Comments on: Is ‘Slice of Life’ Content Appropriate for Business Blogs?

By: Richard Colin

Richard Colin — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 11:35:02 +0000

Create unique profiles for yourself and your business on OySite.com …. no other professional networking site lets you do that!

By: Jeff Paul Internet Business

Jeff Paul Internet Business — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 05:15:08 +0000

There are some amateur internet marketers that think about renting domain names for promoting their sites. Well honestly it’s a bad plan but it also can be a good business idea.

By: Gareth Cutter

Gareth Cutter — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:41:04 +0000

Thank you very much for your in-depth response, Paul! I’ve just come back from my Christmas holidays and the post was a great surprise, and a great help too.
Your point about the conflicting SEO values of personal vs. professional posts is especially pertinent. One way of avoiding getting too wrapped up in one side of the blog over another would be to write out its business objectives, as you’ve done at the beginning of your post, and weight the personal content appropriately. Defining a potential audience would be useful too: I try to put myself in their shoes and ask, ‘are they going to want to hear about this?’ It may sound obvious but I find it always helps to remind myself regularly.
Also, Spike, I just wanted to say I thought your post was a fascinating insight into the mind of a potential blog audience member; I really enjoyed it.
All in all, 2009 will have to be the year we get our B2B business blog really going.

By: Steven Woods

Steven Woods — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 17:19:13 +0000

You make a great point in your post Paul. I would say though that even in B2B, the personality is critical. If it wasn’t the world of B2B sales wouldn’t be oriented around field sales teams as much as it is. People buy from people they like, and whether that personality is expressed in a blog or face to face, it’s just as important, even in B2B.

By: Hendry Lee

Hendry Lee — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 13:47:03 +0000

What the readers want is interesting stories – not any story – so if office antique is suitable for your audience, or it aligns with the blog’s purpose well, then it’s okay.
Well, that’s just another way to tell that it depends on your goals.

By: Neil Anuskiewicz

Neil Anuskiewicz — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 13:06:02 +0000

One possibility is to relate something from life to a business problem or marketing idea. For example, someone at our company related his experiences with Aikido to marketing.
It is then a captivating “slice of life” story that includes useful content to the reader.
I was thinking of doing a blog post about scuba diving as a metaphor for life and business. I will tell the story of my first time scuba diving and how the basic lessons there apply to business and to life itself.

By: Eamon

Eamon — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 12:18:05 +0000

Depends who your audience is. Since time is scarce, and there is so much stuff to read on the web, I think blogs have to get down to saying something important / useful / interesting to the audience (unless it is a special section about: what it’s like to work here type-thing).

By: Paul Chaney

Paul Chaney — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 22:25:56 +0000

Thanks for the comments everyone. As Rohit says, you need to craft a story people can believe in and retell. I think that’s best done when some personality is added via ’slice of life’posts. It’s not a one-size-fits-all for every organization to be sure, but useful in most I would think.

By: Justin Levy

Justin Levy — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 15:22:10 +0000

I agree with you Paul. It certainly depends on the company but in general, I think it’s great to see the people that make the company. Another company that does this well is BlueSky Factory. Take a look at their staff page. Instead of being the same ole boring bios, they are fun. You get to know the individuals better.
This is one of the best business aspects of social media, in my opinion. You get to know the people behind the company which helps to develop trust, build relationships, diversify networks and link other customers together.

By: Peter Stewart

Peter Stewart — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 15:15:24 +0000

Culture of the company plays a huge role. It will give the broader guidelines as to what “fits” and would be considered okay. The blog will reflect the company personality to a great degree.
At my company, an Industrial PC outfit, everything is quite serious and impersonal, I wouldn’t see “slice of life” posts fitting in a company blog, if we had any.

By: Nick Stamoulis

Nick Stamoulis — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:55:46 +0000

I think it gives a slightly more intimate connection between the reader and the company. But def. I think it is also great for company branding.

By: Mary Flaherty

Mary Flaherty — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:45:56 +0000

I think you’re right on the mark here – objectives and balance are key. From the b2b perspective, trust is paramount and the company blog is one more way to build that trust, and reveal personality. As you say, less is more – or – all things in moderation. In the professional services sector, research shows that about 25% of buyers find providers via social media (blogs, podcasts, etc.) – so a well-executed blog can be a tremendous opportunity to build trust, reveal personality, and attract clients.

By: Anne Rogers

Anne Rogers — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:35:24 +0000

A lot of it boils down to customer expectations. If you’re a small company providing a niche product to large organisations, it might not be the best idea to blog about what your CEO had for lunch last Tuesday. Conversely, if you’re a large organisation a personal touch might be just the trick.
The key is always strategic alignment.

By: Spike Jones

Spike Jones — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:33:29 +0000

Nice post, Paul. And let me add my two cents, if I may.
We think showing the culture of your company – especially if you are a marketing company – is SUPER important. Because it shows you practice what you preach in many different ways.
People make up companies and brands – so why not show the people and an inside look (opening the kimono if you will)? I know when I go to a site, I look for faces. I look for people. I want to know about them.
People come to our company because they want to know what makes us tick. And it’s our people. If the place burns down, we still have a company, because we still have our people. And people connect with people. Without the human element you’re just another business blog. And god knows we don’t need another one of those.
We have a category on our blog that’s called “slice of life.” We have videos where we play pranks on each other. Show the HAKA chant we created for the Holiday party. We made the Tequila Shots book – which is an internal book of our beliefs – available to the public. We live and breathe Brains on Fire. And we know it’s important to communicate that when you hire us, you don’t hire a company. You hire people that believe whole-heartedly in what they do. So how we communicate that is very important to us.
It’s not for everyone, but as marketers, I think it’s imperative.

By: David Reich

David Reich — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:22:58 +0000

I agree with your take on this, Paul. It depends on the goals of a company blog. There are no hard and fast rules, so as long as it’s in good taste and somewhat relevant, then why not let a blog show some of the human side of an organization?