Three tips for successful corporate blogging

David Meerman Scott has spent years in the field of social marketing and as blogs become an increasingly important part of the promotional strategies developed by companies, this specialist offers three tips on successful corporate blogging. The first, and perhaps most important, step is to be very familiar with the latest trends in a given industry. Each corporate blog will be industry-specific, which means that the blogger or content writer must identify those topics and issues that are most likely to attract readers.

For example, airline mergers, fuel surcharges and the fate of low-cost carriers in recessionary times have all been newsworthy topics in the travel industry over the past 12 months, and this is what a company in the sector would have focused on to attract readers.
On the other hand, it is advisable for companies in the real estate sector to use their blog as an opportunity to offer tips on how to overcome challenges such as falling property prices, or how to take advantage of historically low interest rates when applying for mortgages. These are useful tips that go far beyond simply advertising a product and can help companies build a loyal client base, as they offer valuable information to readers free of charge.

Scott also suggests as his second tip that corporate bloggers post comments on other blogs in related fields. In most cases, blogs will allow for those who post comments to include their own site’s name or a direct link. This can help generate traffic to a newly established corporate blog from readers interested in a specific market. Finally, Scott also recommends that companies avoid setting up blogs that cover very broad topics, as these will be unlikely to attract core readers interested only in specific fields. A happy intermediate position is best, which is somewhere between a very small niche market and a much too broad, open-ended field.