If you’re going to have a business blog, you need to make sure to avoid a few common mistakes. We’ll talk about some of those right now. Maybe your company sells an app for self-managed HOAs, or perhaps you make and sell patio furniture. Whatever your services or products, you need to be sure that your company blog:
Stays relevantDoesn’t go off on a tangent
On a personal blog, you have leeway to write about whatever you want. You can compose a blog about whatever is on your mind. Your company blog needs focus. You have to make sure your customers and potential customers get value from it, and that means only writing about topics within your niche.
Don’t Get Too Political
Some companies want to take political stances. They might choose to write about something like:
A presidential electionA hot-button political topic
You’re playing with fire when you do that. If you take a political stance, you’re probably going to lose some customers. If you decide that you want to enter into such controversial territory, make sure that all the company’s decision makers agree to do it. You might flirt with bad publicity if you do this, and you could lose sponsorships, sour business relationships, lose sales, etc.
Don’t Criticize Any Employees
Your blog should be a place where you paint your company in a positive light. You might want to utilize it to talk about how useful your products or services are, what you do to help your community, some of your innovations, etc. You don’t ever want to criticize how the company operates or call out any particular employees you feel aren’t doing a good job. Your blog is not somewhere you try to settle scores. If your company made a mistake, you can apologize for it on the blog, but you need to do so tactfully. You can say the company made an error as a whole, but talk about it as a monolith. Don’t try to hold a particular employee or department responsible. You can handle that sort of thing internally, but don’t write about it where the public can see it.
Don’t Speak Ill of Your Industry Competitors
You likely have some industry competitors within your niche. No company exists in a vacuum, and other businesses probably do what you do or something similar to it. You might battle with these other companies in the marketplace. You compose ad campaigns to try to steal customers from them, and vice versa. However, while this is fair game, talking badly about them on your blog serves no purpose. You might not agree with some of their business practices, but your blog should be a place for positivity. You don’t need to declare war on another company there.
Don’t Talk About Religion or Other Controversial Topics
Much like politics, you don’t want to use the blog to talk about religion, controversial social issues, etc. If you do, once again, you’re probably going to lose customers. As a company, you might agree to take certain social stances, but once you do, you’re drawing a line in the sand. You must understand that some entities will not support you if you go this route. Your blog should highlight your business, products, services, your niche, and similar topics. When you get away from that, it can turn off potential clients, sponsors, and other would-be supporters.
Don’t Write About Poorly Researched Topics
If you’re going to talk about your industry, you need to sound authoritative. If you don’t, it sends the wrong signal. If you don’t know about your industry, potential customers might assume that you make your products poorly or your services are not worth the money. Only write about things you know about and back them up with data, scientific findings, or at least some personal anecdotes. This shows your clients they can trust you. Don’t spread any conspiracy theories or talk about unsubstantiated rumors. If you’re not sure you have this writing style down, you can always hire a copywriter or freelancer to handle your business’s blog writing. Just be sure to go over every blog before posting it to ensure it fits your company’s values and goals.
