How to Choose a Business Blog That is Right For You- Part II

In part one of this three part series, we examined domain name selection and the different type of blogging platforms one could use to enter the business blogging community. In this writing, we will discuss blog strategy to ensure your business blog is a success.

Learning To Walk Before You Run- Content is King
As the old saying goes, build it and they will come. In the online landscape, I have found that this holds true as long as you have a fundamental understanding of how your target market will use what you publish.

The World Wide Web has made obtaining and digesting information easier than ever. What’s important to understand however, is that you’re virtually one click away from all of your competitors. If your audience doesn’t get what they want, they can easily hit the back button and move on. With that said, it doesn’t take long to imagine how many significant variables are at play to peak your audiences’ interest:

• Quality of products/services & other deliverables (content)
• Appearance and functionally of the Website/Blog
• Ease of dissemination of information
• Level of interactivity- two-way communication & feedback
• And more…

Blogs can give you instantaneous market feedback for your deliverables. Most importantly, what you write will be read by others and in other words has an inherited value. Furthermore, your content is a reflection of who you are, your core values, level of intelligence, and caliber of personality. Others will use this information to judge your authority and credibility on any given subject. Whether you build a reputation upon wine or vinegar, you will have an impact to your overall online existence and potentially your business. As mom used to say, if you have nothing nice to say, it might be better not to say it at all!

Developing Killer Content
“All in.” If you’re not familiar with the term, it’s what poker players refer to risking it all for a chance to enter the winner’s circle. In the blogging community, that’s essentially what differentiates a good business blogger from the herd in that they reveal their “all” with every post they write. Simply put, nobody wants to read something that has been done to death or is unoriginal. Successful business bloggers continue to have something to offer that is resourceful to their audience on a regular* basis.

*By the way, “regular posting” has different interpretations among business bloggers. Although 3 to 4 posts per month is an acceptable business practice for most.

Getting the word out and gaining exposure will largely rely on the fundamental goal of the business blog and the strategy employed. Here are three major categories that most blogs fall into and some tips regarding how to develop and gather content for each blogging model regardless of the return on investment:

Authoritarians- these can be referred as businesses that whish to poise themselves or their business as the “expert” in the field and look for recognition from industry peers. Authoritarians generally reflect on emerging events in real time. These bloggers feed on breaking news, industry events, or look for ways to advance their trade. Ones that seek knowledge in this category can subscribe to search engine news alerts, newswires, or attend significant trade events.

Developing content for this blogging model typically takes more time and effort from the blogger (in terms of time) before they realize a significant following. The benefits from this model include, but are not limited to, industry recognition, deep insight to emerging trends from other evangelists, and a touch of self-actualization. (Thank you Mr. Maslow)

Interpreters- these businesses can be best described as looking for direct market feedback. Interpreters tend to be more viral in that they can either can set trends or look for ways to advance upon one. This particular blogging model has gained significant attention in recent times by some of the largest corporations planet. One of the most famous attempts that went sour was by Wal-Mart entitled “Wal-Marting Across America” about a couple that toured the country in a RV writting about the people and events they encountered. Unfortunately, issues arose because consumers and bloggers became weary of whether the stories were from real people or a mere concoction for corporate gain eventually leading to a public apology.

Regardless of the outcome, the above example outlines how powerful business blogging can be and how it can be interpreted by the masses. Furthermore, those electing to use this strategy should be aware of the delicate environment in which they are entering and what mutual gain is at stake.

Typical interpreters gather content from a conceptual idea for either PR gain or some other favorable market reaction. Concepts range from contests, sweepstakes, polling, surveys, and philanthropic stories just to name few. Resourceful content in this sense is really a matter of what is perceived as a “worthy gain” for the reaction garnered. Companies executing this strategy may look to strengthen or communicate their brand, gather product intelligence, generate awareness, and more.

Drivers- businesses that whish to use this strategy thrive upon direct ROI (define) goals or some other direct measurable return from their target market. Not to say that all of the above business blogging strategies require a return from the fruits exertion, however return can be defined differently depending on what is considered valuable by each business. What differentiates this model is that the gain is typically monetary.

There are literally thousands of ways to earn real revenue from blogging, however these are just some popular models:

• Sell Advertising- one of the most simplistic forms of making money online, if a blogger can gain a large enough following, advertisers will no doubt find you for a piece of the action. Publishing ads from content sites like Google Adsense, BlogAds, and TextLink Ads are equally as popular.
• Direct Retailing- featuring products or specials with direct links to make a purchasing decision.
• Lead generation- providing resourceful content with an incentive to fill out a form or take some other favorable action such as contacting your company.
• Affiliate Marketing- generating relevant interest and traffic to your site with the intention to drive visitors/referrals to an affiliate site resulting in a kickback.
• Branding & Awareness- although harder to directly measure than the above tactics, using a business blog to brand can influence market demand thus increasing desire you’re your products or services.

Summary
Regardless of the strategy employed, developing quality content will play a significant role in your business blogs execution and success. Get started by outlining your strategy and objectives clearly. Follow-up your chosen strategy with the notion that the best content is what will provide the greatest appeal to your target audience. Lastly, define measurement goals early to benchmark milestones and guide your blogs overall success. When creatively executed, business blogging offers a unique communication tool for those who are willing seize a valuable viral community. Stay tuned as we reveal business blogging promotion and ROI secrets in part three.
[tags] business blogging strategy, business blogs, blog promotion [/tags]