Resources: SEM Articles
Corporate Blogging: Killer App or Corporate Killer?
7 key elements necessary to building an effective corporate blog strategy
By Kent Lewis
We all know how popular blogs have become, especially in the past
few years. Millions of blogs are being created and read every day.
As such, many companies see the potential and are jumping on the
bandwagon. Unfortunately, an ill-conceived corporate blog strategy
can generate lawsuits, angry customers or employees and a bad brand
experience.
Since I first started off in the search engine marketing industry
in 1996, I've managed an ezine, so I know a little about publishing.
Since then, I've also consulted with clients on their corporate
blogs and newsletter strategies. Based on my experience, I've identified
7 key elements to developing a successful corporate blog strategy.
Research
The first question I ask clients that want my help in developing
a corporate blog strategy is "why?" It's critical to understand
the corporate blog's objective, as it directly affects the overall
development, maintenance and promotional strategy. A corporate blog
needs to be unique, so find out what your competitors and industry
pundits are doing, and do something different. The research will
also help determine optimal design (branded vs. sponsored), content
and format (daily vs. weekly, etc.).
Credibility
When developing (or reading) a corporate blog, establishing credibility
is key. Who is the author? What are their credentials? What unique
perspective, experience or knowledge do they bring to the table?
Industry credibility is especially critical in the world of corporate
blogging. If you don't have a well- respected senior executive or
well-known industry pundit available to contribute regularly to
a blog, reconsider your strategy. A well-written blog is always
going to be perceived as more credible than a poorly written one,
which is a factor that is often overlooked.
Accuracy
Typical corporate blogs are managed by one person. This one person
may be credible and have a balanced perspective, but they may not
have the time to thoroughly check facts or explore an idea or story
to the full extent. That would be somewhat counter-intuitive to
the principle of blogging. Companies can't afford to publish inaccurate
content (see Liability below). Ensuring the editorial team has adequate
resources to research and validate content will increase the corporate
blog's overall effectiveness.
Perspective
One of the biggest arguments I've seen consistently in favor of
the power of corporate blogging, is the author's unique perspective.
While I don't disagree that perspective makes corporate blogs interesting,
it also has the potential to make them myopic, scattered and hasty.
There is a reason publications have multiple writers, editors and
a publisher: to maintain standards and provide a more balanced perspective.
If you want unique perspective, watch Fox News. If you want your
corporation to have a credible, balanced perspective, support your
corporate blog with a qualified team.
Relevance
I've read articles that talk about how corporate blogs are going
to usurp corporate Web sites in search engines, due to the timeliness
of content. While that may be somewhat true today in search engines
like Google, that may not always be the case. Blogs typically touch
on a variety of themes or issues in a given day or week. Even with
niche blogs, specific topics are rarely given more than 250 words,
yet these posts are supposed to be more relevant than an in-depth
1,500 word article on a publication or corporate site. Not all topics
or issues are timely and satisfy searchers with brief posts.
Liability
The numbers of companies enacting corporate blog policies are increasing.
Sun and Microsoft are two notable companies that encourage their
employees to blog. Don't be fooled though, as both have rather stringent
guidelines and restrictions due to the potential for legal liability.
Corporate lawyers and HR dab the perspiration off their foreheads,
hoping to avoid lawsuits created by inappropriate posts by employees.
For marketers, the greater transgression is the potential to misrepresent
the brand in ill-thought posts. To minimize liability, minimize
the number of authors or external corporate blogs.
Maintenance
Far too often, I've seen companies enthusiastically launch a corporate
blog, only to have it die off within months, if not weeks. What
these companies don't understand is that a half-assed corporate
blog is far more damaging to their brand than no blog at all. Prior
to developing and launching a corporate blog, make sure you've committed
the appropriate resources for the long haul (I recommend a 6 month
a trial period as a minimum). Even the best intentioned corporate
blogs don't work out, but at least you will have given it a concerted
effort. It's important to develop quality content over a period
of time to show stakeholders you take corporate blogging seriously.
Promotion
The second most common fault in corporate blogging strategies I've
seen (beyond maintenance) is promotion. Similar to a company Web
site, a corporate blog requires promotion to be found and enjoyed.
Beyond the more obvious forms of blog promotion: links from company
Web sites and email newsletters, a corporate blog can be promoted
a variety of ways. Depending on the objective and audience, the
marketing team should consider more traditional means (collateral,
events, public relations, print advertising and direct response)
as well as more progressive strategies (search engine and grassroots
marketing). As mentioned earlier, search engines currently rank
blogs highly, due to their timeliness and relevance. Even after
changing algorithms reduce the weighting of blog content in the
future, a well-optimized corporate blog should continue to perform
well in search engine results.
With thorough research, thoughtful planning and consistent maintenance,
your corporate blog can become one of your most effective online
marketing tools for generating brand awareness and preference. By
addressing the seven key elements outlined above, you can all but
guarantee a successful corporate blogging experience.
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