Before you even get started blogging, the first thing to do is read a lot of blogs. This is really true for any person about to start a blog. It just helps you get your head around what works, what does not.
You will soon notice a few things.
The best blogs have the voice of an individual who is pretty into what they do. They update their blog. They spark conversations, meaning the blog is not just some regurgitated press release or product announcement. The blogger responds timely to a crisis. People comment on their posts. They reply in comments to people. They are seen commenting on other blogs when their company’s product is mentioned.
Corporate All-Stars
Often, the blog may be more about the contributors than the corporation. Steve Rubel wrote on this topic earlier this week. He calls these important people “corporate all-stars,” who are followed for who they are. He added an illustration of some very famous New York Yankees. Sluggers like Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle were Yankee all-stars. In their day, they drew thousands of fans to watch them play. They brought in huge returns for the Yankees. Corporate all-stars do the same for their brands.
You can tell the good bloggers by how easily it seems they talk to their community. The good ones just seem accessible, fun to have in your company.
As well-known blogger Chris Brogan says, it’s often just about being like the person who makes their way through the party, having a great time, chatting with people. In that vein, I’ll borrow some more advice I just saw in one of Chris’s posts. It’s about participation. Look for corporate blogs where participation is encouraged. That’s one of the best ways to make a blog successful. Chris says it’s like magic and I have to agree. The more you get people to participate, the more you will see success.
Where To Find The Blogs: Alltop Rocks
You can look for corporate blogs in all sorts of ways. Google and Ask.com both have blog search engines. For now, let’s just focus on Alltop. You can scan across different categories and find a whole network of blogs around a particular topic.
I did a search on Alltop for corporate blogs and pulled up a pretty decent collection. The Lenovo blog struck me as one of the better ones. The blog has multiple authors, frequent updates and the bloggers are knowledgeable and excited about their work. I’d like to recommend the Xerox blog. The few updates did catch my eye. What’s missing are posts. The voice is there. It just needs to be updated more often.
What blogs from the Alltop collection do you find compelling? Any duds?
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