Corporate Blogging: The Emerging Darling of Online Marketing
Posted on Mon, Nov 08, 2010
By Cathy
I’m afraid to watch Hoarders, the show that details the disturbed lives of people who Never Throw Anything Away. I fear finding a scene that might indicate I have a problem.
Today, we meet a woman who refuses to discard books. Here’s a tattered copy of “To Kill A Mockingbird,” right next to two other editions. Three copies of the same book. It’s senseless. If we turn the corner, we’ll see she’s even kept seven different copies of “A Moveable Feast” and…oh my…”Chicken Soup For the Soul.” Perhaps the real red-flag in this house is here, where the owner hoards AP Stylebooks. This one is from 2006! It’s ancient! “Blog” isn’t even an entry in this guide.
Yes, I’m hanging onto an outdated AP Stylebook for posterity's sake. It comes in handy, occasionally. Comma rules rarely change. But modes of communication sure do. “Blog” is not anywhere to be found in the Associated Press lexicon of 2006, and yet, today, blogging is widely embraced by individuals, traditional media outlets and, increasingly, corporations
In its own blog last month, eMarketer wrote that 34 percent of U.S. companies will blog this year. The digital marketing research group went on to predict continued growth, with 43 percent of American companies blogging by 2012. eMarketer’s latest research report finds that blogging is becoming a vital activity for corporate communications, lead generation, customer service and brand marketing. The full report is available for a fee, but companies looking to start blogging can do so at little cost and with modest investments in time.
Copyblogger is a great place to start. This site delivers daily tips about content marketing, copywriting, SEO and keyword research. An e-mail subscription is free, won’t take up any room in your home or office, and provides always-current information, unlike a four-year-old reference manual written before blogging became a serious marketing device.
Are you hoarding outdated ideas about corporate blogging? We’d love to hear your questions about starting a company blog.