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The Biggest Mistake Corporate Bloggers Make

Blogging is the fundamental building block of Web 2.0. And Web 2.0 is all about … building relationships. There are many, many aspects of Web 2.0, but every last one of them getting to know new people better, finding people to connect with, and bringing value into the lives of others.

Why?

Because that is what THEY expect.

If you get on your blog and write a 600-word piece about how your company’s fizzgrabber fandoogles the exterior whatzitstam, then you are going to have serious difficulty building a following for your blog. A blog is not a sales device. Let’s rephrase that - a blog is NEVER a sales device. It can be the precursor to the precursor to a sales device. But that is as close as you should ever get to the sales function.

A corporate blog exists to put a human face on some vast, unknowable corporate entity. Your company will be much more successful financially if prospects and customers can relate to you and bond with you through shared experiences. A blog gives you the opportunity to do that.

The biggest complaint people in corporations make about blogs is, “The darn thing can’t sell anything!” Which is 100% true. You cannot sell from a blog, and you should not be trying. However … you can bring value to the lives of your prospects and customers. You can find out what they want and help them find it, whether it’s your own solution or someone else’s. You can build a community - over time - of people who value your regard for them and your knowledge about their industry and your dedication to helping them solve their problems.

What’s the payoff in that?

More of those people will become customers. And more of those customers will stick with your company. All because they see you as different from all the others, someone who values THEM rather than their wallet. That is how a corporate blog can produce for you, and that is the attitude you can take that will ultimately be successful.

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Monday, June 16th, 2008 at 12:12 pm and is filed under Corporate Blogging . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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