Why Blog?

I recently wrote a blog on blogging – I Know I Should be Blogging But, definitely very topical as a strategic social tool in Asia right now. It also seemed to attract a lot of interest, including an acknowledgement on Michael Brenners’ B2B Marketing Insider Blog “The Top 5 Reasons People Don’t do Social,” which was very much appreciated. Thanks to my fellow writer Mark McClure for bringing it to Michael’s attention.

Since writing that blog, I’ve been thinking about the specific reasons professionals should blog and have included them here today, because the reality is, if you’re great at what you do, you should be blogging – whatever field you are in. I’ve already talked about the reasons why professionals are holding back, and there are many more to mention, BUT one thing I want to highlight:

Every company in the world is full of amazingly talented and intelligent people who are experts in a particular area in their industry; and that knowledge is worth sharing with the world. One of the best ways to share this knowledge is to blog, as a blog allows you to reach a depth that other social tools don’t allow.

The roles where I believe blogging is essential include:

• Any customer facing executive – because they know what the customer cares about and can write to address those issues – which is what it’s all about these days
• All senior executives should be blogging. Bill Marriot of the Marriot Group is considered one of the most famous corporate bloggers in the world, and he is a shining example for all executives. In today’s digital world, leaders of business must personalise their voice, be accountable to customers, communicate directly with customers, etc… – blogging is a perfect vehicle to do that
• Any professionals who are excellent in their field and want to share knowledge and best practises with their industry, as well as to build their profile and credibility with a broader community

So why blog? Here’s a start on the individual benefits for professionals who want to blog…

• An opportunity to establish yourself as an expert and the go-to person in your field
• A forum to teach, educate, share and inspire others in your area of expertise
• The ability to secure more promotion opportunities in your company as you raise awareness of your skills and build your credibility
• An opportunity to build your professional community around the world, as well as an opportunity to build your professional social profile – something very important these days
• It increases your chances of being invited to speak at relevant industry events
• It’s a platform to generate direct customer engagement
• An opportunity to write for other digital media sites, as well as have your blogs republished on relevant industry sites – further building your profile and credibility
• An opportunity to have blogs published in the media – which is good for you and your company. Additionally you build your profile to become a valued media resource in your field
• Build your audience by inviting other experts in your field to guest post on your blog, which makes your blog even more valuable. Most guest bloggers will also promote their blog to their extended network, which is good for you
• Individual blogging content is great for wider company social campaigns
• You can even use a blog to change career paths – especially if you blog about the new field before you make the move  – this way you’ve already built credibility
• It puts a personality to the face/name
• It’s a conversation starter

Finally, and I know this one is a bit tricky, but we should be honest here. Today, everyone needs to take care of their own careers because a job for life is rapidly becoming a rare animal. Therefore blogging is a great tool to generate greater career opportunities for you. I appreciate that this is a core reason why companies have a fear of letting employees blog, but the reality is; good people are always headhunted and blogging does not increase the chance of people leaving. Instead of worrying about this, I believe companies should be more focused on ensuring a culture where great talent wants to stay and giving them the freedom to blog should be part of that. It’s definitely a HR and retainment tool when employees really want to do it.

Any more you can think of? I know I didn’t get them all.

Please remember that if you are blogging on anything relevant to your company, it’s important to factor in the broader company strategy and work in-line with that. If you do, your company will help you succeed. If your company does not have a social policy in place, perhaps you can be part of the team that gets one together, including policies and guidelines? There are plenty of examples to reference these days.

I am a believer in blogging (I’ve got three blogs now) and on many occasions I meet with fellow professionals and say you should be blogging. They know they should and I hope they do. I find it one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done, and as a small business owner, it’s vital to my marketing as well – what better way to show the world my knowledge than through this channel?

Good luck to those blogging – and if you’re new – be patient, be passionate, be current, be relevant, be real, and always always write to the audience you want to influence… You’ll work it out 🙂

Cheers

Andrea Edwards

Managing Director

SAJE

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