Business Blogging – All About You?

According to David Meerman Scott, blogging at webinknow.com, one of the top five corporate blogging mistakes is failing to realize the importance of the "About" page. David finds that more than half the blogs he looks at for the first time lack a well-crafted place on their blogsite to tell the world who they are, what they're blogging about, and what their company does.  "If you care enough to blog," Meerman concludes, "you should care about letting people know who you are."

One way to do just that is to post photos as well as text, WebInkNow goes on to say.  I agree, especially since, as I explained in  a former blog post of mine (see "In Blogs, 350 Words Are Worth One Picture"), scientific research shows that when our brains deal with a combination of words and pictures, more neurons fire, and we pay more attention to the information. You might post photos not only of yourself, I might add, but of your storefront, employees, or signature products.  The idea is that, as people get to know your company better – and seeing is believing – they are more likely to engage.

There were a couple of comments posted on Meerman Scott's blog I found interesting.  One reader pointed out that, since most companies already have an "About" page on their main website, the blog "About" page doesn't need to be as intense. A second comment brings up a point I often emphasize in these Say It For You blog posts, saying that many companies maintain a "build it and they will come" perspective when it comes to blogging.  But what matters in blogging is whether or not they'll stay!

Remember that, as the Concept Company blog puts it, "We've become a society of scanners". When searchers arrive at your company blog (your fresh, relevant content, using key words and phrases helped you "get found", they need confirmation – and quickly – that they've come to the right place to get the information, products, and services they were looking for.

In a way, I think David Meerman Scott's right on target in recommending that a business blog have a well-crafted "About" section.  But I'd want to add that the blog isn't truly meant to be all about you and your company – it's meant to be about those searchers who need what you do, what you have, and what you know.  It's really all about THEM!