Can You Blog Like Google?
Marvel's Invisible Woman
Think of it as blogging like the big boys…..or in this case, the big girl!
When it comes to corporate blogs, you probably don’t get much bigger than Google. And one of my favorite websites in the entire solar system, Hubspot, published a post this week on 4 Business Blogging Lessons from Google’s Chief Blogger. Gosh, I think I’d like a title like that some day….
And guess what! Their Chief Blogger is a woman! Suhweeeeet!
Our Super-Blog-Chick, also known as Karen Wickre, answered 4 questions about blogging for business and how to do it effectively. While Karen provided good tips for corporate types, I’d like to add my insights on how they translate for the entrepreneur, the small business owner, the self-employed professional, and the DIY business blogger.
What is the most important thing a company new to blogging should do?
I was pleased that Karen advocated reading other related news & business blogs, an activity that I think often gets pushed down the list on how to be a successful business blogger. By checking out other kinds of blogs and ascertaining their focus – “thought leadership” (yep, still hate that phrase), service-oriented, executive-focused, or company collaboration – you get the feeling for what’s out there.
As an entrepreneur who uses blogging as a way to market your business, knowing what else is capturing people’s attention and being talked about serves you in a positive way. It gives you the opportunity to chime in (even if it’s just to agree with someone), add to the conversation, or provide a counterpoint.
What questions do good business blog posts answer?
Without getting bogged down in the exact literal translation of this odd question, Karen illuminated that a blog, by it’s flexible and dynamic nature, is about painting a bigger picture of a company. It can provide useful information, display the company’s interests and values, and adds the human factor to their corporate brand and reputation.
For the small business owner, a blog provides a platform to demonstrate who you are as a business person and professional, AND who you are as a human being. Credibility is balanced with humanity — a winning combination that gets sales.
How do you get people from across the organization to contribute to a business blog?
Okay, so if you’re a big corporation with many divisions, departments and employees, you’d think there would be no shortage of people who could – or should – blog for the company. But Karen outlined some smart criteria when it comes to picking the right personnel who can contribute effectively. Think about how these apply to the small business owner.
- Needs to be comfortable writing and editing on the fly. Crap! There goes my ‘Chief Blogger’ title. I’m comfortable writing. I’m comfortable editing (maybe too comfortable). It’s the ‘on the fly’ part that trips me up. I bet the more you blog, the better that skill gets. I already have a ‘blogger mindset’ and get post ideas all the time. It’s sitting down and hammering out a blog article relatively quickly that eludes me most days. CAVEAT: my rants get written pretty quickly (maybe too quickly).
- Needs to have editorial sense. Check.
- Able to think broadly about what the blog can include. Check.
- Work with a broad editorial calendar. Kinda check.
- Be at ease with blogging. Totally check.
For the entrepreneur blogger, my observation is that having a flexible blogging plan with stated objectives, sketching out post ideas, and just getting it done can make a huge difference in whether a blog is successful or not, ie. helps make you money. If some of these other things don’t come so easily, then get coaching and feedback — which is what we do during our Breakfast Blogging Club meetings, and what I do with business owners one-on-one. (yes, that was a bit of a promo blurb)
What should be the metrics for business blogging success?
It wouldn’t be a Hubspot post if it didn’t mention metrics, which is their forte. Super-Blog-Chick listed several hard numbers: unique visitors, time spent on the page, linkbacks, etc. And then she dropped the “T” word. Twitter. But get this, “…consider adding Twitter if for no other reason than to further extend the reach of your posts….”
Whew! Takes the “Twessure” off, doesn’t it?
I have a Like-Detest relationship with Twitter. And Facebook may be a part of that, too. Hmmm….do I feel a quick rant post coming on? Stay tuned.
Anyway, you can read the Hubspot post with Karen, or you can listen to her directly through a free webcast this Thursday, July 29th at 10:00am PST. It’s all a part of Connected Marketing Week.
Who makes up this stuff?!!
Comments
One Comment on Can You Blog Like Google?
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Karen Nierlich on
Wed, 14th Sep 2011 5:19 pm
Hiya Cheryl,
It can be so intimidating reading the Hubspot blog. I do read it and I learn tons from it.
Probably just about everyone connected to internet marketing should be reading it. But the fact that they have all their experts contributing makes it so much richer and diverse than a blog written by one person. Just saying.
Stop by my blog and leave a comment. I’d love to give you a link.:)
Happy September.
