Why Fear Blogging?
Are you afraid of blogging? Many companies and businesses are actually quite afraid of corporate blogging because they are afraid of being different.
It’s time that we get over our fears, however, because the new way of establishing permanent relationships with people is to ask “Do you have a blog?”
The truth is, blogs are a great way to hear other people’s ideas and to find out about companies, businesses, contractors and other people in the industry.
Too often, however, people say that they do not have what it takes to keep a corporate blog, and this is usually not true. Anyone can keep a blog as long as they have some basic understanding of the process.
Most companies are supportive of the idea of corporate blogging, especially among employees who will adequately spread a positive message about the firm.
Unfortunately, most employees are unaware of this position, and believe that corporate blogging may get them in trouble, or worse, fired.
If you want to have a corporate blog, and you want to share the news about your company, but you are afraid that your boss or bosses will not agree, you simply need to learn how to motivate them.
Show them some of the best corporate blogs out there, and show them what this corporate blogging effort is doing for these companies.
Companies that have effective, popular corporate blogs are managing to see increases in sales even in times of economic crisis. What does this say about the power of a corporate blog? A lot, actually.
According to Technorati, there are more than 152 million web blogs out there. The word of mouth networks are simply becoming more and more efficient, and absolutely vital as a result.
The fact that there are so many corporate blogs out there is an excellent indicator that everyone is blogging, and if your company is not already blogging, now is the time to start.
Here are some of the reasons why employees within a corporation should be allowed to blog:
1 – People do not trust corporations, but corporate blogs allow them to facilitate community and communication, building stronger relationships with companies that they perceive to be trustworthy.
If you are honest with your readers in a corporate blog, they will trust you more, end of story.
2 – Talking to corporations is difficult, but corporate blogs facilitate communication in an easier and more effective manner.
Communicating by phone, e-mail or website can be difficult, and who knows if you will ever get a response. But if visitors comment in blog entries, they know they will be seen and heard.
3 – Blogs create believability. What do you think is more believable and friendly, a press release from the company’s PR representative, or a couple of blog entries on the subject?
Blogs are inspiring, they are friendly, and they are full of communication. When readers want info on your company, they will sooner turn to your blog than a press release in the news.
These are good reasons. The first one is the best but one and two are basically the same. I’m not sure who you are going after but the small businesses and corporations will want many more reasons. Another reason is that a blog gives personality to the “big” and “untouchable” corporation. Semantics you say – maybe. But a blog helps make them human and more relatable. If you want to market to gen-x and y you have to blog. I have many other marketable ideas for you. You also need to have answers prepared for the reasons why they should not have a blog. There are some big ones.
Honestly, if you want to break into the big corporate realm and see your demand explode, you’ll have to come up with many more reasons and financial and statistical data to back it up. C-suite executives are motivated (at least most are) my objective data. Maybe some of your other posts clarify this but it needs to be clearly spelled out. You think bloggers have a short attention span? Try selling something to a c-suite executive.
But these are just my opinions – opinions as a CEO.