If your company has debated about whether or not to farm out the company blog, stop and think about what is best for your business.
While some companies will pass the blogging assignments off to an outside force, many stay in-house and will work with a member or members of the marketing team to come up with the content.
In the event you have to convince yourself as a business owner as to who is best equipped to oversee the blog, keep a few things in mind:
- Those on your payroll are your top assets since they should know what is going on within the company. While that doesn’t mean you likely want the intern blogging for you, pick the person or persons best suited to do the job. This person or persons should know your products and your regular dealings with customers;
- Having an inside person or persons responsible for the blog should lead to more morale within the office;
- When dealing with an outside firm, blog postings will likely need more editing time due to the fact these individuals do not know your company as well as your team does. Take that into account in the event you are looking for quick turnaround time or are worried about mistakes;
- What is the message you are sending to your customers by outsourcing the blog? Some may perceive it as you don’t have enough time for the blog, so maybe you don’t have enough time for the customer too?
Who Runs the In-House Blog?
The question of who oversees the in-house company blog may be trickier than you think.
Keep in mind that the individual overseeing the blog could be your marketing director, your online content manager, your advertising director, and your head of public relations and so on.
While having different hands in the pie may lead to a more diversified blog, it can also lead to power struggles and time delays. My advice is put one person in charge of the blog and have each department contribute content so that they are a part of it. With one individual in charge, preferably the online content editor, they begin to put their own stamp on the blog, giving it a consistent look and feel.
That being said, questions directed to the sales department should be answered by a sales professional, not the online content editor who has absolutely nothing to do with sales. If it is a technical matter, someone from the I.T. department should be answering the question.
Another important item to resolve is how often your blog is going to run.
One of the major search engine killers for blogs is those sites which have stale content on them.
In order to build up a regular reader base, you need to have fresh and relevant content on the site. While every day is a stretch, content should be updated at least a couple of times during the week.
What Makes Our Blog Stand Out?
If you’re still in the dark about how to make your company blog stand out, here are a few more tips to assist:
- Make sure the blog offers enticing titles. Your blog needs to have headlines that will attract readers, so be creative in this area and don’t overlook it;
- Let pictures tell a story. While we already discussed the importance of having fresh and appealing content, another thing to add is intriguing images and/or videos. A reader’s eyes will be drawn to interesting photos, so keep this in mind and avoid running lines and lines of copy without a break;
- Have a focus going in. It is also recommended that you focus your blog on a niche or subject, so that your readers know why they are coming to you in the first place. While having some random thoughts in the blog is fine, a blog that is all over the place is less likely to garner a regular following;
- Engage with your audience. Assuming you have individuals responding to your blog with comments, questions, etc. make sure to engage them. Not only do you build up a relationship with them, but you’re viewed as a company that takes time for individuals.
A company blog is not rocket science by any stretch of the imagination.
Your company is more than likely capable of hosting a good blog, a blog that serves your interests and those of your readers.
Photo credit: verticalmeasures.com
