By Amber Alarid, JVA Consulting

Blogging has become seemingly ubiquitous—with easily accessible free tools to start a blog, some are feeling the pressure to follow the trend. While there are numerous advantages to blogging, it’s not for every organization. Before you feel obligated to create a blog, consider all sides of the discussion about starting and maintaining a blog so you can make the best decision for your cause.

Advantages of blogging:

Blogging allows you to respond to events and trends in real time. Much like Twitter, Facebook and other popular social media sites, blogging gives you the power to respond to relevant topics with lightning speed; unlike many social media sites, blogs allow you to write more lengthy posts and include more than one photo or link (or more of both). A word of caution: blogs with long, bulky paragraphs get less attention than blogs with short, easily skimmable paragraphs that are broken up with photos and bold headings.

There is room for everyone in your organization to blog. The more voices in your blog the better. Your blog is a way to enlighten readers about your cause and also a way to introduce the people behind the great social change work you do. As long as bloggers are trusted team members and/or sending blogs through an internal vetting system (to make sure blogs that represent your organization are consistent with the organization’s values and style), there is no harm to more bloggers jumping in and writing from their own perspective.

The peak time for blogging is whenever you have the time. Because blogs are so easily shared (through email, social media and subscriptions) you can write and post blogs any time you want and draw attention to them at peak times for your other communication platforms. Unlike most social media posts, individual blogs have their own unique URL and are easily accessible later, not lost in a news stream.

Blogs can improve your visibility. Blogs can draw attention not only to your cause, but to your organization as well, positioning you as a trusted resource and thought-leader. Utilizing SEO (Search Engine Optimization) best practices will ensure that your blog is easier to find and will likely attract new audiences.

Things to be aware of:

Blogging takes time. If you create a blog, you want to be sure the appropriate team members are given time to consistently create and post content. Though there is no set number of blogs you should be posting, posting should be somewhat regular and consistent.

Beware of any potential confidentiality violations. If your cause involves sensitive information, you should always be extremely cautious of any personal anecdotes that are shared. Be sure to seek permission to use quotes, photos and names. Make sure all of your bloggers understand how your organization’s confidentiality rules apply to blogging.

Determine how your target/existing audience currently seeks information. If you’re writing for clients or donors who don’t typically follow social media, don’t have the funds to access a computer at home or access the Internet from a smartphone most of the time—blogging may not be the best way to reach your audience. Consider polling some long time-donors, volunteers or anyone in the audience you’re trying to reach to learn how they would like to receive important information about your organization.

Perhaps the most important consideration before beginning a blog is the motivation behind it. Why is a blog important to your organization? How would you use the blog to further your mission? If your main reason for starting a blog is because many organizations have them, now may not be the best time to start investing time in creating one. However, if the benefits listed above will help you further your mission, now could be a great to put this form of communication to use.

If your organization has a blog, what tips do you have for organizations just starting a blog? If you have chosen not to create a blog, why?