Linas Šimonis about Marketing Strategy for CEO

Consultant of Marketing Strategy

  • A Business Blog Should Always Look Like a Business Blog?

    Strategy is what defines a winner in the long term. All these web 2.0 techniques are only tactics. The new and important tactics therefore, but it can vary from business to business. When I say "every business should have a business blog" I do not mean that every business should have an internet site with blog software installed and posts appearing there. What I mean is the mentality of openness, strategy, leadership, stream of useful information. Personally delivered message of the strategy. The new web 2.0 technologies opened a very new way to reach buyers or prospects and it is foolish not to use this channel. But this can be achieved in different ways than a formal business blog. Yes, your business blog can look not exactly like a blog Sometimes conversation with customers can be a little bit different from "real" business blog. Nice example is Red Oxx, a… Read more >>

  • Is Howard Schultz Hired by Starbucks Competitors to Destroy the Starbucks?

    "We secretly have done blind taste tests in Starbucks stores and discovered that Starbucks expensive coffee tastes not better than instant coffee." I can imagine this experiment and campaign from Starbucks competitors. But it was Howard Schultz who sets-up a blind taste tests in Starbucks stores to prove that expensive Starbucks's coffee is not better than instant coffee. This is the dream of every Starbucks competitor. Instant coffee is the antithesis to Starbucks’s strategy The strategy of Starbucks is to be expensive Italian style coffeehouse. This is a wonderful strategy and it brings to Starbucks its fame. The essence of this strategy is to resist all cheap things in coffee. In customers mind, an instant coffee is cheap coffee. Customers think that it is lower quality than espresso and tastes not so good than "real" coffee. So, if Starbucks confesses that their coffee tastes the same or worse than instant… Read more >>

  • Social Media Professionals Are Needed!

    Recently David Meerman Scott wrote about the problem me and many managers and marketers are facing. In blog post entitled When marketing in the Netherlands you need to get Heeves, he pointed to a problem that in different countries there are different leaders in social media platforms. If you want to be successful in such country, you should know local habits very well. Social media professionals are needed! In my consulting practice I work with high-level managers, usually CEOs, on marketing strategy issues in web 2.0 age. Because I am from a small country I understand that if you want to reach broad audience in any non-US area, you should know local habits, preferences. And of course, local language. Yes, the local language, because not everyone in the world speaks English. Who can help understand local issues? Who can help represent companies in those countries? Obvious answer – local social… Read more >>

7 Things to Check Before Starting a Business Blog

In my consulting practice CEOs often have a fear to start a business blog.

That’s understandable.

We all have a fear of things which we don’t understand, we fear actions we don’t know how to do, where to start.

Business blogging is a new tool for managers, so they feel uncomfortable with this idea. They simply have too little information how to start, about how to run a business blog.

For those managers who want to start a business blog but are uncertain about their actions, there are top 7 things to do before starting a business blog. Let’s check them.

1. Decide what internet domain you will use. You have at least two choices – use your company’s domain (for example, www.yourcompany.com/blog) or register a different domain. Both have pros and cons.

You must have your own domain name, not free alternative from WordPress or Google or other provider. The address is your property and you should build business on your property, not others.

2. Decide whether it will be your solo blog or there will be occasional guests from your company. Mostly it depends on business of your company. Tom Peters does a nice job by letting his employees to post on his business blog.

3. Choose a publishing platform of your blog. I recommend WordPress, because it is powerful and free. Others also may be good and it can be OK to choose a different one, just check the possibility to create a blog on your own domain.

4. Find a blog coach and (if you feel a need) an editor. Most managers fear to start writing, so a good blog coach is welcome. Just find a person you are comfortable to discuss with, who doesn’t hesitate to say all the truth about your writing, who is a believer of your efforts.

5. Write down your blog topic in one sentence. If you are a founder, an owner, a CEO or General Manager – this must be the answer, why your customers must buy from you instead of competitors. If your sentence is different, double check it. Maybe your blog doesn’t fit your marketing strategy. More about it you can read in my e-book The New Rules of Business Blogs in the chapter about strategy.

6. Write the first post like a manifesto. Explain to early readers what they can expect to find here. Usually it is hard to decide with what topic to start and such manifesto often is the best solution.

7. Start to write not too perfect posts. You must start to write. Especially at the beginning, it is far better to write an average post than not to write any post at all. You must start practicing and not to worry about perfection. Perfection will come with your experience in blogging.

Bonus tip. Start reading a lot of other business blogs. Start leaving comments on other blogs. By reading you will better understand blogging and web 2.0 environment. By leaving comments you will shape your writing.

For most questions to be answered correctly I recommend to hire an experienced consultant of this area. Not a PR or worse – advertising agency, but a consultant who specializes in business blogging. You will save a lot of money if you avoid mistakes in this process. I am not saying that your company depends on it, but frequently there is a big stake and better to have a pro on your side. Trust me, it pays off.

In future I will post Top 7 flaws of business blogs and Top 7 improper excuses for not having a business blog. If you don’t want to miss them, subscribe to this blog.

Have any more tips? Leave them in the comment section!

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Linas Šimonis about Marketing Strategy for CEO