According to a new report from Forrester, only 16% of online consumers saying they trust them.
Based upon their surveys, corporate blogs rank lower than direct mail and even email from companies.
Yet, is that any surprise? Think about the corporate blogs you've seen. Do they provide insight or just a rehash of marketing materials?
Who writes your corporate blog? Probably the marketing department.
What is your corporate blog about? Is it about your products? Yuck. Who wants to read a blog that just pitches your product?
An effective corporate blog focuses on the needs of the reader, not the marketing goals of the author. Like speaking at a conference, the goal of the corporate blog should be to convey your expertise in a given area without having to talk specifically about what you do.
The Forrester report, Time to Rethink Your Corporate Blogging Ideas, offers some examples of companies who do it well:
- Rubbermaid blogs about getting organized
- Benetton blogs to its enthusiasts, while Apple is so popular, it has independent bloggers doing a better job than the company ever could itself
- B2B companies like Sun, HP and Microsoft use blogs as a platform for their employees to communicate with customers.
The Forrester report is available for free with registration.
