It took awhile to get there, but you finally achieved it. One or more people in your organization is contributing regularly to the company blog. You’ve put in place a social media and email marketing plan and it seems to be working. Congratulations! You’re done, right? Time to finally take that Caribbean vacation.
Sorry, not yet.
To complete your overall effort, there are a number of other things you need to do to really make your blog great. Here are three of them.
Create an editorial calendar
Sounds like something out of the print era, doesn’t it? Well, it’s not. An editorial calendar can help you to control your outbound message and build thought leadership. Sure, there will be unanticipated issues that will cause you to go off course. These opportunistic posts are important for you to stay in a conversation and perhaps defend against an attack. So it’s important to build some flexibility into your editorial calendar. But you don’t want the subject of your blog posts always to be dictated by trending stories. As much as possible, you should attempt to set the agenda.
An ed calendar also allows you to consider whether or not that cool idea for a post is really on target. Does it naturally lend itself to your overall strategy and keywords? Does it help your SEO?
One post per day
Unless your company is large with multiple blogs, you should only post to your blog once a day to prevent dilution. You want people to savor your thoughts, not be confused because there are multiple posts from multiple sources from which to choose. Of course, a news event or action by a third party could cause you to rush something out and post it immediately. So stay loose. An editorial calendar will help you to keep your posts properly sequenced.
Build a contributors page
Who are your bloggers? Do visitors have to search to find out? Make it easier. Establish a separate page just for contributors and link it to each post. Feature it on your website. Each blogger should have a photo. The style of the photo depends upon the style of your company. Whatever that is, put your best foot forward. A photo from the beach taken by your child is rarely a good choice. Next, you need a short bio. Not a resume or three pages from your book, but a paragraph or two. Then, a link to each blogger’s archived posts.
A good blog strategy for business should incorporate these three simple steps. By doing so, you will move closer toward becoming the influential mouthpiece you want to be.
Maybe it is time to take that vacation after all.
Need help with your program? Contact us right now at 202.630.8014 or info@relaystationmedia.com for a free consultation.
SCOTT PETERSON, co-founder of Relay Station Social Media LLC, has over a decade of experience in market, securities, and regulatory communications. His firm provides strategic communications consulting, integrated Internet marketing, training, and more to a wide range of organizations.
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