A lot of companies have heard about that blogging might be another way to reach their customers. We are getting emails asking us how it is done, which we try to answer. But making an RSS-feed from your site only works if you have something worth linking to. If you don’t, then all the goodwill in the world won’t buy you any links.

We thought it was a worthwhile exercise to put together an FAQ to help business people who were interested in blogging make a decision.

What can a blog do for me?

In simple terms, a blog can give your business a human face. In Siberia, Robert Scoble is the face of Microsoft. Large, faceless corporations like Shell suffer from being perceived as devoid of social conscience. No one is going to find out about the work they are doing to protect whales in Sakhalin – unless someone follows this link. Shell don’t have a blog, and it may well be that they should. A blog lets a corporation engage with an issue in a personal, responsive way, avoiding the standard PR lines.

But do I have anything to say?

If the answer is yes, then you might start by deciding what you are going to do. A regular diary on the industry, complete with useful links, is a good place to start. You might then want to use the blog as the place to address corporate issues. Customer service, product quality, recalls. Be frank about what goes wrong, when it does go wrong, and offer to address it. Use the blog to canvass people on new ideas and initiatives. You will be surprised at the response.

Who should write this blog?

Ideally the blog should be written by the most senior person you can find to take on the responsibility. Ask around the board to see who everyone talks to when they want to find out industry news. Get that person to do it.

Corporate blogs can be written by more than one person, but it is often better to make the blog a “column” signed by one person in particular. It can then be useful to ensure that the blog writer has a degree of freedom to express personal views.

What is suitable for inclusion in the blog?

Anything and everything that effects your business and your customers. As long as you avoid commercially-sensitive information, libel and obscenity, say what’s on your mind.

Help! I am not a good writer. How do I get my views into a blog?

First: you don’t have to be such a great writer. As long as you can put a sentence together and describe what is going through your head, you can hold your own in the blogosphere. If you are really worried by your lack of literary skills, then you can employ a PR agency to lend you a writer to work with. It doesn’t have to cost you a lot.

How do I get started?

Go here for example. You don’t need internal IT resource.