This is not a plea for another remake of the adaptation of the battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C. of King Leonidas against the Persians. It’s a response to the many business leaders and entrepreneurs who have asked me about blogging. It’s a social experiment to help YOU get your voice heard.
Creating thought leadership, Intellectual Property and getting the voice of your organization heard is not easy. First write down your ideas. It doesn't matter how you do it; paper, text editor, blog, start writing it 140 characters at a time. Organize and format once you have your topic and outline. This is often the hardest step for most people. I know it was and still is for me. You have great thoughts but never set them down. Blogs and other online forums lower
that particular barrier to entry.
Today, business leaders are bombarded with offers of white papers, flashy emails or glossy materials, and webinars; more content then they have time to read, let alone digest and understand. They would need to take a holiday to get through it all. That’s not to say it isn’t important to have them, indeed they are what Gartner calls “table stakes” the very basic material to be a player in any Services or Product industry. You must be prepared to develop materials based on the impactful and relevant work each of you does every day.
The challenge I am about to lay out is about creating a dialogue, one that your partners or clients can read, easily access and create a subtle call to action
. It will be the voice of the value added parts of your business. I am suggesting you start creating blog entries that will eventually be posted on your website or in response to other postings. These are sales and marketing tools that differentiate you and drive client conversation. Imagine two websites, one that says, “We sell air conditioners” and another that says “Four steps to keeping your new Brand X A/C in top condition.” Which site are you going to click on?
How many people are in your company? One? Ten? Ten Thousand? If every team member writes one blog entry, once a week (less often as the number of writers goes up), you will change the game. I am asking each of you for… 300 words
. Nothing more. You can write about any development related topic. Make it as broad or specific as you like. Write about:
- “Four Things To Know When Preparing Quarterly Taxes”
- “Six Tips For Java Garbage Collection Tuning”
- “Why Big Data Is Now Big Business”
- “Two Reasons Why You Don’t Need A Marketing Plan”
The topics are bounded only by your passion
.
From there you will create buzz, “Google-relevance” and client mind share. It will be something clients and partners can read on their smartphones or during a coffee break. You will capture their thoughts and demonstrate passion in a way that traditional means cannot. LinkedIn
is arguably the de facto social media platform for serious business professionals. This is the forum to get started.
Participate and help develop your conversation. Write to me and I will help you to grow your voice. If you're already an active blogger, join in and help.
Thank you for reading. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Best,
Lawrence
This blog is 572 words :)
