Further Information

Although policies for corporate blogging have yet to be officially defined, there are many sites online which offer suggestions. Some recommended links are:

<http://www.marketingtoday.blogspot.com/>

<http://www.michaelhyatt.blogs.com/>

Another source for current information regarding social media and public relations is the Canadian Public Relations Podcast:

<http://www.insidepr.ca/>

A book has been written which outlines best practice guidlines for corporate blogging, included below is a preview of the book.

An example of a good corporate blog and a bad corporate blog

A example of a good corporate blog is <www.googleblog.blogspot.com>

This blog is updated often, and does not sell the companies product to its readers. Instead, Google informs readers about company decisions, and business practices and provides updates on current information that affects them. The layout is simple, yet eye catching and they incorporate other forms of new media such as an RSS feed.

An example of a bad corporate blog is <www.alliwantforxmasisapsp.com>

This blog was created as a ruse, and therefore failed to be transparent. The blog did not allow for proper user feed back and even went so far as to censor its customers. Falling under much scrutiny for this corporate blog, Sony has since removed it. The blog was slow to load, had too many large graphics and was not aesthetically pleasing.

How other Social Media Tools can enhance the corporate blog

Adding other forms of social media to a corporate blog positions the corporation as current and technologically savvy. A must for any corporate blog is to establish a Real Simple Syndication (RSS feed). Doing this, allows readers to receive instant notifications when the blog has been updated. This guarantees interested readers will return.

The Web site You Tube is the most visited content community on the Web, and incorporating it into your blog will be an asset. Creating a channel on You Tube, which links back to your corporate blog will almost double your exposure online. Important videos to post on You Tube would be ad campaigns, commercials, press releases, and personal messages from the CEO, etc.

Make sure that your chosen corporate bloggers are well versed in new forms of social media, this allows for easier planning and a more focused approach when incorporating these tools.
It is important for a blog to have authenticity and authority on the chosen topic. If your corporation can integrate other forms of social media, your corporate blog will then become an authority on the subject.

Also, the blogosphere is slowly moving towards the practice of video blogging, or “vlogs”. So, to help your organization stay contemporary it is important to be aware of these trends and react accordingly. Some users prefer to watch a quick video rather than read through a lengthy blog. Integrate both forms of Web logging and your corporate blog will stay current.

5 Rules for a good Corporate Blog

1) Be Authentic

Blog’s are about trust, and authenticity is the foundation of trust. Corporate bloggers should approach the blogosphere differently than they would a corporate Web site. A blog is more personal than a Web site, and it must have a defined voice. Corporate blogs must be transparent and honest; use the corporate blog to connect with your target audience, and to provide them with useful information and insight.


2) Choose an Interesting and Eye Catching topic and headline

A corporate blogger's topic or headline should attract reader attention right away. Consider this, the blog—among many others, waits in a reader's RSS reader, or email inbox. The blog headline should encourage the reader to choose your particular blog over others. Explain the meaning of your post within the first sentence. By providing benefits immediately, this ensures your post will be read. If your first sentence entices the reader, they will read your second sentence and then your third, and so on.

3) Be concise 250-500 words

It is important to keep blog posts short and to the point. Do not copy and paste information from promotional flyers. Instead briefly inform them and encourage feed back. Be truthful and refrain from selling to your readers. It is also important to update your corporate blog often. Failing to do so drastically reduces traffic flow to your blog, and does not provide sufficient exposure online.


4) Add supplemental content

To keep your corporate blog current, it is important to integrate any other forms of social media that are appropriate. Adding this supplemental content can demonstrate the authority of your blog. A corporate blog can help ensure its relevance with links to other appropriate blogs or Web sites. Also, be sure to link to your organizations latest press releases, articles or commercials.


5) Monitor your Corporate Blog

Understand that there is plenty of room for error when using a blog. It is important to pay close attention to issues of grammar, spelling and punctuation. Furthermore, a good corporate blog must also monitor the comments from its users. Readers in the blogosphere that are interested in your corporate blog will be drawn to it, and often compelled to provide feedback. However, there are also users online who post comments simply to offend. Ensuring that no offensive content appear on your corporate blog is paramount.

Testing Testing, 1 2 3

Here is a test post for my PR blog.