In the first two posts in this series, I talked about developing your corporate blog strategy and defined the different types of corporate blogs. I’ll conclude this series with some tips on marketing your blog and some helpful notes before you start blogging.

Marketing Your Corporate Blog

So, you have defined your target audience. You know everything about your demo - what they like to read, watch, and eat. You have developed a strategy for your blog. Now it’s time to get your blog out to the masses. Remember that your blog is an extension of your brand and you should market this tool as you would your website. Some quick marketing tips:

• Email your customer base and inform them about the blog.
• Post a banner or link on your current site to the blog.
• Send a postcard or do an offline campaign promoting your blog.
• Submit your blog to the blog search engines and social networks such as Digg or Technorati.
• Plug your blog at presentation and trade shows.
• Encourage your employees to be enthusiasts and advocates of your blog.
• Add your blog link to your email signature.

There are some great articles on the web about marketing your blog. I recommend Googling the topic and reading some of these articles.

Important Things to Note Before Blogging

As discussed previously, most people visit blogs to get some type of information. According to a January 2007 Forrester Research survey, 31% of marketers used corporate blogs to increase their thought leadership; 19% used blogs as a bulletin board; 14% for internal development or communications; 12% to provide an executive point-of-view and 3% for HR. Before blogging you should understand your purpose for blogging and how it help you reach your company’s goals.

Here’s a few other considerations before you start blogging:

• There are different blogging software packages (Blogger, Wordpress, Typepad). Find the product right for your IT team.
• Design your blog to match your corporate brand.
• Integrate the blog and the posts into your brand and marketing strategy.
• Messaging, timing, etc.
• Use posts to complement offline initiatives
• Post often, but have something to say.
• Establish an objective tone.
• Don’t make it a hard sell or a re-package of marketing propaganda.
• Cite your sources.
• Read other blogs.
• Blog onto others…
• Establish an internal editorial process.
• Follow best blog practices.
• Include RSS, categories, privacy policy, contact info
• Be natural, enthusiastic, insightful, knowledgeable & creative.
• Measure your results.

Conclusion

Remember, a corporate blog is an extension of your brand. A blog, like other marketing tactics, should match your other online and offline initiatives. You should define your audience, develop your strategy, define your subject matter and market the site. Follow these helpful tips and you’ll be on your way to a successful corporate blog.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 17th, 2008 at 9:02 am and is filed under E-Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.