Does your company want to get its feet wet in the social media world, or is trying to and keeps spinning on its wheels?  If so, what can be done to improve the situation?

First, re-analyze why you have a company blog in the first place. For example, in the case of our B2B online marketing blog:

1. We have a blog because competitors do and we don’t want to seem out of the loop.
2. We have a blog due to the fact we wanted a way to promote our brands and services.
3. We have a blog for the simple reason that our owner likes to talk a lot and this was one way for him/her to
   share.
   

So, what would you say is the correct answer to the three options above? If you said the last one, maybe your company needs more assistance than some realize.

While choice number one may be part of the reasoning for your blog, number two should be the obvious choice. Quite simply, company blogs are great tools to not only promote your goods and services but stay in the social media loop.
With that being said, don’t just write to write.

• Your company’s blog needs to have worthwhile content on it so people will read it in the first place. Notice how our B2B online marketing blog is all about enlightening the reader? Take note!

• Secondly, it requires regular updating so that readers will come back to it and search engines are more likely to pick it up. If you update it once in a blue moon, not only will readers be gone but the search engines will pick up more worthwhile entries. For instance, our B2B online marketing blog is routinely updated to stay competitive.

• Another reason that readers will come and go from a company blog is if they are leaving valid, appropriate comments and you are not responding. Would you follow someone if you left them several comments and they ignored you? Companies need to take the bad feedback from consumers with the good, so respond accordingly, but do respond.

Companies need to determine if the blog materials they’re covering are appropriate for their readers in the first place. Relevant information draws people to blogs, so know what you want to write about ahead of time and be concise.

Are you placing relevant internal and external links and keywords on your company’s blog? You should be.

While SEO writing may not be for everyone, it’s not rocket science either. If your company covers the auto insurance industry, ensure your blog is insurance related in order to drive more worthwhile traffic to it.

The most important item brings us full circle to the first point….why are we blogging in the first place?

Some companies decide its best to hire full-time staff to write, edit and oversee blogs. It allows for the boss/bosses to delegate one more item to professionals who can get the company’s message across.

Others, meantime, decide to do it on their own and give it more of a personal feel from the man or woman at the top.

Both ways can have their advantages and disadvantages, so decide what is best for your company. If you try one approach and it is not working for a period of time try another until you find the right solution.

A company blog can be a very useful tool to drive business your way. Determine how blogging can best serve your business and get writing.