider using photos, videos, etc. to enhance the visual appeal.
  • Are we updating the blog? This one sounds like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many companies have trouble correctly answering that question. Too often, the content is not updated, leaving the reader to come and go in just seconds. In order to have the best chance of catching and maintaining readers, provide fresh content. If your competition’s content is fresh and interesting, yours better be too.

While those are just a handful of tips to enhancing your company’s blog, it all starts and ends with the first notation, what is the purpose and the mission of the blog in the first place?

For too many companies, they simply don’t get the fact that their blog is an important cog in their branding efforts.

Not only does the blog assist the sales team in selling and promoting your company’s goods and services, but it serves as a viable information piece for current and potential clients.

As more and more consumers turn their efforts towards online research for shopping and buying goods, it is imperative that companies speak to them electronically.

If your corporate blog needs a tune-up, implement the fix now before you find your blog and your company broken down.

Photo credit: massrc.com

Dave Thomas writes extensively for B2B lead generation online resource Resource Nation that provides expert advice on purchasing and outsourcing decisions for small business owners and entrepreneurs. He is an expert writer on items like telemarketing and VoIP service providers, based in San Diego, California.