mike barzacchini communication

Bring Your Business Blog Back to Life

Is business blogging dead? Not likely. But your own blog may be on life support if you aren't keeping content fresh and relevant. Here are some tips to keep your blog off of the endangered list...

Do you blog local?

Blogs now clog the World Wide Web. According to Wikipedia, "In May 2007, blog search engine Technorati was tracking more than 71 million blogs." Chances are your neighbor blogs, your coworker blogs and even your dog probably blogs.

So why should you consider starting a blog for your small business or local non-profit organization?

Because targeted tightly and written well, a blog can provide a strategic and effective way for you to dialogue with your customers (call it a "dia-blog"), while building awareness of and interest in your product or services.

Here's the other reason for starting your local blog: While it can be a complex endeavor to keep your Web site stocked with fresh content, there are a variety of easy-to-use blog publishing tools available, many at a low or no cost.

If you already have a Web site, your regularly updated blog can give your Web visitors a reason to keep coming back. And if you've been too busy to get on the Web, a blog provides an easy, low-cost entry to the Internet for your business.

Here are three keys to success for your local blog:

1. Choose a narrow topic. Don't blog about anything and everything. If you own a fine-dining restaurant, you may choose to publish a "chef's blog," allowing your customers an exclusive peek into your secret kitchen. Or your wine steward may blog about new and intriguing additions to your list or your latest wine pairings.
2. Blog about something your customers care about. Your high school academy may publish a blog with regular tips on preparing parents to work with their students on making the best college decision or providing practical tips to help them apply for financial aid and scholarships.
3. Update your content regularly. While no one expects you to blog every day -- hey you have a business to run, after all -- you should plan to update your blog two to three times each week. You may even want to let your audience know when to expect fresh content, for example, "This blog is updated every Tuesday and Thursday." Even twice-weekly updates can take time and attention. You may want to enlist someone in your organization to help you keep your blog content fresh, or work with a service like mine.

So don't think about starting a blog to reach the wide world of the Web. Instead, blog local to reach your best customers and more like them.

Stay tuned for more information about developing your friendly neighborhood blog, including how to make sure people read what you blog.  In the meantime, contact me if I can help you get your blog launched or assist you with any other communication projects.

Why the dinosaurs became extinct.

1. They refused to serve the customer first.
2. They would not work and play as a team.
3. They believed winning was everything and did not know what to do when
4. they lost.
5. They thought "quality" was just a word.
6. Change frightened them.
7. They refused to recycle and reuse.
8. They didn't keep their rooms clean.
9. They blamed others for their mistakes and shortcomings.
10. They never learned to control their anger.
11. They talked more than they listened.

Are you prepared to succeed where the dinosaurs failed?

Find balance. Practice deep listening. Identify your goals. Leverage your efforts. Take brand action.

(c) 2007 mike barzacchini

Define your organization

Ask sixteen simple questions and you and your organization can prepare to take brand action.

What's brand action? It's a path toward helping you stand out among your competitors.

Question 1: How would you define your organization? Its mission? Its purpose?

Think about how much time we spend engaged in activity to grow our business and serve our customers. How often do we ask the bigger questions along the way:

• What's our purpose?
• Are our efforts aligned with our goals?
• How do we impede our progress, or in other words, how do we get in our own way?
• What part of our enterprise can we suspend, shed, stop doing that will make us better able to compete and thrive?

Answering  these questions helps you distinguished between motion -- doing what you did today because it's what you did yesterday -- and action, or purposeful progress.

Start asking the questions. Get ready to take brand action. Prepare to be remarkable.

16 Questions to Focus Your Brand Communication: Introduction

You're a small business owner wondering how your product or service is viewed compared to your competitors.

Or, you're a marketing director and your chief executive has just charged you with more clearly and effectively communicating your organization's brand (of course, without increasing your budget).

Where do you start?

    •     Change your Web site?
    •     Design a new sales brochure?
    •     Fire your ad agency?
    •      Write a press release?

These are common reactions. But the key to success is not to react, but instead to "take brand action(sm)." And it all starts with asking the right questions. The right 16 questions to be exact.

By asking yourself these questions or by interviewing the key people in your organization and fully listening, you can begin to thoughtfully frame your brand communication action plan.

Next: Question #1, How would you define your organization?

©2006 Mike Barzacchini Communication