Our Perspective

Secrets to Successful Corporate Blogging

From the desk of Kathryn Marshall...

When it comes to PR, companies need to continually think past traditional PR strategies and tactics to help raise awareness for their brand and manage their reputation. Blogs have become a common platform for companies to communicate with their constituents, whether they are breaking news, managing a hot issue or interacting with customers. But what makes one corporate blog stand out above the rest? Why do some attract thousands of readers while others fall on deaf ears?

 
We are often asked to help companies enhance their existing blogging effort to boost their brand. We thought it would be helpful to share a few best practices we recommend to help make your corporate blog stand out and have it work for your company, both from an SEO standpoint and to help strategically build your brand.
 
1) Become an industry hub - Many corporate blogs make the mistake of acting like an online marketing brochure and are very one-sided and boring. Be bold with your blog and use it as a platform for posting content people can't get elsewhere such as breaking news, sneak peek photos or videos or exclusive CEO interviews.
 
In addition, think outside your company and demonstrate your willingness to have your blog serve as an industry hotspot where all types of viewpoints and opinions are reflected which can help attract a wider readership base.
 
2) Your SEO secret weapon - Blogging is the perfect way to accelerate your SEO strategy. The frequency of posts, the keywords used, the relevance of the posts, titles, tags and link backs enable you to leverage organic search results and become more visible to people looking for similar information online. Be thoughtful about the words you choose for titles and tags, as well as the phrases you use in your content which will affect your overall search results.
 
3) Measure your competition - Search engines are picking up millions of posts per day. How can you ensure your content is getting through? First, measure the competition by using search engines to search the number of company pages that come up per topic area to get an idea of how congested the space you are writing about seems to be. Then, plan your frequency of posts accordingly. Some experts have gone so far as to break it down numerically.
 
According to Ian Lurie, author of "Web marketing all-in-one desk reference for dummies," companies should use the following guide for frequency of posts:
 

< 10,000 company pages - 1 x week
10,001 - 100,000 company pages - 2 x week
100,001 - 200,000 company pages - 3 x week
200,001 - 2,000,000 company pages - every day

 
Implementing these best practices can help you bolster your corporate blog, build a stronger readership base and ultimately enhance your brand.

Maximizing Your Media Interview Opportunities

From the desk of Kathryn Marshall…

It’s a New Year and many businesses are gearing up for a busy tradeshow season or are in the midst of launching new products. This heightened activity will likely bring with it a host of media opportunities and a chance to get your message across to a target-rich audience.

Like the old saying goes, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” It’s important to be prepared and well positioned to maximize each and every interview opportunity. Below are 10 basic tips to keep in mind for making the most out of media interview opportunities:

Research the outlet and interviewer

Similar to how you might prepare for a new customer meeting, be sure to do your homework on the media outlet and reporter ahead of time so you can better tailor your comments. Find out critical information ahead of time and answer the basic questions: What’s their target audience? Does this reporter know anything about your company or your market? What kinds of relevant articles has the reporter written in the past?

Prepare key messages and talking points

Map out what you want to say ahead of time. Selecting three main ideas or messages will help you organize your thoughts and know exactly what you want to say during the interview.

Practice with mock interviews

Going through the exercise of saying what you want to say out loud ahead of time can help you learn beforehand if what you are saying actually makes sense. Have someone practice asking you questions and take time to walk through your responses.

Be on time and know the length of interview

There’s nothing worse than thinking you have 30 minutes to interview when you really only have 10. Be sure to show up on time and ask the reporter how much time they have before you launch into your discussion.

Be concise

Long-winded answers tend to lose the message and its importance. Knowing what you want to say ahead of time will help you deliver short, concise answers that will keep the interview focused on the topic at hand.

Offer different perspectives

Don't just be an expert on yourself or your company. Share industry experiences or facts that help shape the topic of discussion. Serving as a great industry resource will also help you become a regular “go-to” person for the press.

Pause for questions

It’s easy to start talking about how great your new product is going to be and lose track of time. Make sure the interviewer is following what you are saying and be sure to pause to give them time to ask questions.

It’s okay to say “I don’t know”

You aren’t expected to know everything so don’t pretend like you do. It’s okay to say you don’t know the answer. Most interviewers will respect you more for admitting it and will appreciate the information in a follow-up email or conversation.

Promptly follow up with action items

If you have outstanding items after the interview, be aware of the reporter’s deadline. They may have to file the story later that day or early the next so it’s important to get right back to them with pending information.

Have fun

This is your time to get your message across so be engaging and have fun with it. It will likely provide for a much more interesting and interactive interview.