Be Intimate With Your Blog Readers

In a previous life, I used to be on the road for a few days each year. For one week each month, my routine was turned upside down, my commute took me to the airport instead of the office, and then my job was to talk with potential customers face-to-face instead of over the phone and email. I flew all over the country, on every airline, and it only took a few months of this routine for me to fall in love with Southwest Airlines. Compared to all the other airlines I flew, Southwest just seemed to fit my style. So, I did the most logical thing to do when you fall in love with a brand, I followed them wherever I could find them - their blog, their Facebook page, and their Twitter account.

Now, part of my routine includes waiting for Friday to roll around. Sure, I’m excited about the beer fridge getting stocked, and a live taping of HubSpot TV, and the weekend being just within grasp. But what really excites me about Friday is the latest post from Southwest’s Brian Lusk, as part of a series he runs called “Flashback Fridays”. Brian’s primary role is being the Manager of Online Relationships & Special Projects, but every Friday, he dives into the vast archives of Southwest’s history, finds an interesting story, and shares it on the Southwest blog.

These posts don’t talk about new fare specials, or push their latest messaging on their baggage program. These posts show an intimate and personal side to their company. Brian is sharing stories that the average person would never hear about. He’s rewarding his readers with these nuggets of history.

You can be doing this very same thing with your blog, and here’s how.

1. Recount Your Best Stories - If you look around, you’ll probably notice you have some great stories to tell. Maybe its the tale of that customer or prospect that got away, and how it caused change within your company. Or maybe its the story about why you formed the company or came to work there. Or maybe, just maybe, you have a backlog of stories from your customers being successful because of you and your company.

Go forth, write, and share these stories.

2. Interview a Coworker - We’re all unique snowflakes, so why not use this opportunity to talk with one of your coworkers and learn a little more about their background and story that got them to the point where they are one of your coworkers. After a 30 minute interview, you’ll probably have enough for a story or two to put up on the blog. Bonus points if you get your coworker to share something they have a strong opinion about in the industry, and are able to chain the threads from this interview into multiple blog posts.

3. Take Your Readers into the Back Room - You don’t have to give away corporate secrets to have a great “behind the scenes” blog post. All you have to do is show your readers something that wouldn’t normally see (and something you probably take for granted). Give them the factory tour (and bonus points if you do it via video to post on YouTube) and show them how the stuff they’ve been buying from you gets made. People love learning about this transformative process. On the surface, this is easy for a manufacturer, but can be done regardless of your business. Do you sell software or provide professional services? Put together a “developer’s diary” with some of your key employees to share insights into your vision of the industry.

What are some of the ways that you’ve used your blog to get intimate with your customers?

Photo Credit: René Ehrhardt

Posted by Chris Haddad on Thu, Nov 18, 2010 @ 07:00 AM