Many corporate blogs have trouble gaining followers. Their blogs can sometimes have an unclear focus, or the focus is to advertise products. David Meerman Scott, a successful author and blogger, came up with his top five corporate blogging mistakes. In this post, I will evaluate Scott’s advice and decide if these mistakes are things that really should be avoided.
Scott saw corporations starting blogs without first following other similar blogs. If a company is new at blogging, it is hard to create one without first reading and commenting on other blogs. This was good advice because after looking at many different blogs, a company can have an idea of what works and what does not. I feel that commenting on blogs first helps to “exercise your blog voice.” A post from Corporate Eye also listed this as a mistake among corporate blogs.
Companies sometimes write ONLY about their products and services. This is a huge mistake! I agree with Scott’s suggestion that instead, organizations should blog about a subject that would interest the target audience.
The mistake that I found the most important to avoid was when companies focus on one-way propaganda. Companies are engaging in one-way communication when they only have links that go to their own site. This lacks credibility. Readers want to see companies become part of the online community. A company can create interest by leaving comments on other blogs and joining in on a conversation.
Scott pointed out that corporate blogs are usually boring. These tend to use all of the default settings and do not look any different from any other company’s blog. I agree that a blog needs personality to stand out. I liked Scott’s suggestion that a creative custom header, designed just for a company is a great way to attract interest.
The last mistake that Scott mentioned is that companies fail to utilize the “About” page. I think it is important for people to get to know who a company is so the reader will be more likely to engage. I think that companies should spend time thinking about what they want they reader to know about the company, and then place that on the “About” page.
I found all five of these mistakes easy for corporations to avoid. Scott gave quick solutions to correct these problems. If these blogging mistakes are eliminated, then a company is bound to see more followers and success.
In two of my previous posts on corporate blogging, I discussed the CEO blog. There are many opinions about who should manage the blogging function in an organization. Some experts think the CEO should blog, and others think they should not. Whether it’s the CEO, the corporate communications department, or a hired individual or group, it would be wise to designate one of them the “chief blogger.”
The Advertising Age article “Does Your Company Need a Chief Blogger?” shared that companies such as Coca-Cola, Marriott, and Kodak all now have a chief blogger. It is their job to tell the companies’ stories and engage consumers. The chief blogger shares the brand voice. Companies that have a chief blogger are more focused and effective. This makes sense because there is only one person trying to post an idea. One blogger also ensures that all the posts have the same brand voice.
In the video below, Shel Israel expanded on the importance of chief bloggers telling company stories. I think he was on point when he said, “When you’re blogging, you need to be giving something to your reader that compels them.” I think that readers will only continue visiting a blog if they are getting something interesting from it. I also thought he was right on target when he mentioned that people don’t want to hear lists of “corporate pearls.” His blunt thoughts on boring blogs from corporations, PR people, and legal teams warned bloggers to keep their posts focused on stories.
A story is important to keep the reader’s interest. I agreed with Israel when he suggested that companies should tell stories about their struggles and times when they failed. I feel that blogs are successful when they share company interests and tell what the organization is really like, because the audience will feel like they can trust the company.
In my previous post, I discussed tips for developing an internal blog. Now I will explain why an internal blog should be used and the benefits it brings to companies.
A private, internal blog could be a company’s solution to improve communication within their organization.
Internal blogs make it possible for a team to collect and share advice and ideas. Different departments can sometimes find it hard to collaborate, and an internal blog could be the solution. Blogs can also have information available at any time and keep it private, only allowing access with a log-in password. This solution is inexpensive and can be set up very easily.
In the video below, Catherine Cummings, Assistant Vice President at the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank, shared her experience and success with creating an internal blog for her company.
Cummings’ bank needed improved internal communication. An internal blog was created that allowed anonymous bloggers to leave anonymous comments. This decision was made to create “buzz,” because most companies do not allow participants to remain anonymous. The goal of the blog was to have employees check it regularly for news and updates. The blog was loosely regulated and moderated, which I think was a good idea to show how confident the company was in its employees.
Cummings offered advice for other companies who are interested in creating an anonymous blog. She was very adventurous and said to “just do it.” She thought it was better to “beg for forgiveness rather than ask for permission.” Cummings has gained credibility through this internal blog, and the communication team’s credibility has also increased.
Some corporations do not like to hear the word “blog.” A common misunderstanding is that internal blogs take a lot of time to set up and are complicated to develop. Andrea Albl, Director of Web Services at Modern Machine Shop, shared her tips on how to develop an internal blog.
I thought her first tip, to “develop a blog plan,” was very important. It is hard to create an effective blog if you are unsure of its purpose. I think it is important that companies make a plan before they start blogging. They should decide what direction they want the blog to go before they make the first post. If the blog is for a business or organization, it is important to decide who the primary writer should be. This way, the blog will have the same tone throughout and will be easy to follow.
Tip number four, “relax and write,” is imperative to follow for an effective blog. I agreed with Albl’s advice that it is important for a blog to flow like a conversation. I like to read blogs that do not sound like news releases. When it is casual and relaxed, the blog will attract readers because it will be enjoyable to read. This writing style also invites conversation and dialogue. No one wants to read a blog laid out like a corporate meeting.
I was very happy that one of Albl’s tips was to “keep it real.” I think this was the best advice that she gave. Through researching how to create an effective blog, I discovered that almost every source gave the tip to be honest when blogging. Erin Byrne gave this advice in her article from PRWeek. Being honest gains the audience’s trust, attracts followers, and creates transparency.
If Albl’s six tips are followed, an internal blog will be a quick and easy way to communicate with a group. (Don’t forget about the many free software options!)
Employees are an important part of a company’s social marketing strategy, and CEOs are starting to notice. Companies want their employees to blog to take the roles of “ambassadors” for their company. These companies want employees to blog on sites like Twitter to show transparency and confidence in the organization.
SocialCorp, written by Joel Postman, explained how Zappos encouraged its employees to blog. Zappos, an online shoe retailer, encouraged its employees to use Twitter. Zappos showed off its employees’ initiatives by combining all of the employees’ “tweets” onto a page on their corporate website. These “tweets” were available for all publics to see. The company used friendly competition among employees, making it employees’ goal to gain the most followers.
Zappos demonstrated how serious the company was about transparency by giving employees the freedom to use Twitter. Zappos trusted its employees to represent the company. I think this was brave on their part, and it showed how confident the company was in the good judgement of its employees. In the blogs, employees posted about their work lives and recommended company products. They also addressed customer support issues through their posts.
Sun Microsystems is another company that has encouraged employee blogs for the past few years. They allowed any employee with an interest in blogging to start their own, and the blogs were linked publicly. In 2007, Sun Microsystems had 4,000 of its 35,000 employees actively blogging. This was a HUGE accomplishment! Through posting, employees helped the company become transparent to its publics.
Hewlett Packard used blogs as a way for employees to share thoughts, get ideas, and feel like part of the company. As the Cannes Film Festival’s official sponsor, HP’s Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region used the event to get its employees blogging. The company gave employees the chance to blog about the film festival. This event not only promoted HP, but it increased visibility of HP products and services, and made the experience “real” by including HP employees. In this example, employees helped gain awareness of the company.
Encouraging employee blogs sounds like a good way to improve a company’s social marketing strategy. I think that it is important for a company to be transparent. I think it’s great when employees can help be a company’s quick and easy solution!
More and more companies are encouraging employees to blog on behalf of the organization. Here’s an example of The Coca-Cola Company incorporating employee blogging to make changes to its corporate culture and work environment:
In 2005, The Coca-Cola Company realized they were falling behind their competitors. Their market share was decreasing, sales were declining, and competition was increasing in the beverage industry. They needed to do something about its declining success and wanted to reinvent the company. In order to do this, Coca-Cola created a plan.
Coca-Cola needed to make big changes to its corporate culture and work environment in order to achieve its goal of long term growth. To start off these changes, Coca-Cola designed a global campaign to transform into an innovative company. All employees were invited to participate in a blog. The employees were asked to participate in order for Coca-Cola to be able to better define their values, how employees get things done, and ways to create a better business.
Many employees had never blogged before and this could have been a problem. But, before the blog started, tutorials were used to demonstrate how to post and view comments. Employees were encouraged to post group comments, this way, individuals who did not want to submit their own ideas were not left out of the blog.
The “Blog Blast” event was created to last for seven days. After the event ended, Coca-Cola had a total count of how much participation the event had received. There were 2,409 employee posts from more than forty-five countries and 136,862 employee page views over the seven-day period.
The “Blog Blast” was a huge success. The company entered into the Web 2.0 age and achieved its goals. I think that this example should be followed by other companies who want to get employees’ help in the restructuring of a company. After all, employees are the foundation of a company.
