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Blogging sure seems like the aging grandfather of social media, with young pups Twitter and Facebook running amok, but according to Darcy Swon, president of the Iowa chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA), businesses are still clamoring for help with properly utilizing blogs.

That’s why the AMA decided to bring in from Greensboro, N.C., John Cass, head of digital marketing for Pace Communications, and author of “Strategies and Tools for Corporate Blogging.” Cass gave an hour-long presentation on April 7 titled “Tools and Strategies for Business Blogging.”

Cass says to make sure to think through whether you have the resources and time to blog, and whether it would be worthwhile. If you aren’t sure, visit his blog (http://pr.typepad.com/pr_communications) for additional resources. Here are some takeaways that could help your business maneuver through the blogosphere effectively, if you’re about to embark or are already blogging.

Cass’ blogging guidelines:

Be a blogger – A blogger is someone who not only writes great content, but also engages people on the site, pays attention to what is going on in the wider industry community and participates in outreach to other bloggers both online and in real-life situations.

Represent – Microsoft Corp.’s blogging policy? “Don’t be stupid.” Your blogger is representing the company, and what they write about will reflect upon your business’s reputation.

Client privacy – It’s OK to write about exchanges with clients; in fact, it probably should be encouraged. But make it a standard practice to check with the clients and clear it with them first. They’ll usually say yes, but if you don’t ask, it could be an easy way to make for an uneasy relationship.

Answer comments – People are going to respond to your posts, and some of the comments could be negative, either to your post or your business. You have to be prepared to deal with that. Every time someone comments on your blog, make sure to answer it and follow up. This can lead to more engagement and gives more reasons for readers to come back.

Respect copyright – There are fair use laws in the United States that allow writers to use snippets and parts of others’ work. However, it’s not OK to fully copy someone else’s whole post or an article from another media source. So don’t reveal everything; rather, give a few sentences or a synopsis, then provide a link to the original source.

Transparency – Set expectations about what you are prepared to say and not prepared to say. If something controversial is happening, don’t go into a shell; you should be open with the community, but you don’t have to reveal everything. Perhaps just acknowledge the issue, and explain you’ll provide more information when it is all right for you to do so. Set those expectations with your readers so they know what you are willing to say.

Competition – Don’t be afraid to mention your competitors, but make sure to be respectful. If you are talking about an industry-wide topic and don’t talk about the competition, you won’t gain nearly the same credibility with readers. If you are willing to talk about competitors in an open and objective way, it can gain you extra credibility with the readers.

3 companies doing it right:

Masiguy
http://masiguy.blogspot.com
Good small business example. He started the blog to promote the Masi brand, a product of Haro Bicycle Corp.

Dell Inc.
http://tinyurl.com/direct2dell
Dell reconsidered its position online and launched this blog after a PR mess thanks to the bad publicity from http://dellhell.net.

Starbucks Corp.
www.starbucks.com
The posts are in the bottom-right-hand corner. Make sure to also check out the company’s unique idea community at http://mystarbucksidea.force.com.