For years I’ve been recommending blogging to my job-seeking c-suite and senior-level executive clients, to help them become highly visible, build credibility as industry thought leaders, and showcase their unique value to target employers (i.e., their personal brand).
I’ve blogged about blogging many times, comparing the way it impacts my own business marketing efforts to the way it will benefit job seekers’ personal and career marketing.
In fact, if you’re at the top executive level, you should be blogging in some way – whether on your own blog . . . or guest blogging/article writing . . . or commenting on blogs your target employers’ hiring decision makers are reading.
The wider your visibility online, the more likely you are to be found by executive recruiters and hiring decision makers sourcing and assessing talent through social recruiting.
Among the many benefits of blogging, one stands out for me.
Blogging, if done well, makes you smarter, thus an even more valuable potential asset to the companies and organizations you’re targeting.
Through my own 6+ years of blogging, I’ve learned so much more about my areas of expertise than I ever could have without blogging.
To keep my content fresh and interesting, I’ve been forced to research and learn about industry leaders, better ways to use social media, and new methods and strategies to help my clients better position themselves as good-fit candidates.
I’ve become smarter about executive job search, personal branding, online visibility, social media, networking, and so much more.
Likewise, job seekers who blog well become smarter about their target employers and their industries, and are better prepared to speak intelligently about these things when they network and interview.
Writing about things new to me makes the blogging experience ever-energizing and pleasurable. At any given time, I have about a dozen ideas for new posts I can’t wait to find the time to write.
Some tips to blog well:
→ Write about a wide range of topics relevant to your industry and areas of expertise. In this way, you’ll be using plenty of the keyword phrases people Google to find information and job candidates.
→ Blog (or guest blog, or comment on blogs) regularly. The more times you post something, the more web pages you’ll be creating, bumping up the number of search results for “your name”.
→ Make a habit of blogging about your target employers, and their leaders, products and services. They probably have Google Alerts set up for these names and terms and will be led to your posts.
→ Set up your own Google Alerts for the same names and keywords relevant to your target employers, plus your other relevant keyword phrases. See what other people are writing about these things.
→ Write posts that spotlight other bloggers in your niche, with links to their sites.
→ For further reach, integrate your blog posts on your social networks– LinkedIn updates, LinkedIn Groups, Twitter, Google+, Facebook, etc. If you’re not active on any of them, this is a good reason to start.
→ Research indicates that fewer, pithy blog posts have greater impact with readers and search engines, than more frequent, short blasts. Take time to craft meaningful posts.
→ Create a blogging strategy you can realistically manage. Even a few times a month will be of great benefit.
→ It’s okay (even advisable) to also blog about non-relevant topics from time to time. Write about your passions away from work – the things you can’t wait to get out of bed to do. These all reinforce your personal brand.
→ Keep up with the latest trends in search engine optimization (SEO), to keep your blogsite seo-friendly and more visible.
© Copyright, 2013, Meg Guiseppi. All rights reserved. The content in this post, and elsewhere on this site, may not be reproduced, republished, reprinted or distributed without written permission.
Related posts:
Online Presence and Personal Brand Management: 5 Things to Remember
Best of Blogging Your Personal Brand for C-level Executive Jobs
One of My Favorite Blogging Strategies
photo by Sean MacEntee
