Corporate Blogging: A new marketing communication tool for companies

Blogs have become one of the hottest communication tools on the Web. Nowadays, blogs have reached into the corporate and government sectors as well. What started out as an outlet for teenage expression and grassroots journalism has turned into a lucrative communications tool for small and large businesses alike. Corporate Blogging refers to a company producing or supporting a blog that it uses to accomplish business objectives. These are very strong communication and information sharing tools in a corporate community and they are thought provocative.

Why become popular??

1. Leaders can communicate directly with customers, suppliers and investors, as well as employees, helping distribute and explain strategy.

2. Compared with conference or printed memos to all staff, enterprise blogs are highly cost effective.

3. Blogs' diary format gives a sense of immediacy, and regular posting soon creates a large, searchable database of information hyperlinked to extra relevant material.

4. Blogs are ideal for internal collaboration being a workspace where project members keep each other updated without wasting time writing reports or searching the Outlook inbox.

5. Sharing their ideas freely in an honest voice brings the blogging companies new connections and generates trust which will lead to business opportunities galore.

6. If the blog has a positive effect on company’s reputation then it is very beneficial to the career.

Tips for success in corporate blogging:

1. Culture: If a company has particular cultural traits worth revealing or a bad reputation it wants to repudiate, blogging can be an attractive option.

2. Transparency: important to establish credibility and trust with an audience. People want to see an honest portrayal of a company.

3. Time: It takes a lot of time to set up, research and write a quality blog. Companies need to identify a person who has the time or whose schedule is freed up to make the time.

4. Dialogue: A company's ability and willingness to engage in a dialogue with their customer base about topics that the customer base is interested in is critical to its blogging success.


5. Entertaining writing style and personalization: A blogger's writing style and how much they are willing to reveal about their life, experience and opinions brings human interest to a blog, helps build a personal connection with readers and will keep people reading."