Blogging Basics from a First Timer

July 6, 2011 by Frank Peditto

When we hired a marketing consultant to assist us with our new website design in 2010, I was pretty surprised when they recommended that we add a blog to our site. First off, I wasn’t sure how it would positively impact our company seeing that we are primarily business-to-business focused and within in a niche market. Second, I was fearful of our team having the time and marketing background to create new concepts each month and keep it going. After much discussion, and additional education on my part of blogging and how it could help even a small, niche based business, I conceded and the ReloTrans blog was born.

When I initially started blogging, I was focused on keeping the content very industry specific, so I wrote about some of our stories; highlighting key information for transferees from an experiential perspective. As time went on, the team began to recommend other topics including customer service, team leadership and transferee based information. And, the blog continues to evolve today. After just over a year of writing, I offer new bloggers, or those contemplating a blog, the following advice:

• Shed the fear of committing to a blog on your corporate site, regardless of which industry you service and what your company does.
• Keep your blog open and write about topics that are germane, but not limiting. I have found that it’s easiest for me to write about something pertinent and also a topic that I am familiar with and know well.
• Make your blogs about more than your organization; let the business come to you and understand that blogs serve many objectives, but they should not be focused on self-promotion.
• Offer tips and advice; this content seems to draw the most attention as it is often the most relevant for your audience(s).
• Ensure that your blogs are to the point and keep the readers engaged.
• Use links to enhance the resource nature of your blog posts.
• If you make the commitment to blog, keep up with the schedule and work to post at least once a month, all the while, keeping content fresh and on point for your industry and audience(s).
• Have fun and view blogging as an extension of your personal expression and that of your organization. If it’s not fun then it’s probably not helping your cause.

With a little experience under my belt, I look forward to continuing this blog and expanding the topics in the future. If you have any topics you feel would be interesting or that you would like to see, please email me at marketing@relotrans.com.