To Blog or Not to Blog? This is the Question!

Hi, I’m Ori Netzer and I believe in blogging.

Two years ago when I joined SQream Technologies, we had a vision of how to shape our social marketing strategy. We started light – beginning with Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. It was only during this year that we felt mature enough to take the leap and start blogging.  Now I understand that blogging is a must! And honestly, it’s actually fun… Let me tell you why every startup should have a blog.

SQream’s blog has been up and running for nearly a year now. During this time, I got many of the people in the company involved in writing this blog. Not just the marketing team, but also our technical and management staff – people who don’t normally feel comfortable writing posts, not to mention publishing them.

If you are familiar with startups and the pace they work in, you’d know that none of these contributors have any spare time for sitting and writing a post. And yet, we took this on as a company project. Here is why…

Community – We don’t work in an empty space. Startups need interaction with clients, suppliers, investors and even with competitors. One of the first hurdles of a new startup is getting people to know the company and to create a buzz around it. In other words, a startup needs industry interaction. It needs a community in which to spread the word. By creating a blog, we are engaging our counterparts and clients by sharing thoughts, ideas and tips. We build and strengthen our community.

Giving – A blog is also about giving. You offer your thoughts, you share your experiences and you let others benefit from your day-to-day struggles and successes. Through content sharing, we add value to the community. We also add value to the startup itself, making it personal, authentic and genuine.

Thought Leadership – Of course, this all starts with offering substantive content. A blog is a great platform for sharing meaningful ideas and experiences in more than just 142 characters. It allows you to develop your arguments, provide examples and even open thoughts up for discussion. You establish brand awareness as a thought leader in your industry.

Blogging – some things we learned along the way:

1. Start by making this project a joint venture involving your entire team. Let everyone share the spotlight. This way, you give credit to all those involved and your content has more substance and diversity.

2. Editing and styling. Even as a joint venture, you need someone to spearhead the project. There needs to be a certain consistency to the posts. A similar style creates brand identity.

3. Use the blog to establish cooperation with other bloggers. This is about expanding your community. It also gives you the opportunity to enrich your content and gain more exposure.

Hope this post has inspired you to write… now spare a moment and share your thoughts with us, leave your comment below!

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