Don’t blog unless you have something interesting or worthwhile to say.
The rule applies whether blogging is your business or you’re blogging about your business. And the cold truth is that most companies, outside the realm of their products or services, don’t have much to say.
Even if you do have stuff to say, there are other things to consider before your company jumps on the blogwagon:
- You must keep it moving, alive and fresh. If you can’t make a real and permanent commitment, don’t even start. A neglected blog is worse than none at all. When I see the most recent post dated months ago, I envision a company with dust balls blowing through its corridors.
- A blog should not be just a more casual version of your site. This is the number one thing wrong with most company blogs. You have a new product? Something’s on sale? Your stuff is great? That’s what your Web site is for. As a recent Entrepreneur article said, “the best corporate blogs aren’t created for the purpose of marketing.”
- Devote the people, time and other resources you need, and make it important. Don’t just fire off emails saying “we haven’t posted in a while, someone please put something up.” You’re either serious about it or not.
There are plenty of good examples and resources out there if you are serious about corporate blogging. Social media is a full-blown industry — the Madison Avenue of our era. Just make sure you have a reason, a plan, and something to say that you’re not already saying elsewhere.
In my company, we often say “just because you can doesn’t mean you should” — challenging ourselves to be sure we are making the most of our resources. But the opposite is also true: Just because you should doesn’t mean you can.
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