Blogs have revolutionised that way public relations professionals talk about products, peoples, and campaigns, but are they really all they are cracked up to be?
The Pros
There are definite pros to having a blog, the first and foremost being that while refining and honing your writing skills, you get to write with passion about your subject. It’s also a great platform to show any partnership working by asking partners or affiliates to have a guest spot or even generate revenue from sponsored ad content.
Personally, the greatest benefit of having a blog is so that you become a voice of authority in your industry. Nothing builds trust quicker between businesses and consumers than an organisation that knows exactly what they are talking about. If you’re a public relations professional that represents clients in the beauty industry only, a blog allows you to talk about how awesome you are at representing this market; your campaigns, your ideas, what worked, and also what didn’t work. Any potential client will be blown away by how much you know your stuff.
The Cons
Blogs, however, aren’t the be-all and end-all. First of all, it’s time-consuming. Writing content, and I mean, really good content, takes time and practice, and if writing doesn’t come easy to you, then this makes it ten times harder.
You increase the chances of negative commentary – as with anything digital nowadays, there are haters everywhere, but that shouldn’t be the main reason you avoid writing a blog. It is definitely something you should be conscious of before you venture into blogging.
If you’re inconsistent with your posting, and if the content is really poor, you can actually end up putting people off your brand, which is the last thing you want.
Where To Start
If you definitely want to start a blog, and you think this is something that could enhance your reputation and brand as a PR professional, then The Blog Starter (a blog for new bloggers) has some really good ideas of where to start and how here. The Huffington Post also has some fantastic ideas on how to create engaging and influential blog posts.
I would also recommend that you do your research; have a look at what other bloggers in your field and industry are doing and saying, see what their comments are, and get some tips from this.
Third-Party Bloggers
If blogging directly isn’t for you, or if you don’t have the time or the resources that you need to create a really good blog, then you can always reach out to a third-party blogger and ask them to review your products or brands. You can do this by doing a basic google search, or even a twitter search. Flow has some incredible free resources and advice on how to reach out to bloggers if this is something you definitely feel like persuing. As with working with influencers, I really would recommend that you put in the research before you start working with a blogger. Blogging technology is incredible and can really define your brand at the same time as increasing your reputation, but in the hands of a poor blogger could have the opposite effect.
The Verdict
Go for it. If you’re a natural-born writer, as is the case with most PR and comms professionals, blogging is a great way of using technology that is free (in most cases) and if done right, can have a wide reach, and increase engagement with other businesses, clients and consumers. However, if you don’t have the time or resources, avoid, avoid, avoid. The last thing you want to do is create a blog with poorly thought through content and bad writing. Nothing is more of a turn-off to your customer base than a 350-word document rife with spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.
Alternatively, find a professional blogger to do it for you, but avoid the pitfalls. You can read my advice on working with influencers (same principles for working with bloggers) here.
