To Share or Not To Share: Your Opinions and Professional Blogs

To Share or Not To Share: Your Opinions and Professional Blogs

Regular blogging should be an essential part of your website content marketing and SEO strategy

But an essential part of blogging is often sharing personal opinions of ideas, which may seem counterintuitive or against the grain. As a professional, you may sometimes wonder just how much of yourself you should share on your blog. Is there a place for opinions in content that's designed to drive business?

The short answer is yes. The long answer is yes, but carefully.

While the main reason for having a professional blog is definitely to reap the SEO benefits, there are lots of added benefits to having a blog—including letting potential customers or clients get to know who you and your company are, and give them insight into what working with you might be like.

By sharing your opinion on a subject, you can help clients determine whether or not they’re aligned with you, while demonstrating your authority and knowledge within your field. However, if you’re going to wade into editorializing, it’s best to do it with a few guidelines in mind.

Four key tips for sharing opinions on your blog:

• Stick with debate rules. Were you ever a member of the Debate Club in school? If not, what you need to know is that the rules are pretty simple and they ensure the dialog stays civil. That means no name-calling, avoid generalizations, and always do your research. If you express an opinion on your blog, be prepared to back up why you feel that way—and be polite about it.
   
• Keep it relevant. Your political views or standing on social issues may be good conversation topics with like-minded friends, but for a professional blog, it’s best to stick with sharing your opinions about subjects related to your field. Staying on topic will not only help build content that’s more pertinent to search engines, it’ll also allow your clients to get to know more about your business.
   
• Be transparent. If your opinion is formed by a relationship, an experience, or an affiliation, share it! Maybe you prefer a certain brand because you had great customer service, or because your spouse works closely with them—if you’ve got a reason, it’s a good thing to disclose it.
   
• Offer further reading on the subject. You want to demonstrate your knowledge of the field or interest in a subject with an opinion post—which means it’s a good idea to share how you came to those conclusions with those who may not be as well-informed. Maybe you’re a legal professional and have a particularly informed stance on a new law that’s being passed, and you read an especially good post about it. If that’s the case, be sure to link out and share that resource! Not only does this lend credence to your argument, it also helps drive search traffic!

There is one word of caution when it comes to sharing your opinion: Know that potential clients (or existing ones) may not always agree, and that that can sometimes cause for uncomfortable situations.

This is why it’s a good idea to steer clear of more contentious issues (like, say, politics) and stick with giving opinions about services, industry matters, and things you’d feel comfortable discussing in your office with a new customer.

That said, just because it’s a personal opinion doesn’t mean it’s off-limits on your professional blog. If it’s related and relevant to the work you do, feel free to share that insight.

Need more business blogging or content marketing advice?

efelle creative is a Seattle-based online marketing firm that specializes in business blogging, website design and development, website content management, search engine optimization, and other online marketing services. Since 2005, efelle has worked with hundreds of businesses to help them with their content needs...looking for help with your business blog? Just call us at 206.384.4909 or fill out our online contact form to get in touch with a custom online marketing specialist.