I think that Marriott Hotels has done a very good job with their blogging initiatives. Marriott brought the Marriott On The Move blog online in January of 2007. Marriott On The Move features Marriott Chairman Bill Marriott talking about (literally via audio) a wide variety of issues related to Marriott hotels. The posts on the blog cover a wide variety of issues from Marriott family stories, to Marriott news to employee stories and more. I think they’re doing a very good job with that blog.

Just this month Marriott launched a second blog called Marriott In The Kitchen. The new blog is about the food experience at Marriott hotels. Find out more about this new blog via my coverage at Red Room Chronicles. From the looks of the initial posts on the new blog, the team at Marriott is following a winning formula once again.

The posts are interesting, giving you an inside track on food topics as they relate to Marriott hotels. Posts are spiced up with pics which helps out with the overall presentation and definitely makes things a bit more engaging.

It’s obvious that Marriott is on the right track with their blogging efforts. Unfortunately their are still many businesses, large and small, that wonder why they should launch a blog and what it should be about.

My two cents on why businesses should blog is simple. Businesses should blog engage customers (both present and potential) and to build a sense of community. When it comes to what you should be blogging about I’m going to break it out into an acronym. Be FUNI (pronounced funny) with your blogging efforts.

Blog about the fun things that relate to your business. If at first you don’t think that your business is fun then think again. Even still, there are three other types of posts that can engage your community.

Blog about unique things that relate to your business. How do you do things differently? What products or services do you offer that are unique in the marketplace? Point out the unique elements of offerings that may be similar to things your competition offers.

Blog about news related to your company. Throw away the press release and express what’s unique, fun or interesting about your news. Point people to a place where they can find out more about the news.

Blog about things that are interesting. I gave this away in the previous item. Creativity required here. Point out interesting tidbits and stories that only insiders know about. Posts like these give the reader a sense of being an insider. When people feel like an insider they feel special. And if you make people feel special then they are likely to be loyal to your business.

I don’t call these items rules. I call them guidance. You can blog about other things and still have a great blog. But as a consumer of many blogs I find these types of business related blog posts to be the most interesting.