With the ushering in of free market economy, the competition is becoming fiercer. Innovative strategies are required to effectively combat competition and stay in business. The concept of corporate blogging is a good way to establish direct link with the customer.
Corporations concede that blogging is proving to be effective in bringing closer the company and the average consumer which a mere logo or a plethora of advertisements cannot achieve.
A corporate blog is used by an organization to reach its target audience and meet its organizational goals. The distinct advantage of corporate blogs is that posts are easy to follow due to their centralized hosting and easy to understand due to their conversational style. A corporate blog is a platform where company employees and spokespersons can informally share their views. Corporate blogging reflects the company’s human face unlike the businesslike press releases.
Types of Corporate Blogs
Corporate blogs can be broadly categorized into external and internal blogs. An internal blog is meant to be accessed by any employee through intranet. The aim is to facilitate frank discussions by employees and to promote direct communication between various layers of an organization. Internal blogs can substitute frequent inhouse meetings. Internal blogs can be especially useful when the employees of an organization are in different locations with busy schedules.
An external blog is used by an organization to announce new products or services, to explain company’s policies, and to comment on public review or rebut criticisms of the company. External corporate blog often serves the same purpose as press releases though they are less formal. There is a general criticism that external corporate blogs are biased, although there are blogs that offer a more honest and even self-critical views.
The external blog can provide different and informal information than standard information found in the company website. This feature of blogging provides greater transparency and glimpses into the company’s internal working. There are blogging software available in the market aimed at creating better interaction with target customers. There are conflicting views whether CEOs of an organization should be allowed to blog. Nevertheless, blogging is becoming increasingly popular among many CEOs.
Disadvantages of corporate blogging
Of course, blogs can be built on free platforms but how many companies will be willing to invest money into customizing the design of the blog, engage experts to impart training and set apart man hours for blogging? A badly worded blog or factually incorrect blogs can spell disaster for the company. How many organizations will consent to research and provide strategy documents to her people for creating blogs?
Business blogging is in a nascent stage and there are many factors an organization has to study before agreeing to launch their blog or permit the use of social media tools on behalf of the company. Many blogs have failed because they were used as a forum to share news releases and commercial information, or otherwise misused. So, a senior person, knowledgeable about right blogging practices, may have to be appointed.
Join the Conversation