Perhaps it’s not who should be creating businesses’ web content, but is it the right person or team?
Please participate in Designated Editor’s survey on successful company blogs.
Stemming from a recent comment on the post: “Blog and content strategies with Stephen Turcotte of Backbone Media at the Boston SEO Meetup”
Comment: seo wrote:
Thanks for sharing your notes here. The thing is, a “company blog” for
a larger company is very different than a blog from a small business
owner. The company bog hires someone to write regular entries who
considers it a job, and their heart isn’t in it. A small entrepreneur
is writing what they live everyday – their company, their baby. Much
different animal, and different rules have to apply.
Suzanne of Designated Editor wrote:
Hi
and thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. As with anything, I’d say
it depends. I agree with you: It’s probably not reasonable to expect
passion from a far-flung, minimally paid writer. Perhaps posts like
that are the new keyword-stuffing? Shoveling out content that’s
relevant but not especially useful.
On the other hand, there are key factors, to successful company blogs:
- The employee’s passion
- The corporate culture.
You might be interested in my Southwest
Airlines post “Scattered by thousands of miles, but online we can be
right next to each other” Employee Engagement & Social Media on a
Low-Fare Budget -Southwest Airlines’ Millie Richter.
What we find: The business owner or the marketing team faces a variety of challenges:
- Limited time/staffing, busy working on other things
- Writers’ block
- Unable to transition from “sales” communication to information-based that users expect for online content
- Can’t create enough content quickly enough to fulfill SEO or other campaigns
Launching
Designated Editor as a small business provides a great deal of insight
to the passion that enlivens corporate blogs. Like a great actor vs a B
actor, we’re able to transfer that experience and “heart” to our
clients’ online presence.
SXSW posts forthcoming!