Let’s face it. Blogging is the newest “it” thing for companies to do. You’re not part of the cool kid club if you don’t have one.  But do companies really HAVE to blog? As a consumer, we’ve already got brands rushing at us from every direction asking to be a permanent part of our daily lives (yes, I do work in advertising, I swear).

I believe that if a company really thinks they have something to bring to the blogosphere table, then they should definitely go forward with their plans.  Blogs are a great way to connect and interact with their customers at an individual and personal level which can in turn enhance your brand’s credibility and visibility.

But if you’re going to do it, then do it right. Here are four major questions that companies should ask themselves – and I mean really ask themselves – before starting their blog:

1. Do we have a voice? As BL Ochman states in her What’s Next blog post “If you sound like a corporate drone, nobody will read your blog.” I understand that organizations must relay a certain message, but if there’s no room for color and staying in the lines, then I’ll just watch your commercial when it comes on TV.
2. Are we willing to listen? Although bloggers can choose to censor or disable comments on their posts, this defeats the purpose of having a blog. The main purpose of a blog is to have a direct conversation with your consumer. If you’re not willing to spend more time listening and reacting to what they have to say about your messages, then maybe you should stick to one-way advertising and make more commercials.
3. Do we have time for this? Coming up with a voice takes time and resources.  And at a company level, it takes professionalism.  A company should make sure it has blogging experts on hand, don’t just hand it off to the interns. Blogs need a staff that is dedicated to reading over submissions, editing, researching, reading other blogs, etc.
4. Are we willing to put in the money for our blog? There are companies that think blogs are free. In order to have a solid blog, a company needs to be willing to spend some cash. Blogs require programmers for set up, graphic designers to make it a part of the corporate identity, copywriters with experience in web writing, and editors (preferably with knowledge on reputation management) to manage it all.

If you answered yes to all these, then you’re ready to start a blog!

Here are some resources for your new journey:

• Nine Great Reasons Your Company Should Blog
• Does Your Company Belong in the Blogosphere?
• 50 Ways to Take Your Blog to the Next Level

Thank you to Hugh MacLeod for the image. You can learn more about Hugh here.

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