Blog about it

Well-known marketing consultant Mark Schaefer lists Starbucks and the Marriott Hotel chain as companies with two of the best corporate blogs. Their customer engagement, personal messaging and discussion platforms are key components of the blogs’ success, Mr Schaefer says.

“Starbucks uses its blog as a global brainstorming platform where customers submit new ideas for drinks and even store designs,” says Mr Schaefer, “and Bill Marriott, company chairman of the hotel chain, composes his own personal blog posts on a weekly basis to which the company has [attributed] millions in direct sales.”

Darren Moffatt, an early adopter of social media in business and owner of the ‘Reverse Mortgage Watch’ blogging site, says “blogging is win-win”.

“The consumers need the information you’re providing, while you as a business are generating leads and adding credibility to your brand,” he says.

According to Mr Moffatt, launching a blog is all about adding value for a client through information. Before they begin, a broker therefore needs to ask themselves three questions: ‘Who’s the target audience, what do they want to hear and how will I communicate that most effectively?’

Chris Bjorklund, a blogging expert and manager of several blogging communities, adds that a blog needs to provide readers with an incentive to visit the site.

“Consider the perspective of your audience,” says Mr Bjorklund, “and share knowledge that relates to the needs and challenges of each type of client you service – for example, first home buyers and empty nesters.”

NUTS AND BOLTS

The first step in launching a successful blog is to invest in a URL (‘uniform resource locator’). Although it’s possible to launch a blog without one, the purchase costs are minimal and there are also risks in setting up a blog without a personal URL.

“The danger of not owning a URL is you don’t end up owning that blog, the blogging site does,” says Andrew Krauksts of The Home Loan Advisory.

“If you’re going to sell your business in the future and you’ve got a huge following on your blog, it could end up being a saleable asset that you won’t be able to sell.”

The best place from which to purchase a URL is netregistry.com.au, with prices starting from around $16 to hold the address for a year. It’s a good idea to buy two or three variations on your preferred URL and to forward those to the root domain (which is only a part of the larger address, or URL).

Allow also for spelling errors by purchasing a ‘secondary’ domain name that will direct someone to your blog even if they make a mistake when typing your URL.

The most widely used blogging platform is Wordpress.com, which allows bloggers to post using their own domain name.

This arrangement offers great flexibility with few restrictions. Furthermore, Wordpress is simple and user-friendly – even for the most technologically challenged brokers.

Nevertheless, most brokers with successful blogs recommend hiring a web or graphic designer to give the site that professional and polished look.

“Your blog just won’t reap the full benefits without some form of professional web design,” Mr Moffatt says. “If you want to attract a lot of credibility and readers then you have to make the investment.”

A web designer will typically charge between $50 (for a standard Wordpress template) and $3,000 (for a tailored, ‘light branded’ design).

POSTING TO YOUR BLOG

Any blogger will tell you that ‘short is best’: “People have short attention spans these days so you’ve got to grab their attention quickly and hope that if your content is good enough they’ll contact you,” Mr Moffatt says.

The ideal post contains within 300 words some key words in the headline, a punchy introduction, the main body of the post and a strong finish.

Spelling and grammar can make or break a client’s first impression, adds Mr Bjorklund, who says it is crucial that every entry is thoroughly edited and proof read before being uploaded.

“Since your blog reflects directly upon your company, sloppy and poorly-written posts will make you seem unprofessional and unable to provide the professional service the reader desires,” he says.

The same rule, of course, applies to you as an individual if your blog is a personal rather than a company one.

The key to successful blogging is regular updating, according to Mr Moffatt.

“You need to be disciplined and post regularly,” he says. “When I first started I posted three to four times a week for six months and only when I had a lot of good content was I able to take my foot off the pedal.”

This will come more easily if you actually enjoy writing. “If it’s something that doesn’t come easily to you it’s going to detract from your branding so if you don’t enjoy it, then find someone else in the office that does,” he says.

Brokers should keep in mind that blogs are a long-term marketing strategy and most don’t reap bottom line rewards until they have been blogging for at least six months.

“If you’re hanging out for the leads stage then don’t do a blog because it’s a long-term strategy of adding value to your clients before they’ll come on board,” says Mr Krauksts.

It’s this long-term commitment, according to Mr Bjorklund, that is paramount to any blog’s success.

“Abandoned blogs send a terrible message to readers that the blog is not of much importance to the company and they do not value the opportunity to communicate with their clients,” he warns.

Brokers who blog regularly, however, and add valuable content can expect to gain credibility, increase lead generation and boost their income.

Through a combination of a good blog and other social media tools, Mr Krauksts has added 585 people to his database since March this year.

In the same way, Mr Moffatt has seen his bottom line boosted significantly since launching his blog in April 2008.

“If you want to appear in search results and get leads, then blogging is the best thing you can do,” he says.