The Great Myth of Business Blogging

I had a great time introducing whurley at the Austin Social Media Club last night, hosted by BMC Software in beautiful Austin, Texas. But, on to the blog. What is the great myth of business blogging?

Blog anything.

Yes, that's the myth. There are a myriad of examples out there of oopsies in corporate blogs. A couple that come instantly to mind are Whole Foods and Wal-Mart. Beyond these faux paux, I think a lot of people who aren't blogging in businesses keep their chatter idle because they don't want the company they work for to control what they write. But, when you speak to a customer, do you just say anything? No. If you're a great employee who wants to support your business and drive revenue, you're going to have interesting and intriguing one-on-one conversations that show your thought leadership in a certain area, drive awareness of your brand, talk about problems you solve, etc. When you talk to a customer, you have the opportunity to solve their problem and display your brilliance.

Business blogging is about enabling the business. It's not about inflammatory topics like religion or politics. It's not about the deck you're building in your backyard. It's not about anything off-topic, unless you can tie it back to your blog in a relevant and inventive way.  There are certain big life events that are wonderful to share with your audience to make it a more personal experience, but remember that your audience has expectations related to your blog topic.  What do you believe they expect to read about when they click on the link to read your blog?  Remember that question as you write, but surprise them a little every now and then with something that keeps them on their toes. That's why your audience continues to visit, subscribes to your RSS feed, and remains loyal.

One great example of this is our most subscribed-to blogger on TalkBMC, Steve Carl with his Adventure's in Linux blog. He consistenly blogs on relevant topics related to Linux and his own experiences, problems, and solutions. His audience gets downright emotional when it comes to Steve. One young man reported running down the hall and yelling with joy when he found one of Steve's solutions to a pressing Linux problem.

This whole social media thing is about to get a lot more social. Everyone's jumping on the Cluetrain and it's now going at light speed. But, treat your business blog as if it is a discussion with a customer. Be personal, provide a solution, and be brilliant. Don't blog just anything.