Isn’t writing a post about the importance of blogs and giving some tips to make them worthwhile a bit unnecessary in these social media times? Probably, for some. But the fact is that still today many businesses are scared to start a corporate blog.

Blogs are social media hubs. A lot of companies still don’t have a blog. Is it a necessity? Can your business survive without it? Probably. But without a blog or at least a participation on other blogs you miss all the advantages of inbound marketing, including a lower cost-per-lead. It also doesn’t really benefit your business to restrict your online presences to a “closed” corporate website, some outbound communication channels and the occasional online campaign.
Blogs really are social media hubs: they enable you to centralize online presences, are a good way of showing the people behind the brand, engage in conversations and extend the reach and value of your brand. A Facebook page can be a social media hub as well, or a LinkedIn group or Ning community page. But they don’t offer the same possibilities as blogs do.

Blogs only have advantages. Whoever is still concerned about the reputation of his business (often as an excuse to not start blogging), forgets that marketers have less control, that brand needs to have a human face and that you can’t ignore social media anymore.
Here are some tips and reminders for businesses who have or want to have a “corporate blog”.

Personal, personal, personal. Blogs, whatever their business objectives, are the work of people with an opinion. So blogs often also have a personal writing style. It is best to avoid jargon unless it is a specialised blog which is for a specific audience with a specific theme. Still, the writing style is personal. You do not blog (only) to tell something, you blog especially to interact, start a dialogue and be “found” by and offer value to the Internet user. Of course the language needs to be appropriate to the target readers as well.

Write yourself but know when you need help. Most blog experts think that a blogger should write his own blogs. Of course, how else can you be personal? You are who you are. Does this mean that web copywriters cannot write blogs? Despite what purists think, the relevance of a blog is important and vital. If you don’t have anything to write or to share, be quiet. Sometimes people have something to say but are not good in putting it down in words, and then help can definitely be good. Note: there are several kinds of blogs, each with their specific purposes. When you identify potential bloggers in your business, focus on their know-how and intrinsic “value”, rather than on their writing skills.

Be human and honest. A company or brand falls or stands with its employees and the ecosystem of the company or brand: people. People are not perfect, they do not know everything, they are passionate about the work they do, they have a heart, a brain and so on. Do not write like a perfect “know all” robot but write from your heart, passion, sincerity, enthusiasm, etc! The fact that you do not know everything will only convince the reader of your blog even more about your sincerity and honesty.

Encourage a dialogue. Write your blogs with your readers in mind, especially conversations with readers. Afraid to just allow anybody to comment on it? Not necessary: people will do it anyway and, unless you ask for it yourself because of a bad brand reputation or if you really are well known, chances are slight that you will be overflowed with responses. If it does happen: be honest, fair, correct, human and keep communication lines open.

Link. One of the most interesting possibilities of blogs is creating and acquiring links. You can refer to previous posts or to relevant information on your company website. But you should also refer to blogs posted by other bloggers. This way your blog, and thus you brand, is part of a wider dialogue.

Tag. Blogs allow you to put the content of your posts in context by “tagging” them with all sorts of descriptive keywords, categories, etc. These keywords obviously are good for search engine positioning but they also offer extra navigation possibilities for your blog. So certainly use them and make sure you use clear and understandable tags that are relevant to the reader.

About the content. Before you start blogging you obviously need to know what you will be blogging about. Choose a theme or approach that is clear and relevant. Be consistent, to-the-point and personal. But most of all, the content needs to be an added value to the reader: knowledge, information which can’t be found anywhere else, tips, personal advices, live reporting of an event where you are, whatever.

Be persistent. A certain frequency of posts is needed when you start a blog. Nothing is worse than starting to post the most original and valuable insights frequently and then suddenly stop writing for months. Loyal blog readers have a certain expectation. But again: only blog if you have something to say.

Finally, a word about the link between your blog and your business goals. There is clearly a branding aspect and there are several other business benefits. But if you really want to know about the bottom-line: blogs show that you exist, who you are, make sure that you are found (not only as a business but as a “human voice”) and, if relevant, pull in new leads that are extremely valuable: people who appreciate what you do.

And what about existing customers? Imagine the extra value you can provide them to increase their loyalty and their sentiment about your brand.

Give to receive. Provide value to get value. And focus on people.

The author is an interactive marketing expert and writes on several marketing-related topics. You can connect with him via his blog or via Twitter.