Do you have a strategic, targeted company blog with well-defined key performance indicators (KPIs) to evaluate its effectiveness and return on investment? Have you created an editorial calendar for your blog that delineates key topics of interest to consumers and maximizes the knowledge of your subject matter experts? Or, are you committing random acts of marketing when it comes to your company blog?
A “random act of marketing” is when you:
- Suddenly realize you haven’t published a new blog post in two months so you scramble to get something – anything – posted.
- Accept any blog post submission from a company employee, regardless of its relevance to your marketing plan.
- Publish a good blog post, but don’t put forth any effort to get readers.
At best, random acts of marketing cost you money and give you nothing in return. At worst, they damage your company’s reputation by cluttering your blog with less-than-stellar material.
Yes, blogs are conversational in nature. Yes, they are relatively inexpensive in the grand scheme of marketing. Yes, they are easy to post. But that doesn’t mean they should be treated as a “throw away” item. Your blog is a marketing venue: use it well, and it will work for you. Use it to commit random acts of marketing, and it may very well work against you.
By Paula Marolewski