Blogs – Day 4 – Best Uses of a Blog

Week 1: Blogs: Day 4

Did you create your first post?  That’s a great first step.  But there is a good chance NO ONE WILL READ IT!  Yes, it is true.  And that is to be expected.  We will talk tomorrow about how to be noticed by others without being obnoxious.  But don’t worry about that for now.

We have talked about how you might use blogs outside and inside of work.  Let’s talk more in more detail about the latter: how it can be used with your organization.

• CEOs / Heads of Organizations or Departments: Yes, people care what you have to say.  So say it.  It takes time, to be sure.  But the communication is worth it!  Let those you lead understand where your mind is at and why.  Be ready for the trust factor to increase.
• Project Leads: Trying to keep everyone on task for large teams is difficult.  The once a week phone teleconferences and the weekly email updates which get fractured into multiple conversations just don’t cut it.  Use a blog to get info out as it happens and keep everyone up to date on the progress.
• Learning: There are a ton of blogs in my field.  Guess what?  There are a ton in your field, as well!  And when I go through these blogs I learn.  Every day I take a certain chunk of time and make sure I am up to date on the latest happenings.  With all that information out there you could spend all day reading and learning.  Use common sense.  Find the balance that is right for you.  Remember that learning happens through writing and through receiving feedback, too.
• Internal Communication: What’s Happening at XXXX? (insert your company/agency’s name).  How many emails do you get from I.T. or Security, or…?  How many of those go either unread or in the junk folder?  Some organizations are inundated with information they could care less about.  Create a blog for each topic and allow your employees opt-in. “But if it is important they won’t get the information!” That is already happening.  If you put the optional things in blogs and make emails only emergency type communication, the employees will be much more likely to read them.
• Replace Emails: Not always will blogs replace emails, but they often can.  The switch may take some time.  For a while you may need to email the link to the latest post until people get used to it and until they set up an RSS feed (explained next week).
• As a Commenter: Not only write blogs and read them, but comment!  Agree?  Disagree?  Have more information or resources you can share?  Add it!  Don’t hold back your knowledge – someone else is sure to need it.

As always, be professional.  When you post or comment, people will know who you are.  Just like you do in real life, make a good name for yourself – create trust by providing good information.

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TO DO – Get familiar with  your blog’s Dashboard (Difficulty Level: Easy – Time: 15 minutes)

1) Do you have any more ways to use a blog (there are many).  Add them to the comments below.

2) Login to your blogs dashboard and start clicking through the options on the left (if you are using WordPress).  There are MANY options/settings you can adjust in your blog.  Explore those and find out how to better ‘tune’ your blog.