Reprinted from the October Business column in Metalforming magazine.
By: Michael Bleau
Frequently, I’m asked just how ‘social’ manufacturing companies should become, to which I reply, as much as the market will bear. If there is value to what you have to say, then say it or someone else will take the lead from you. Corporations are getting into blogging and leveraging social media outlets. While still only a fraction of their media spend, the growth trend on blogs continues to be positive.
When well executed, this type of website enhancement can be used to educate consumers, create excitement about products and services with customers, grow your direct email lists and used internally to communicate company news to employees. Establishing a blog for your business is another means of pushing fresh content to prospects while building search engine relevance for your company’s website. In the coming months, we’ll cover other social media options, such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook for business.
Types of Blogs
To borrow from Wikipedia, a weblog is a web application that contains periodic posts on a common webpage. These posts are often but not necessarily in reverse chronological order. Basically, if you publish written content on a periodic basis, a blogging software package simplifies your publishing workflow. There are a few variations to this, including podcasting, which has nothing to do with Apple Computer’s iPod products, the name means playable on demand, where the author posts audio and/or video streams. Video blogging, sometimes called vlogging or vidblogging is simply a video webcast. A great example of a promotional vidblog for the perfect ‘blend’ of b2b and b2c customer targets can be found at willitblend.com. Audio and video blogs are more advanced and require some additional software, skill and effort, but each offers subscribers options in terms of how they like to consume content. In either case, a written form of the blog is always recommended as a part of a search engine optimization strategy. To learn more about being a search engine friendly blogger, Google “how to optimize your blog for search engines.”
Blog Hosting Options
A quick way to launch a blog is to use a hosted service. There are many hosted options that offer simple to use, customizable blog sites, including; TypePad, Blogger, LiveJournal and many more. You have the option to link to these from your company’s website and they typically offer a simple interface for posting content. Many allow you to customize the layout and masthead so that the blog can seamlessly look like a part of your website. Such services are managed for you, so you don’t have to deal with IT issues and you can start posting within minutes of signing up for an account. Many of these services, like Blogger, are free, but some, including TypePad, may charge a monthly fee. A risk with using services like Blogger or Wordpress is that the they own the content you post and should they elect to have the right to remove content or take down you blog.
If you maintain your own web server and want complete control of your blog installation, you'll want to consider a self-hosted package, like some popular choices, including; Movable Type, WordPress and Textpattern. Once you’re up and running you’ll need to focus on the several important and challenging tasks…who will write content, what they’ll write about and who will monitor and respond to comments.
Blog Assignment
Writing a blog doesn’t require Shakespearian skills, but concise, well-written blog sites tend to grow more quickly and command larger audiences. Keep in mind that this is a business blog, so how your company is perceived is paramount. Coordination with a marketing resource will ensure consistency within the boundaries of your corporate identity standards.
If you plan on having a single writer, then you can take the 20 minutes-a-day approach to keep content alive and fresh. Here the writer prepares a single post each day, which should take no longer than 20 minutes to generate. Other options include assigning multiple writers to tackle a series of topics with scheduled posts by each throughout the week. This spreads the responsibility out and reduces the workload on any one individual. You also have the option to outsource the heavy lifting of writing and posting to a PR firm who can poll company insiders for topics. If you opt for outside assistance, then it’s best to have a knowledgeable insider act as your point-person to review and approve content prior to posting by the outside firm.
Finding your Voice
Decide the personality you want to convey with your blog, this should reflect the “personality” of your company, its culture, and how you want the business entity to be perceived. You also need to consider the audience that you’re addressing. Consider what tone the blog takes…serious, technical, or conversational. Decide on a narrative form: first person, second or third person view? Do you include industry jargon? Once decided, craft a short reference sheet that outlines the ‘rules’ of the blog for your contributing writers as well as a brief profile of the audience. This will ensure relevancy and consistency in your posts.
Themes and Topics…Content is King
Your blog can cover various topics that affect or interest your audience or you can claim a theme and own it. Write about what you know, what you do, or are passionate about. For example, if your company is known for a specialty or niche such as press monitoring, then you could create a persona around this topic and share daily tips on improving production environments through better press monitoring. And whenever possible, include visuals. Photos, charts, video always add value when telling a story.
Frequency
Two posts per week is a good minimum for starters, but multiple, daily posts is a better way to build an audience as they’ll have more variety to choose from each day. But don’t force it…you’re better off posting good content then simply posting to create some noise. Increased frequency may require contributions from multiple participants within your organization, which is a good way to minimize workflow distractions, while maximizing blog content. Also, it’s important to note that posts need not be long; in fact, shorter, succinct posts are easy for readers to consume. Assume that your readers are busy and have other informational resources. Keeping posts condensed is just as easy on your writers as it is for your readers. If a topic demands more detailed coverage, then break it into segments or continue to post smaller stories while building towards a larger post.
Promote your Blog
Once you start, build up a few weeks worth of posts, then promote your blog. A few quick, easy ways to do so include;
• Adding a link to your company’s website
• Issuing a press release announcing the blog…target traditional media outlets and of course other bloggers who write about blogging
• Send an email communication using your customer mailing list
• Include a written reference (not the link) in your print materials, including advertisements
• Inform callers about your blog using your on-hold messaging recording
• Have employees include a link next to a weblink in their email signature line
• Also, use your blog to promote your company though downloads of white papers, webinar schedules, event participation schedules, product information and offerings, newsletters, etc.
• Offer RSS feeds and email subscribe options
• Within or at the end of your posts offer links to trade organizations, articles or other resources that offer more information about the topic of each post
Feedback and Monitoring Third-party Blogs
Keep tabs on what’s going on with your brand. Consider monitoring the blogosphere to contribute to blogs that affect your business or industry and to comment or respond to mentions of your company on other blogs. Monitoring third-party blogs gives you the opportunity to quickly respond to negative and positive posts about your company.
When it comes to your site, allowing readers to comment on your posts keeps the conversation fluid and offers readers the opportunity to provide feedback.
Summing it all Up
As manufacturers serving the metal forming community you have the unique opportunity to leap ahead of the curve. A recent Fortune magazine study found, that of the Fortune Global 100 only 33-percent have corporate blogs. Thus, if the big, mass consumer brands are slow to adopt, then it’s a safe bet that our industry has a great deal of unclaimed territory. So when it comes to blogging and other social media outlets you have a tremendous opportunity to get out front and become a modern media pioneer.
