How to Convert a CEO into a Blogging Evangelist
Why won’t our clients blog more? I feel like I’m banging my head against a wall sometimes.
Corporate blogging is good. Very good.
Manage your brand, put a human face to your company, show them you’re smart, engage in conversations, get market feedback, add good content to your site, improve SEO rankings, use a voice that you can’t/don’t want to use on your website, keep things fresh, more, more, more…
But, clients, why won’t you blog? I mean, blog more? Blog more strategically? Believe in blogging?
Some of you do (yeah!).
But, one of you has gone from being skeptical to a full-fledged Blog Evangelist!
Was it the first time you saw comments on one of your posts? Was it when you saw more comments start to pile up? Was it the time you met with a key prospect and they already knew you? Was it the editor of a major industry publication who read one of your posts and asked to interview you for a feature? Maybe it was the website traffic stats that sealed the deal?
I think it was the key prospect who already knew you. You told us it was amazing when you heard someone at the table say that they had read one of your recent posts and found it interesting and discussion-worthy. The meeting just flowed from there.
And then you kept blogging. And the benefits started to pile up. I mean, one of your posts got a Top 10 ranking in Google for a very competitive keyword we had targeted, when it has been difficult to get that ranking for your traditional web pages!
Clients (and anyone reading this post), maybe you think blogging doesn’t fit in your industry? Not true.
Maybe you don’t know what to write and/or how to write? (ask us, that’s what we’re here for).
Not enough resources or time to write? You wouldn’t stop advertising or making cold calls because of that, would you? Make it a priority. You will have people find you and ask you for your advice, products, solutions, partnership opportunities, and more.
Hey, other client who has a blog, but doesn’t see how to use it effectively! Yes, you! Didn’t you tell us that one technical comment on a blog post many months ago saved your software team “three weeks of development time”? CEO, you took the time to let us know that you read an article in the Wall Street Journal about CEO blogging and (I think) you said you were ready. What happened? Read THIS POST! I’m a CEO. I’m blogging.
Granted, I don’t do it enough, but that client’s success story, and our team’s dedication to blogging (Derek, Casie, Josh, Bill the Intern – Thank you!!), has turned me into a corporate blogging evangalist…
This is Andy Komack – let me know your thoughts by commenting below or contacting me….
Update, July 11, 2008 – John Cass just wrote a great piece about executive blogging and time management: