In my post last week, I discussed how B2B companies can begin to eke out plans for a corporate blog. This week’s installment completes the article and gives some guidance on how to maintain a blog and earn readers once it is built.

Taking a swing
Creating content that meets the needs of a company’s target market is the next step. Each B2B blog is a venue for showcasing a company’s unique expertise in its industry niche. Blogging builds corporate and personal credibility, positioning a company as having few credible substitutes in the marketplace. Blogs also provide a glimpse of what it may be like to work with a company, which helps reduce perceived risk in the minds of prospective buyers.

At first, breathing life into a blog requires little more than jotting down observations about company life and product innovations, and responding to what’s happening in the marketplace. But that’s not always easy. Busy executives will say that they barely have time to answer e-mails, let alone trawl the Internet for what customers and competitors have to say. The advantage of having an agency dedicated to blog management is that it can aid in reading outside blogs and following trends to provide B2B bloggers with palatable topics.

The agency also can help the company get into the practice of blog-rolling, or creating a list of other valuable Web sites and blogs that relate to the industry. When combined with fresh content, blog-rolling encourages communication between multiple sites. When bloggers ruminate about what others have to say and link back to them, it helps make a bigger splash in the blogosphere.

ERA: Earned Reader Average
Top-notch blogging — the kind that keeps readers coming back — should not just spew marketing jargon. Further, each blogger must present a fresh perspective and not rehash what others in the blogosphere have written. The more compelling and relevant the content, the more likely it is that the blog will support the corporate branding effort.

The Forrester report indicated that more than half of corporate blogs repurpose company news rather than provide thought leadership by company experts who can share their knowledge on a particular topic. Unfortunately, if the blog content isn’t original, no one will care. Nothing will make a reader remove a blog from his or her RSS feed faster than a blog that hasn’t been updated in months.

People who read blogs look to them as a form of daily information, and that means customers and prospects will perceive the blog as a source of industry knowledge. This does not mean the blog requires a daily update; posting at least three entries each week is a good start. Plus, it gives the opportunity to explore different topics and weed out subjects of less interest to readers.

Blogging about relevant topics is paramount to capturing a reader’s attention. In a 2008 article in Slate, Michael Agger had this to say about how people read online: “You, my dear user, pluck the low-hanging fruit. When you arrive on a page, you don’t actually deign to read it. You scan. If you don’t see what you need, you’re gone.”

So, each blog post should be packaged in a way that grabs readers and entices them to read more.

The marketing agency can keep track of which entries receive the most attention and direct corporate bloggers to focus on those topics. Along those same lines, the agency can monitor the amount and quality of traffic the blog receives. If Web hits are down, bloggers can vary their subjects to boost interest. They just need to watch out that they don’t stray too far from their expertise or industry niche.

It’s also important to encourage readers to interact with the blog by leaving it open to comments. Leaving the commenting function turned on allows readers to engage in conversation, which is one of the key reasons for creating a business blog. For those worried about collecting spam, the marketing team can help manage comments separate the credible messages from junk messages if the problem arises. Also, blog software can be set to hold comments for review, which further prevents spam messages from appearing online in real-time.

That’s the game
Successful business blogging is not a one player game. The company team should remember to stay focused because the industry isn’t seeking generalities about the marketplace. At the same time, they need to keep an ear to the ground to discover what their blog audience wants to hear.
There is a wealth of information available to customers and prospects online. With the coaching of a knowledgeable marketing team, companies can draw readers to their little corner of the Internet.

So, if you build it, they will come. Just be sure to give visitors what they came to see.

Related posts:

1. Take Me Out to the Blog Game, Part I
2. Giving “one size fits all” blogs a second look …
3. Is there such thing as bloggers block?
4. Social Networking – It’s not a kid’s game anymore.
5. Blogging — Is it right for you?

---

About the author:

Debra Yemenijian joined Schubert as a Sr. Social Media & PR Executive after six years as a medical editor and writer. She is a Penn State graduate and currently is pursuing her MBA. Debra is also a ballet teacher and dabbles in community theater and jewelry design on the side.