I recently advised a new company on their online marketing strategy. My advice:
Facebook/Twitter seem fun and sexy, but if the name of the game is prolonged and sustained traffic and exposure, start generating as much organic content as possible through your corporate blog.
Inbound marketing experts like those at Hubspot have long evangelized the value of blogging in terms of driving site visitors, Twitter followers and even sales.
Because the blogging challenge can be deceptively difficult for many, here are my top 3 tips for corporate blogging.
1. AVOID SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION
Ever wonder why so many infomercials are staged as educational programs where the advertizer is positioned as the guest? That’s because nothing turns people off quicker than shameless self-promotion. The same applies for your blog. People don’t like being sold to or told how cool your product is. Your best bet; be real. Be authentic. Write about related topics and areas of interest that let your readers make the natural association to your product (which they will!). The guys at social marketing service, Flowtown, are great at this. They drive thousands of visitors to their site every day simply by blogging about cool topics in the social sphere, from How to Create a Viral Video to How Hip-Hop Artists Use Social Media.
In a traditional market? No problem! For example, if your company sells a dietary supplement that reduces stress, write about the hidden science behind stress hormones or provide an insiders view of how clinical trials are run. Both will build legitimacy in your product and brand without tooting your own horn.
2. Be helpful & Engaging
The purpose of your corporate blog is to build prolonged and sustained traffic to your site. As your product/service portfolio grows, this traffic footprint will become super-important for driving repeat business. The key: make your visitors want to come back by providing content that’s legitimately helpful and interesting. You can do this by sharing interesting personal stories or explaining how you or your company addressed a problem others might have.
My friend Jenny Blake does an awesome job both helping and engaging on her blog: Life After College. She’s a speaker, author, and coach who certainly wouldn’t shy away from a paid gig, but her primary mission is to use her blog as a medium to share knowledge and perspective that helps others. For that, readers reward her with their loyalty.
Taking the previous example of stress relief supplements, why not provide your readers with a few simple strategies for dealing with stress at work? Or perhaps an analysis of the cost of employee absenteeism due to stress-related illness. Simply ask yourself; if I was in the position of my reader, would I find this content helpful?
3. Stay focused
Remember, blogs aren’t novels and certainly don’t afford you the same latitude to pontificate and meander. They should be short, easily scannable pieces that revolve around a single point of view. Go ahead! Tell stories, share insights, create simple bullet lists…but by the end, your reader should be very clear about the message you’ve tried to convey.
April Dunford does a great job at this with her Rocket Watcher marketing blog. In fact, April often demonstrates a great technique of blog focus; a clear and descriptive title. For example, handles like 3 Startup Branding Mistakes and Influencers Suck make it very clear what messages the reader will come away with.
So when you’re ready to unleash the fury of blog posts on your corporate community, run your drafts through this filter first.
Hopefully you feel I have 
