by Mack Collier
So often, we want to focus on writing great content in order to grow
our blogs. But we can sometimes forget why social media works so well;
because it connects people.
Here's a big tip for any company that's blogging: We can connect with people easier than we can with you.
So how do you work this to your advantage? You don't focus on your company, you focus on the people that work for, and interact with your company and its products and services. You give every blogger a picture and bio and you put it on your blog. You have your writers identify commenters by name. You post pictures from and about your customers.
Notice how HomeGoods has a huge picture of their bloggers right at the
top of their blog:
Immediately you can 'see' who is writing this blog. Already it's much easier for a reader to connect with and ultimately trust what they read on this blog, because they know it is coming from real people with real names like Deb, Cathy, Joan, and Susan. What if the blog didn't have any pictures of its bloggers, and didn't identify who they were, only to say that each post was published by 'The HomeGoods Team'? This is what many business blogs do, and it simply puts another barrier between the company and its customers.
Look at what the fine people at Graco do with
their company blog. Every Wednesday, they focus on either their customers, or the families of their employees. Why is this important? Why does it matter that we know what the chief blogger's granddad looks like? Because it drives home the point that these are real people that are living real lives just like us. So again, we can more easily connect with them, because we connect with other people more easily than we do with anonymous companies.
So if you are wondering what to write about next, my friend
Chris Brogan has some
amazing advice:
Write posts about people in your company and what they're doing
outside the company. Talk about Surya's bike race. Cover Monica's
graduation ceremony for her MBA. Don't write like you're a proud
company. Write like a person covering interesting moments in a person's
life.
What does this bring back to your company? It brings a sense that
you're human, that your organization contains humans, and that every
message from you isn't a pitch or a sale. Instead, you're someone who
not only markets, but cares about the people inside and outside the
organization.
What he said.
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Source: Putting Your Best Face(s) Forward on Your Blog
