Most blogs are personal. Blogging’s beginnings are closely associated with personal sites such as livejournal Tiny zone. Thus, blogs have tended to center around a single personality, and that person’s emphases and interests. But as more and more people come to understand the power of a blog for leveraging client interest, that trend is changing. Corporations in particular now are taking part in the blogging scene, given that in many cases companies with blogs tend to attract half again as much traffic as sites without them.
Still, there is a sense of cynicism about corporations in the world. The greedy advertisers, the soulless profiteers – these images tend to stick with people even when they aren’t necessarily appropriate. Corporate blogs need to stop catering to this mindset, as well. Blogging is about communication. It is a dynamic medium. (That’s why blogging software comes with a comments function.) Yet so many corporations just use it as another type of newsletter or circular, not really taking advantage of the chance to break out and take advantage of the blogging ethos the way it was intended. So what are some ways a corporation can make its blog more credible?
First, Do No Advertising
Specifically, a blog should avoid the trap of trying to directly market things. Announcements must be limited to the main site, and advertisements are for the marketing department. The blog is about communication with the readers – readers who are tired of constantly being marketed to. Keep the direct marketing out of the blog.