This is a question I get asked with some regularity… but the answer to one I’ve never put down on paper. So here goes. In short, while there are many potential benefits to be gained from blogging, it’s not necessarily a given that every company should put in the time and effort to build their own company blog.
First, the benefits… There are many potential benefits that blogging offers to businesses. A well-designed and well-written blog can help you improve your SEO rankings, attract new clients, communicate with your customers, and even contribute to knowledge base in your industry. It can serve as a center point for your companies’ community, as well as a fulcrum point to your companies’ sales mechanisms. That’s a lot of good things.
Next, the effort… It’s important to remember that even while blogging does have many benefits to offer your business, creating and writing a blog takes a good deal of time and effort. Quite simply, you only get back what you put in — I’d even argue that a neglected blog is worse than no blog — and the benefits of blogging are only available upon putting in this effort. Therefore, if you’re already overly busy (and most people are), I recommend you really decide to dedicate the time and effort required to blog, before you start blogging.
Plus, the fit… It’s also important to remember that while blogging offers many potential benefits to a businesses, they’re not a great fit with all kinds of them. Blogs work best when they’re direct and personal… offering a unique glimpse into the personality and message behind a business. If your business plan doesn’t call for this type of exposure, or you don’t feel comfortable putting yourself out there like that, I don’t recommend starting a blog. A tool, no matter how great it is, doesn’t work well when it’s not used to its full potential.
Hopefully after reading this post, you’ll have a better sense for what building and writing a business blog entails, as well as whether or not starting one is right for your business. By all means, if you think it is a good fit, I encourage you to start building one. If it’s not, well, that’s fine too; I trust that you’ll find other means through which to build your business. And of course, above all, don’t listen to the yahoos who always answer in the affirmative to the question that leads off this post.
YOUR INPUT: Anything I missed here, or anything you’d like to add? If you’re a small-business owner, do you have a blog? Why or why not?
{ 0 comments }
