So how do you go about it?

OK, you know what a Blog is, and you now realise you're missing a trick not to have one.  

First you need to decide if you have the in-house skills to add a Blog to your online repertoire. There's not exactly any heavy lifting involved, it's essentially 1) technical sourcing, design and set-up and 2) maintaining the Blog content.

1) Tech, Set-Up & Design

There are plenty of Blogging resources on the Web. Tools like WordPress can be better for self-hosted solutions, or alternatively Google's Blogger, are great ways to enter the Blogging world, and are basically free too! Many Blog services are free, but it's worth noting that free Blog services aren't optimally designed to maximise keyword visibility and link popularity. This means far less SEO advantages.

Check with your ISP, Hosting Provider or Marketing Agency - as they may well have a facility that can be bought or 'rented' directly. They will already know it works and can take much of the pain away! For maximum SEO effect, make sure you go for a self-hosted solution.  By that I mean, it sits on your own company domain name (as in yourcompanyname.com/blog or similar). Blogger etc. and free services will normally reside elsewhere and as such are far less effective in this regard.

If that all sounds too much like hard work, call in the professionals!  Dynamics Media has it's own self-hosted Blogging facilities wih full design and integration of course, and we can set the whole thing up for you. Contact blog@dynamicsmedia.co.uk.

2.) Maintenance & Content Tips

Fresh content is important, and loved by the search engines also. Give someone responsibility for either keeping the blog up to date, or ensuring other people in the company are!  Getting someone outside the business or 3rd party to write and update one for you (Ghost Blogging), is kind of frowned upon - and generally easy to sniff out! So, by all means get a qualified bunch to give the copy a once-over and make sure the links are properly tagged, but overall the Blog is something best updated in-house. Here's some tips..

1. The Blog's theme should be consistent with the company's product or service lines, but tangential enough so it isn't solely about things the company sells. (A blog that serves to link to your e-commerce site won't get far or last long in the blogosphere!.) Remember, the fact that people can rate, send, link, subscribe and otherwise contribute is a double-edged sword. You'll quickly be ignored or poo-poo'd if it's too self-licking. Represent your businesses brand and desired tone or voice.
   
   
2. Positive employees make great Bloggers as they know the direction and feel of the company. If the Blogger is to be from outside your company, make it clear the Blog is sponsored by your company to avoid being slated for Ghost-Blogging. Think of an interesting angle or more of a human interest theme - even as a tabloid style gossip column type thing - to keep it interesting. Remember, Video and Audio are pretty magnetic media and add instant interest.
   
   
3. Keep your Blog it updated regularly. Daily, or at worst weekly, is preferable. No regular content means no changes, means no SEO advantage - and no audience! Remember it's a time commitment, so make sure the content administrator has the time to do the job properly.  It could take 5-15 hours per week, and allow for any comments and responses you'll need to attend to.
   
   
4. Oh, and TELL EVERYONE! Your customers, clients, contacts should all know you have a Blog.  You must add a link to your website's homepage and invite as much interaction as possible. Finally, get your SEO provider to ensure the Blog pages are being seen.  Track the activity as much as possible with something like Google Analytics, and adjust accordingly.
   

Will it work?  If the blog is optimally created and maintained - with a transparent, sincere voice and a commitment to using it to build relationships as well as links - then, yes, it will help. How much depends on how much the company is willing to invest in developing relationships with customers and prospects in the 'blogosphere'. The only time Blogging can really hurt is if the Bloggers are insincere, dishonest or ignore their audience - or if your company has an awful online reputation in the first place! 

Go for it - and good luck...!