Many organizations claim that blogging is dead and buried, never to rise again. A thing of the past, displaced by social media. Others say that blogging is for individuals, not companies. But it turns out that blogging is still pretty darn cool. In this blog post we set out to show a few reasons why blogging can greatly benefit any organization.
So, I was talking to my cousin the other day and mentioned that I’m a blog contributor for Tailwind. This comment was met with a quizzical stare. “Dude, don’t you know blogging is dead? Tl;dr man.” According to his omnipotent reasoning powers (he’s a wise-beyond-his-years high-school senior after all) there could only be very few people that would be willing to scroll through the paragraphs of text inherent to blogging. My ego bruised, I decided to brainstorm a few reasons why blogging is in fact wondrous and useful, and publish them on a BLOG. I also spiced things up by zoning in on why companies in particular should take up blogging. Take that cousin Robby.
So, why should your company start a blog? Read on to find out.
1. Gain a reputation of being an expert in your field. Organizations can use blogs to show that they do actually know what they’re talking about. For instance, here at Tailwind, we use blogs to show our own expertise in the social media field. We blog about Pinterest and social media in general, as well as startups and our own product. It’s important to note here that, as is the case with most social media, people don’t want to see a ton of advertising. So make sure that self-promotion takes up the minority of your posts. If you write your blogs well, and make sure you aren’t just making things up, you’ll build up an easily accessible database of interesting information. Hopefully intrigued readers will flock to this database in droves.
2. Build rapport with your readers. Social media is all well and great, but blogs can encourage further debate. Despite the fact that the previous statement reads like something out of a Doctor Seuss marketing handbook, its nonetheless true. What I’m saying here is that blogs can further humanize your company. Although social media is incredibly useful, there really isn’t all that much space. A blog gives readers bigger chunks of knowledge that are still relevant to their interests. They actually benefit from blogs, making them more likely to be brand-loyal. Additionally, as is the case with social media, there are plenty of opportunities for reader engagement on the platform. Blogs invoke discussion, both on and off the website.
3. Increase employee engagement. This is often overlooked, but blogging can make your own employees more engaged with the company. It allows them to take their own interests, and connect them with the company’s values. It also allows them to become more educated through the research they do in preparing their blogs. Essentially, if you spin it right, you can take that cyber-loafing problem and channel it into something productive.
4. Drive traffic to the website. This is a fairly obvious one, especially if people don’t know you exist. Good use of SEO can make your blog show up in searches. And then good things can happen. As we said before, if you put out great content that shows you know what you’re talking about, readers are more likely to look at your main website to figure out who you are and what you do.
5. Solidify your brand voice. Social media is all about creating relationships with fans. As such, you develop a particular brand voice. A consistency in who you are across all platforms. Unfortunately, that voice never really gets to say all that much. Blogs give the brand an outlet for self-expression. In the same way that a personal blog allows Marcus to inform readers of how horrible his co-worker Cindy is for stealing his strawberry donut, corporate blogs allow businesses to give their thoughts and opinions on a variety of topics. Although they can’t be quite so opinionated as Marcus, they can give readers a chance to not only see what they think, but also how they think.
6. Create a locus for social media. Blogs can make a great tie-in with social media. Although many have said that social media is the evolution of the blog (and it pretty much is), the two can actually coexist quite peacefully. For instance, say you have an event coming up. A marathon, concert, hostile takeover, whatever. You use social media for the leadup to the event, building hype. Once the event is happening, you post live. Once it ends, you make a blog post about what the event meant to you and what it can mean for all of mankind, the world, etc. This is only one of many ways that you can combine the two. Think of it this way. Witty social media posts drive traffic back to an incredibly interesting blog, which in turn drives traffic back to your website.
7. Build a community. Chances are, you aren’t the only one blogging about your chosen subject. You probably have tons of witty and intelligent fellow bloggers out there. Why not reach out to these experts and build a community. Feature them as guest bloggers, and offer them a few blogs of your own. Collaboration is the better part of valor after all. Use blogging as a sort of shared hobby with experts in your field, and do great things together.
How do you use blogging? Let us know in the comments!
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