5 Common Misconceptions about Business Blogging

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For social media strategists, breaking down common blogging myths has become a daily task. In a world going social, there are bound to be hold-outs and stragglers who fail to see the big picture of this digital age. And who can blame them? When you begin talking social media and blogging, you are talking about the infinite, that proverbial blogosphere encompassing millions of users that exists somewhere just beyond reach.

And this concept of the infinity scares people.

Tremendously.

To combat the underwhelming insistence that business blogging simply doesn’t work, we have compliled a list of common blogging misconceptions that will help disassemble the social barrier your company may have prematurely constructed.

Misconception #1: The Kevin Costner

The phrase “If you build it they will come” was made famous in the Kevin Costner film, The Field of Dreams. However, this concept does not apply when taken from a blogging perspective. Bloggers around the world agree that you cannot rest on your laurels. Just because you are a guru in your given field does not mean that your success will translate into digital dollars or blogging bucks. You must be proactive in your marketing approach by making your content easily shareable. Give your audience content that will benefit them, and make them feel that you are an integral, valuable asset to their social life. Posting a blog and waiting for a response is a meager attempt. You have to work for responses through social media outreach. Visit blogging boards and start conversations with influential bloggers who are willing to collaborate or cross-promote. After all, a blog is only an idea sleeping on electronic parchment. You must wake it up, scream it into existence if you have to because social media success is rewarded to the perspiring bunch who are willing to work up a sweat to earn a following.

Misconception #2: Bloggers are Allergic to Monetization

Feel like your followers are more inclined to sneeze on your content that buy into it? Chances are you are not alone. But the fact that the consumer market is not connecting with your social media presence if more likely a bi-product of your inability to pen an authentic story. Again, most business people looking to invest in social media ask the same question: how can I profit from all of this? The answer is that social media profit does not come overnight. Blogging is about longevity, about sustaining your brand and blogging voice over lengthy periods of time. Only then can authentic trust be generated with your following. And trust is absolutely vital when trying to monetize your social media efforts. Because people like a brand they can recognize, a brand that is active and established, trustworthy and unique. Before they give you their credit card, they want to make sure they are investing in something real, not some off-product in a country they have never heard of. Don’t be an island in the middle of nowhere. Put yourself on the blogging map.

Misconception #3: Sunday, Monday Happy Days!

Indeed, I just quoted the theme song from Happy Days; my childhood baby-sitter would be proud. Joking aside, I am going somewhere with this. Another myth of blogging is that you have to blog every single day; that successful blogging means “Sunday, Monday, Happy Day! Tuesday, Wednesday, Happy Day!” This could not be further from the truth. In creating content for your blog, you must think quality over quantity. As a writer, there are times when I feel like I am forcing myself into creativity. The end result is marginal, lackluster writing. The same can be said for blogging. If you find your daily output of information is suffering due to time constraints, stop what you are doing, immediately. It’s not about cranking out content, it’s about filling your social media bucket with quality minerals required to sustain digital life. Cultivate your content, let it simmer itself into a boil and whack away the weedy, forced material threatening to tangle you into submission.

Misconception #4: Privacy, Please

We live in a guarded society, plain and simple. The days of answering the door when the doorbell rings or becoming friendly with your neighbors are over. Communities constantly peek through the blinds, waiting to call the police on some invisible intruder tormenting the front lawn. Same goes with blogging. Most companies are concerned over being hacked, or that the blogging world is filled with a bunch of content looting bandits capable of stealing the company identity in a matter of seconds. While there are certainly inexperienced and harmful bloggers out there, you cannot be afraid to commit yourself to social media based on the fear of potential threats. Today’s internet users have insatiable hunger. They thirst for recent updates and insider information. To deny them of this is a social media death sentence, to be sure.

Misconception #5: We Care What You Eat

Due to Facebook, status sharing and blogs are incorrectly summed up in tweets and posts like “I love this hot dog I am eating,” or “…on the couch watching Survivor!” People have become too social with their personal lives, and professional bogging is suffering for it. If you have a company social media presence, try not to post trivial content that has no relevancy to your following. Where is the value in posting about what you had for lunch when you can be delivering intriguing, original content instead? Focus on what your following wants to hear, and restrain from putting too much of yourself into posts and tweets.