Consultants and Blogging

A consultant is a special breed of professional. They bring specialized skills to help companies manage complexities and undergo change. Because they deal with change and often seek out opportunities in this area they are typically the sort to try out new things such as Blogs. According to Naked Conversations consultants are important to blogging for two reasons:

• Consultants who blog are building reputations that make them category leaders, whether that category is defined by geography or niche. Their opinions are becoming more important in influencing markets.
• Consulting expertise has started to evangelize and deliver blogging into other businesses. They are now seeding blogging into corporate strategies the way they previously germinated PC’s and web sites. We believe they will play key roles in the phase of blog adoption that has started to occur.

In fact, this is very much a win-win situation because blogs are also important to consultants!

Personal Marketing: Blogs allow consultants to market themselves in an authentic way by offering a mechanism to show clients what you think about and how you think about it. Traditionally a web site was where you pointed people, but in my mind the primary vehicle for consultants should be the blog. A website is of secondary importance. The blog is the traffic generator – not the static web site.

Knowledge Sharing & Idea development: Blogs bring a sense of community to a group of individuals who are often on their own for the most part. Its allow the collective knowledge of consultants to be shared in whatever niche you operate in. My philosophy is to share all you know, and it will come back to you in a positive way. I have learned much from consultant bloggers I read from around the globe, and I strive to return the favor. In addition blogs also offer mechanisms to ‘try on’ and explore new concepts with your reading peers, before presenting to clients, and also allows you to share lessons leaned (being careful to protect confidentiality).

If you are a consultant, consider taking the time to blog – you will find it well worth your while. If you have to choose between building a web site and a blog - start with the blog.