Having a company blog can be one of the most powerful and relatively cost-efficient ways to tell your stories, interact with customers, prospects, employees and your community, and position yourself as a leader in your category. This can be true whether you are a small business or a Fortune 500 company.
However, most corporate blogs lack the high quality content – and the passion – to be successful, if you define success in terms of readership and interaction (which you should). Blogging solely to drive search engine results/traffic is a different issue, and while not “wrong”, it’s not the optimal use of the tool. It’s a missed opportunity to have a dialogue.
Forrester Research did a study of corporate blogs in 2008, finding that only 16 percent of those who read them actually trust them. Most are “dull, drab and don’t stimulate conversation.” Seventy percent stick only to business topics. Over half publish press releases, or already-public news, rather than unique stories. And two thirds hardly ever get any comments. Which explains why 80 percent of visitors to the average corporate blog are first-time visitors: because the average corporate blog is just…average.
Recently, I did an audit of all blogs within the top 50 Milwaukee-based private companies. There were 12 companies with active blogs, or 24 percent, compared to about 18 percent of the Fortune 500 that have blogs. Not bad, Milwaukee. In the group there were a few average blogs, a few above average blogs, and a few outright blogging “don’t” examples.
What makes you a blogging “don’t”? If your blog is overtly self-promotional, sounds like a press release rather than a human being, features stale, soulless content, lacks insight or usefulness, or does not accept and encourage comments…you are a blogging don’t.
You can turn that around and get much more for your investment of time and energy in blogging by putting your blog through the TRUST filter. Here are some specific strategies and tips for making your blog better read, better liked, and more successful.
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Talk to me: Speak with people in a conversational, human tone; your blog should read like neither a monologue nor a press release. Frankly, no one on the Internet wants to read your press release. Approach it as storytelling or as writing a letter to a person, versus writing a product sales pitch. Do all you possibly can to encourage comments and dialogue, as they are one of the key benefits of having a blog in the first place. Ask questions and really be open to what your readers think. Don’t be afraid of comments, and, by all means, do not disable commenting entirely or bury it somewhere that discourages feedback. If you’re not ready to respond to comments, then you’re not really ready for blogging.
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Reach for a bigger idea: Have a purpose that people can understand immediately. Find the “bigger, cooler thing” related to your products, and build your blog around that. For example, if you’re a car dealer, share stories about pure passion for cars, not just an announcement of a new product you just got in. Also, while some corporate cultures can be limiting, try to overcome that and lighten up a little. Your blog will be better read and better liked if you are not “all business, all the time.” Have some fun once in a while!
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Usefulness: Think about what purpose you are serving for potential users of your blog, not just for search engine optimization or marketing or public relations. While it is ideal to blog on a regular schedule, it is more important that your posts meet consistent quality standards than it is to throw up a post for the sake of posting. Share your knowledge and insight freely; it has tremendous value, and is what will bring readers back or encourage them to share it. Entertainment is another form of usefulness; try to be at least a little bit entertaining or lighthearted about your writing, where appropriate.
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Have a Soul: A blog is a great opportunity to put a face on your company. So, be warm and human, not cold and corporate. Little things like good photos of your bloggers and addressing people by name make a major difference in how your blog is perceived. Ultimately, the quality of interaction on your blog will be directly proportional to the quality of the content and the magnitude of the personality. So, show some passion for your topics. Don’t try to force people with no interest in blogging to do it; it will show. Find the people with real passion and empower them to bring the stories behind or inside your company to life. Being a good corporate citizen is more important than ever; give back to your communities, and share those stories on your blog, in a sincere way.
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Transparency: This is probably the hardest one for most companies. Doing business in 2011, your constituents expect to see how well you treat your customers and your communities. If you make a mistake, you can try to create “spin” all you want, but people will see right through it anyway. So it’s best to just be straightforward. Acknowledge that you made a mistake and explain how you will correct it. That’s difficult for most companies to embrace, but it is often the shortest route to a better place and can quickly calm detractors, even turning them into advocates.
Most of all, ask yourself: if you were a member of the general public (or of your business audience), would you want to read what you are posting? Does it give you any reason to comment? If not, take a giant step back and think about how you can be more useful, more insightful, more entertaining, or more relevant.
Sue Spaight is director of strategy at Jigsaw (www.jigsawllc.com). Connect with her on Twitter: @suespaight.
