Blog for business
Many people think of blogs as personal diaries or outlets for frustrated publishers to mouth off, but they're also great tools to connect people in your business with their customers. Tech companies realized this several years ago. Customers who have issues with Microsoft products can connect directly with developers and other employees through a blog portal. Sun Microsystems and Borland Software are among the other tech firms that use blogs to open lines of communication with the customer.
There's nothing that says a blog has to be personal or controversial. A blog is just a way of organizing information: a series of individual articles structured by default in reverse-chronological order. Southwest Airlines' Nuts About Southwest exemplifies the feel-good playfulness of its employees whereas Benetton Talk's left-leaning political agenda tries to connect with its customers' activist side.
Blogs can also be tactical and solutions-oriented. Dell Computer's Direct2Dell is an outlet for the company to talk about new products and explain how the company works. General Motors' Fastlane blog is a corporate end-run around the media institutions that GM executives believed weren't fairly portraying the company.
Unless you're a tightly regulated company, you should be looking at the opportunities to apply blogging to you business. At the very least, you can give customers an alternative access point. Done right, blogs can boost the business of even the most prosaic company in impressive fashion. UK-based Butler Sheetmetal Ltd. saw its sales nearly double in the year after it launched The Tinbasher blog, a vivacious tribute to the art of sheet metal fabrication.
Dos and don'ts of business blogging:
- Do start by sending some of your more diplomatic employees into the blogosphere to monitor conversations. Listen first.
- Don't talk until you've become familiar with the most influential bloggers, their agendas and their styles.
- Do comment on their blogs and refer to their comments --with a referring link -- on your company blog.
- Do respond to feedback and comments.
- Don't trash anyone -- even your competition. Take the high road.
You'll be surprised how quickly even your critics can become advocates if they know you're listening.
Next: Extend your sales force