Guest Blogger: Kevin Clerkin 

Kevin is a graduate from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a focus in PR/Journalism. He has been blogging about sports for two years. Here is his take on business blogging: 

After visiting the office last night, Henry, Charlie and I began roominating about the benefits of guest bloggers. Whether or not I was the guest they were looking for, guest bloggers provide a different point of view and a change of pace for readers. The writing style and opinions of the original blogger often become predictable and stale, even if the content they are providing is unique.

But let’s take a step back from guest bloggers. What is the purpose of creating a blog for your business, and what type of content should your blog provide?

To make this clear: A business blog is not meant to be the diary of your company. Consumers are not interested in the day the janitor locked Suite D of the office, sending the secretary home for the day.

A business blog is designed to build a community for the company. In this community, the company has the chance to showcase their expertise and knowledge of the product or service they offer. The consumer, which used to be the faceless anonymous, has the chance to communicate and force the company to be more accountable.

If there is one thing I have learned through my experiences with blogging, it’s that bloggers and their readers are extremely passionate. In a world where we fast forward commercials, rely on 140 characters for information, and say “they call this fast food?” if more than three minutes are spent at a drive-thru, a person that takes the time to read and comment thoughtfully on a blog is clearly passionate about the material. Yes, more passionate than the Dallas Cowboys of the 1990’s. (Sorry Charlie)

Unlike the Cowboys locker room, blogging has become a safe haven for consumers who can no longer be persuaded by formal marketing. Blogging is a form of double-loop marketing, where marketing must be people and knowledge driven rather than product driven. As consumers talk and hype a product a service, it builds a “mind share.” Once the “mind share” is created, it is easier to convert it into “wallet share.”

Look at it this way, first community and then commerce. And yes, it can happen overnight as the community spreads from person to person with more viral quality.

For instance, I’m a religious follower of woot.com/blog. Woot was created to sell an array of products at a cheaper price. Recently they sold their 1,000,000th item, and they use absolutely no advertising besides their blog.

Let me give you another example that demonstrates the power of blogs− but in a much different way.

The bike lock company Kryptonite had a blog on its website and one consumer posted a video of him being able to pick the lock with a simple bic pen. When other consumers saw the video, of course they had to try too, and overnight Kryptonite was committing suicide by blog. Before fixing the problem, over 1.8 million consumers had seen the posting and Kryptonite had lost $40 million of its annual revenue. 

What do you think about blogging for business?