Building a blog is a lot like building a brand, except the brand is you – even if you're writing a company blog, says Lynne Meredith Golodner, author of The Nourish Cafe Blog and six books. I had the pleasure of introducing Golodner when she spoke on blogging at the Social Media Club Detroit meeting last week. She spoke about the importance of blogs for both companies and personal branding – and how the two don't necessarily have to be separate. Sure, your voice on a corporate blog should be more professional than on your personal one (no ranting!), but it should still sound like you. It's your personality and expertise that will make the posts worth reading, not the company brand itself.
Showing your expertise on a company blog doesn't mean creating a boring dissertation of facts, either. More and more marketing these days is about storytelling (of course, good marketing has always been about storytelling). This is especially true when it comes to inbound marketing efforts like having a blog. "I start each day saying, what stories can I find today," says Golodner. I like that. It's a pretty good way to approach the day, if you want to be a good blogger or corporate storyteller. Keep your mind open as you go through your daily routine. What seemingly regular part of your business would make an interesting story to someone hearing it for the first time?
Sometimes the stories about your brand can come from multiple sources. Golodner talked about a chocolatier client of hers that invited other people to tell their stories about what chocolate meant to them. So many people have a special attachment to chocolate, that they got great stories from a wide range of people. They got some very big names to tell their stories, including a high ranking elected official who suggested he come in and buy some chocolate, while they interviewed him about his love of it. This just goes to show, you never know unless you ask.
As a blogger who does almost all his blogging here on my company blog, I found the presentation inspiring. I understand blogging and I do always talk in my own voice. But, I've been on a bit of a dry spell here, not posting nearly as much as I have in the past. I like to think that it's because we've become so busy that I just don't have the time. That's not a good excuse. I'm actually a pretty fast writer once I have the inspiration. It's finding that inspiration that takes time and I think I was a little burnt out. Now, I'm starting my day looking for stories. It's not even 9am and I have an idea for my next post – thanks to a conversation with a coworker this morning. There was a company story there. I'll be telling it later this week. And I'm committing to finding stories to share with you 2 – 3 times a week. Feel free to call me on it, if I don't.
So, how about you? Are you a blogger or thinking about starting a blog? Where do your stories come from? Are you starting your day looking for the stories that come your way? It's a good way to spend a day!
Mike McClure, company storyteller
As you said, when blogging about the company, it does not mean that you make blog posts less interesting by cramming them with cheap and ineffective marketing statements. A blogger must always demonstrate that he or she is an expert in the field and this way s/he will attract visitors and inspire discussion. Personally, I would overlook a company blog which is full of ‘Our company is the best provider of…’ and ‘Make sure you check out our new range of…’. On the other hand, an informative blog would be more appealing and if I am really interested I would check the company’s store on my own, without being pushed into it by the company’s blogger.