Introduction to the NEAG Blog

Blogs have been around for a while. When blogging initially became popular, there was likely a typical image of a blogger. Someone sitting in their pajamas all day or at a coffee shop writing about nonsense, while the rest of us worked all day.

Well, blogging has expanded over the years and evolved into an important component of personal and business branding. Every company should have a corporate blog, but not many businesses use them effectively. As a result, most people do not read corporate blogs and they may seem like a waste of time.

How does blogging help me transition into a new position?
How does blogging help me develop business relationships?

People don’t care what you know until they know you care.

Blogging provides an opportunity to demonstrate that you care about a subject (and knowledgeable). Successful bloggers develop a community over time. Successful bloggers show that they are a real person (and limit the “corporate-speak”). Successful bloggers engage with people over shared interests.

The NEAG community already exists and focuses on personal and business development. The community has shared interests and through blogging, then active members can engage with like-minded colleagues.

In the Welcome to NEAG post, then we gave the example of an individual looking for a sales executive role. For a general sales associate looking to advance their career and obtain a leadership position, then they can leverage the blog to demonstrate executive thinking.

Through one in-depth post or a series of smaller articles, an aspiring sales executive can inform the community about common mistakes, tips to close deals, tricks to open the sales funnel, reviews of common customer relationship management (CRM) technology to manage leads or any topic that sets them apart.

To make the final connection, then include a few sentences about yourself at the end of the post. Interested readers can quickly view your qualifications and contact information (such as LinkedIn profile) pulled from the Member Page.

Now, a prospective individual in transition can showcase expertise through the blog posts and link to their NEAG profile so potential hiring managers can quickly and easily review experiences. As an added step, members can post their resumes to really put all of their information in one place.

For members looking to gain exposure and develop introductions for future business, then the process works in the same way. By demonstrating expertise on a subject, you will gain a reputation as a smart, quality person. The type of person that people want to call when an opportunity arises.

LinkedIn offers members an opportunity to blog and gain exposure through the LinkedIn Influencers program. Essentially, the NEAG blog and Member page function in the same capacity. The big difference is the size and scope of the community. In LinkedIn, posts may get lost in the sea of influencers. In NEAG, then the community is local, passionate individuals that want to help each other. Plus, you can share any posts with all of your social networks (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, etc.) to further increase your reputation and demonstrate expertise.

If you are thinking, this sounds great, but I’m not a blogger, then we can help. The All Points Digital (APD) team provides digital marketing services and is active in the NEAG community. If you want assistance to format posts and select the proper keywords to make your headlines stand out, then contact APD.

We hope this provides an overview of how the NEAG blog advances the NEAG mission and purpose. NEAG aims to connect talent to opportunity in the workplace.

If there are any questions or comments, then please let us know. Feel free to contact us or just ask in the comment section below.

Thanks for your continued commitment to NEAG and all its members.

Ted, Jason and Joel

Joel Whipple

Senior Marketing Strategist at All Points Digital

Joel provides marketing strategy to All Points Digital. He contributes to the social media and content marketing plans that are vital to developing brand awareness and community engagement. His background includes roles in financial services and providing advisory services to micro-entrepreneurs. With a Information Design and Corporate Communications degree and Master's of Business Administration with a concentration in Entrepreneurial Studies from Bentley University, he leverages multiple disciplines to expand client limits.