So you understand that a blog is a social media hub? That it’s a great way to have a human voice and face instead of a corporate building? You want to start a company blog? Here are some tips to help you engage people and keep then coming back.

Look around first

How are your competitors doing it and can you do it better/differently? Just copying what the other folks are doing is a sure way to be lost in the noise. Start off by asking your staff and even your customers what blogs they love and why they love them and then do it better/different.

Fresh bread means fresh traffic

A blog is like a bakery and a bakery that doesn’t have fresh bread everyday will fail. If you want daily traffic then make sure you have fresh content posted every day. I’m a big believer in daily posting. Not everyone agrees with this, but to me it’s extremely important. If you can’t do a daily post then establish a consistency with your posting and stick with it. People have expectations. Warning: don’t follow my daily post tip if you don’t get inspired every day. Quality above quantity.

Editorial calendar

I have a love hate relationship with editorial calendars. However, as a guide for your business blog they do come in very handy. You don’t have to have a detailed one and you don’t have to post it for all to see. I like to keep mine casual and use it simply as a guide and not a rule. Certainly in marketing, it’s a good idea to be aware of what special dates may be coming up which you can relate content to. Attention: this only goes for business blogs as far as I’m concerned. When I blog on a medium or on a personal blog, it’s really the inspiration of the day.

Add value with every post

Don’t talk about what your products can do. Talk about what people do with them. I’m going to keep repeating that over and over till someone uses a stapler to kill me – a use of the product which I’m sure is not in the manual. Find out what people are doing with your product which makes their lives better/easier/more fun and then tell the stories.

Deep link

Whenever possible you should be linking to other content within your blog. There are lots of creative ways to do this. Sure, you can just use a related post plugin, but IMHO, deep linking is more intuitive. As well, if you mention a post at another site, make sure you link to it. Never make the reader go looking for related content on your blog…because they won’t.

Talent search

You’ve got people in your company who are creative thinkers and writers and you should be recruiting them. One person can’t do it all alone! Recruit a team of rock stars from your company to handle your blog content and let them shine. However, there must be a gatekeeper, one person who is the editor and controls the content. And most of all: train them and show them the fun and benefits. If it’s a “must” they won’t do it.

Interact with your readers

When people leave a comment on your blog make sure you respond quickly and thoughtfully. Use it as an opportunity to start a conversation and engage your audience further. If the comment is asking a question then find the answer for them.

Tweeting and Facebook

Don’t always just tweet or post the subject line to Facebook. Mix it up and try taking a line out of the post that is provocative or thoughtful (hopefully both) and tweet that. Remember, you are trying to start a conversation.

And, by the way: sometimes that requires making a point that not everyone will like. Don’t fear comments and even confrontation. We are not born to please the world.