Recently we  discussed six great reasons why your company should have a blog.  We now counter some of the objectives raised when developing a company blog and how to overcome the reluctance.

Despite these six very good reasons why companies should be blogging, the same 2 objections surface time and time again:

1- I Don’t Have Time to Blog

The truth is you don’t have time NOT to blog. You probably already write blog articles, you just don’t call them that. Blogs are the new email newsletters. Most anything that could go in your newsletter can go in your blog. You can still send the content out via email, and readers can subscribe to your blog to get posts via email.

Portions of white papers can also make excellent blog articles. But a blog is better than a newsletter or a white paper because readers can join the debate and be positioned to respond to other “calls to action” you may place adjacent to or within posts. In addition, readers will be able to navigate your blog to read older articles that would otherwise be in a deleted newsletter or white paper. Best of all, each blog article you post will provide lasting benefit because it is a web page that can be optimized, indexed, and drawing natural search traffic for you ad infinitum.

In addition, quality blogging engines can support multiple authors, so more than one leader in your organisation can post articles. This takes the pressure off any one individual. And remember that a good blog post might just draw a parallel between two or three recent articles, or suggest an explanation for a puzzling industry phenomenon. A good article doesn’t have to be a PhD thesis.

2- What if My Customers Actually Find Out What I’m Thinking?

Some professionals don’t like the idea of blogging because it means relinquishing control over some elements of the corporate brand. A blog is less formal than a press release or an official marketing message, and the comments left by readers cannot be predicted. The point here is… too bad! In today’s world, consumers have access to thousands of opinions about your brand, and thousands of articles, commentaries, product reviews, etc. that will certainly impact the buying decision. The idea that you can control exactly how your brand will be perceived or keep consumers in the dark is outdated. The truth is your best option is to engage customers in an honest, open dialogue. Be confident that transparency is the best policy, and customers will reward your candour.

In closing, get out there and blog!

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About the Author

Jillian Kingsford Smith, owner of Future Buzz Pty Ltd has been unable to escape the world of marketing and communications since she first started back in 1990 and has had the fortune of working with high profile companies in both Australia and the United States, such as the San Francisco Chronicle, V8 Supercar teams and BRW Fast 100 companies. Jillian is whole-heartedly convinced of the power of social media and thought leadership and writes for a variety of publications and blogs, as well as presenting keynote speeches nationally.