Blog

Its a valid question and one that I feel should be asked about any website feature before time and money are invested in it. There's always a danger of site owners / marketing staff getting caught up in the latest "buzz" and feeling they must be involved, but not really knowing why or what their objectives are. Blogs are one area I've seen this happen in the past.

So why should websites consider adding a blog?

Technical Reasons for a Blog

Blog platforms provide one of the easiest ways for non-technical staff to add content to a website - so adding a blog may simply reduce the need for technical staff to add content on behalf of other departments. Taken a step further, smaller websites may be entirely powered by blog software - WordPress, for example, is used by some sites as a content management solution (CMS) to power their entire website, not just a blog. Of course blog software will have its limitations and larger sites will normally be powered by a dedicated CMS solution, which may include a blog module.

So its important to note that sometimes when people are talking about blogs they are talking about a technical solution to publishing content - and at other times they are talking about the "concept" of a blog.

The "Concept" of a Blog: A Relaxed Voice

Technical concerns aside, blogs provide a company with a "voice". This voice will typically be less formal than that used on standard web pages and allows the company to engage more closely with its audience. Often the tone of a blog can be much more personal with individual authors (aka "bloggers") having distinct voices and focusing on individual topics that interest them - so hopefully their passion will be come through and engage the reader. The content of a blog can include links to news stories with accompanying commentary, company announcements and articles authored in-house. Over time, this builds up into a useful archive and demonstrates the gravitas of the company, and can help established the organisation as a thought leader.

Its worth noting here that explicitly calling it a blog may not be the right thing to do - the word has been over hyped and can, to use the words of a colleague, sound "naff" or out of place in some industries. "News", "What We Think" or something similar may be more relevant and fit in better with the brand's feel.

Two Way Conversations

The less formal tone of a blog is only part of its value to a company. Blogs provide a forum for two way feedback via comments on posts. Once any potential spam has been filtered out, these comments can provide valuable feedback on company announcements, products, service levels etc - even if that feedback is not always positive. Editorial decisions need to be taken about moderating comments (and responding to them, or not) - and more importantly, the feedback needs to be collated and acted upon.

Reputation Management

Blogs can help companies manage their reputations online, too, providing a place they can answer criticism frankly and honestly - and those are important words to note - and can ensure the company is not "hiding" behind press statements and PR people. I've discussed this recently in this post about Digg.

Blogs and Search Engine Optimisation

Search engines love websites with content that is regularly updated - and a good blog will be updated regularly. Just having a blog alone is not a path to high natural rankings however; posts need to be well written and presented technically in the correct manner - and crucially, a blog needs to be part of a wider SEO strategy, something our SEO team helps our clients plan and execute.

Summary: Some Reasons to Have a Blog

Blogs can:

• enable companies to engage with their audience/customers and gather feedback
• establish the company as a thought leader with gravitas (and so help win new clients)
• provide an informal voice for the company and add personality to the organisation (an antidote to faceless press releases)
• provide a platform for the company to openly respond to criticism (reputation management)
• pull down internal barriers - not everybody in large organisations can meet the CEO, but via a blog, they can know what he thinks / does
• act as repository of press releases, company announcements etc
• provide staff with a chance to share their passion for their work with the outside world
• assist with SEO as part of a wider search engine optimisation strategy

This isn't an extensive list - every company is different - but should provide a flavour of why a company should consider blogging.

However - and this is absolutely crucial - if the company does not have a lot to say, or does not have the resources to regularly update a blog (and by this I mean weekly, if not daily), then a blog may not be right for the website. Blogs are like any other tool. If used properly they can yield results; but if used poorly they can reflect negatively on the company - an abandoned blog is never a positive thing.

There are lots of articles (and blog posts!) about corporate blogging; here are few useful ones:

Wikipedia: "Corporate Blogs"

Corporate Blogging Rules

Flash: Blogging Goes Corporate (Wired piece on Macromedia's blogging strategy in 2005)

Dell does good then bad then apologizes

10 Business Benefits of Blogging

Update: Danny Sullivan is one of the most respected figures in the search industry, but even he gets blogging wrong occassionally...and sets a good example of how to admit blame and move on.