So you’re a manufacturer taking the plunge into business blogging? Congratulations, you’ve taken on a task many are afraid to tackle.
It’s not easy to develop a solid business blog from the ground up, but it is valuable – in fact, businesses who don’t have a blog are now in the minority according to Forbes, who also reports that more than a quarter of businesses now rate their blogs as “critical” to their bottom line.
Of course, there is a big difference between “having a blog” and leveraging that blog to do what it is meant to do—engage with your target audience.
So where do you start?
Feed the Beast
One of the most shocking things about starting a blog is the sheer amount of content it takes to keep the thing fed. If you want to do it right, you’ll need a near-constant supply of fresh content.
You can certainly hire someone to handle this work. However, there may be another option. Why not enlist the employees within your organization to help you feed the content beast?
Whether they know it or not, every employee can provide value to your organization’s content strategy – from floor workers to engineers, all the way up to the C-Suite.
Here’s just a few of the many reasons to give this idea a chance:
You’ll Create More Content
Perhaps it goes without saying, but the one thing roping your employees into your content strategy will most definitely accomplish is that you will have a steady supply of fresh content.
When it comes to feeding the beast, there is simply no substitute for raw numbers. 15 employees writing one blog a month can almost double the output of one professional writer writing two blogs per week. So, why not use the professionals for editing and polishing and let the men and women who are already experts in their field help you with the heavy lifting.
You’ll Engage Your Employees
Many leaders struggle to engage with some of their employees. Often that’s because these workers are having trouble understanding the organization’s goals—or perhaps more importantly how they fit in.
Assigning writing projects to these employees not only shows that you trust them, it gives them additional responsibility and a sense of ownership. If they are a quality employee, they will likely take these projects very seriously. Meanwhile, you are getting fresh content; and if they make a mistake remember, it’s not the end of the world—after all, blog posts can always be edited.
You’ll Promote Honesty & Transparency
Give your employees a voice and you might be surprised what they say. Perhaps there are some issues with your company (or even your industry) that you had not considered until you read the words of one of your trusted workers? Or, maybe someone puts something in writing about your company culture that you would like to see changed.
Allow your employees the freedom to think and write freely and not only will you feed your blog, you’ll find brave employees who are willing and able to speak truth to power. These kinds of employees are a valuable commodity to any smart leader.
At the end of the day, there are many excellent reasons to enlist your employees as allies in your content strategy and very few drawbacks. Give it a try; you’ll likely end up with better employee engagement, a renewed sense of honesty in your shop and of course, a healthy supply of content for your soon-to-be-must-read company blog.
