Corporate Blogs Aren't Trusted
Don't take my word for it. Forrester Research found that most people just don't trust them. In fact, only 16% of online consumers who read corporate blogs say they trust them. But that doesn't mean companies should stop. Along with the diagnosis, Forresters's Jeremiah Owyang gave a great health checkup for corporate blogs. Below is a prescription that should lead to better corporate blogs.
Embrace "Personal Brands"
Some companies are worried about their employees gaining too much brand recognition.
I for one don't really care what the name of the blog is, or which company the blogger works for. If Chris Brogan left Crosstech Media or if Steve Rubel left Edelman, I'd still follow them. That's because they offer good content that helps me do my job.
Worry less about hiring people with "personal brands" because they might eventually leave. In today's job market, excepting contract employees, anyone can leave at any time for a better gig. The focus should be on hiring smart employees and if they have "personal brands," benefit while you have them. Make sure they want to stay and you might hold onto them for a while.
Readers Don't Care Which Company You're With
Too many companies make the mistake of thinking that people will automatically want to tune into their new corporate blog because of the company. Maybe Google can do this, but chances are your company isn't that important in the average blog reader's eyes. Content is key.
Your Blog Readers Are Opting In to Receive Future Content. But That's a Precarious Trust.
People aren't going to subscribe to receive content that isn't of value. If a blogger or a twitter user writes about topics that don't interest me I simply un-subscribe. And I don't think twice about it. I'm not concerned with the Twitter etiquette some espouse. Waste my time and you're gone. I have enough noise in my life.
Give Away Some Valuable Information For Free
At Omniture, we have a few bloggers that write about very specific topics. For example, Adam Greco, gives tips and tricks on how to get more out of SiteCatalyst. His blog has become our most popular one because each post provides helpful tips that can help web analysts do their job better. I'm convinced that to be successful, a corporate blog needs to give away some information for free (rather than charging consulting fees for it.) There is a fine line here, but if done correctly, even companies that rely on consulting dollars will realize more revenue because their potential clients can see the value of these services.
Be Patient with Twitter
If you're using Twitter as a marketing tool to promote your blog content, remember that it won't pay off immediately. You can't just send links to your own content. Sometimes people with 10 Twitter followers decide to follow 1,000 people. This never works. Usually the account is shut down for spamming. It takes time to build a genuine audience on Twitter. People aren't going to flock to you, well unless you are Shaquille O'Neal, Dave Matthews or Al Gore.
