Don’t let that headline put you off – I’m not trying to be a poor man’s poet. I’m still at the ‘Cat sat on the mat’ stage anyway when it comes to trying my hand at poetry!

I am concerned, though, that too many small and medium sized companies are still not using their blogs effectively. This concern springs out of a successful seminar Rob and I delivered recently to a group of creative-industry companies in Wigan.

We invited them all, mid-way through the session, to write a ‘mini-blog’ about their company. Out of a group of a dozen or so business owners, only one person wrote what could be described as a true blog. All the others merely saw it as an opportunity for an advert (not always written very well) for their company or their products.

Please, please, please – a blog is NOT an advert.

We now live in a networked society – the world-wide web and mobile devices (not mere phones anymore) ensure we are connected pretty much 24/7.

Which means that business, and by that I mean effective business, is part of an ongoing conversation. Blogs are an important element in that conversation – whether with new or prospective clients.

Blogs can be provocative, entertaining, informative, critical or laudatory but above all they should be engaging. Blogs should convey much of your character and that of your company. But blogs are not advertisements.

An effective blog will raise your profile. It will help stimulate new business and retain existing customers. It can also prompt important feedback about your company.

So don’t just blog because you feel it’s the current thing to do because everyone else is doing it. Get in the habit of blogging regularly and effectively. And if you need any help in cutting through the ‘blog fog’ – then don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Steve Ireland