24 July 2008

Corporate Blogging: A new marketing communication tool for companies

Posted by Creative E-com at 10:22 PM



Corporate blogs are still in the infancy phase. Yet many have been launched in recent years. There are many considerations an organization needs to weigh when thinking about launching a blog or encouraging the use of social media tools on behalf of the company. A blog can be private, as in most cases, or it can be for business purposes. Blogs, either used internally to enhance the communication and culture in a corporation or externally for marketing, branding or public relations purposes are called corporate blogs. The advantage of blogs is that posts and comments are easy to reach and follow due to centralized hosting and generally structured conversation threads. All current browsers (including Firefox, Opera, Safari and Internet Explorer 7) support RSS technology, which enables readers to easily read recent posts without actually visiting the blog, which is very useful for low-volume blogs.


Blog provides a powerful informational vehicle for the association. The Board of Directors and association staff can keep the membership up to date with the latest initiatives and activities of the organization. Information for the membership can often be very time sensitive. A blog can provide almost immediate information distribution to the membership, the media, and other interested parties. The lead time for printing a hard copy magazine, or even preparing an online newsletter are unable to be as instantaneous as a blog. Because a blog is constantly updated, with fresh content, the organizational leaders can maintain up to the minute contact with the members. When combined with the power of the organization's existing e-mail newsletter and print publications, the blog completes the informational time consideration with its immediacy.



Besides that, blog is a tool that helps the organization fulfills a business goal if company thinking about publishing a blog for its business, it has to make sure it's not just to have one. Businesses need to keep the best interest of the organization in mind. Redeploying scarce resources just to have a blog makes no sense if there is no business case for one. A blog can be useful extension of the company image in the marketplace. It is however no substitute for bad products or lack of commitment to customers. It provides an opportunity to open a two-way channel between employees and customers. There are potential pitfalls like inadvertent disclosures you should address up front. The other big issue companies need to address here is that of the star blogger(s). What if the blog becomes popular and they leave? What if they leave because they feel their talent can be invested elsewhere?



Corporate blogs are not only interesting and useful, they are also helping the companies that author them develop a totally new relationship with their customers. In some cases, the blogs have helped the company move the needle in reputation, likeability and thus purchase consideration. For example: Direct2Dell - this team is extremely plugged in the blogosphere and social media in general. This is one of those blogs where one would welcome being part of the blogroll. The about statement is right in the banner: "A blog about Dell products, services, and customers". Southwest Airlines - the tone reflects the company brand. The content and the information are top notch without being overly done. From their about statement: "Nuts about Southwest is all about our Employees, Customers, airplanes, and airports. We really are Nuts about Southwest and we hope that our Readers will share that passion by posting their own comments."



However, there are risks for Corporate Blogs and the likelihood that they will occur. The most common ones are negative comments - for this one the company should get your team in a room and put the worst case scenarios on the table to understand how you would address them. Next risk is loss of control over message - let's face it, it is much worse for a business if the marketplace is not talking about it at all. The company should train their subject matter expert team to be facilitators of conversations or hire people who already are. In addition, when a customer is put at the center, it's about them, not the company. Neglect is also another risk involving corporate blog. This is probably the biggest hindrance to starting. It is recommended that setting aside a good number of posts before going public, just like many prolific bloggers do, as this involves the company’s image. The content strategy will also help here. If series of posts is created on certain topics (especially after looking at the interest/traffic) or regular themes, it will be easier to know what to write about.






 

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