According to research by Blog2Print of Fortune 1000 companies, approximately 1 in 4 companies have corporate blogs.
Respondents revealed that employees within the marketing department are usually charged with writing blog content followed by social media or blogging professionals, but the CEO typically determined the tone used in the blog. Interestingly, when CMOs in the study were asked what makes a great corporate blog, 46% cited an engaged community who publishes comments on blog posts as the number one factor. And when asked why they launched a corporate blog for their companies, 50% of surveyed CMOs stated “it’s the cost of doing business today.”
And therein lies the problem. The above findings from the Blog2Print study explain quite clearly why most corporations aren’t getting the results they want from social media marketing and content marketing efforts.
It’s important to remember that the best social media marketing strategies include a variety of branded online destinations where consumers can self-select how they want to engage with a brand. There is more to social media marketing success than generating a lot of blog comments. Of course, building relationships should always be one of the top priorities of any social media marketing plan, but blog comments represent a very small part of what makes a successful company blog in terms of building a brand and a business.
Social media marketing efforts cannot operate in silos. The best social media marketing strategy is a fully integrated strategy, not only between social media initiatives but also with traditional media efforts.
Bottom-line, don’t be tempted to judge your company blog on comments first. It’s very possible that your audience simply prefers to discuss your content on Twitter, on Facebook, or on another online destination. The trick is connecting with those people where they already spend time and slowly bringing them back to your own branded online destinations to consume more of your content and deepen relationships with you. Blogs don’t live on comments alone. Don’t short-change the potential of your blog to grow and the value it delivers to consumers if you’re not getting hundreds of comments each day.
What do you think are the most important factors that define a great corporate blog? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.
You can read more about the Blog2Print study on eMarketer.
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Susan Gunelius is the author of 10 marketing, social media, branding, copywriting, and technology books, and she is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She also owns Women on Business, an award-wining blog for business women. She is a featured columnist for Entrepreneur.com and Forbes.com, and her marketing-related articles have appeared on websites such as MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, TodayShow.com, and more.
She has over 20 years of experience in the marketing field having spent the first decade of her career directing marketing programs for some of the largest companies in the world, including divisions of AT&T and HSBC. Today, her clients include large and small companies around the world and household brands like Citigroup, Cox Communications, Intuit, and more. Susan is frequently interviewed about marketing and branding by television, radio, print, and online media organizations, and she speaks about these topics at events around the world. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google+.
