The Wall Street Journal has a useful reality check on blogging in this post – Most Corporate Blogs Are Unimaginative Failures – about a report by Forrester into corporate B2B blogs.
Here are some highlights:
Not only are these corporate blogs boring as paint, but the businesses behind admit they don’t have much value.
But because B2B companies are selling to people who follow their products professionally and not for pleasure, they face a greater challenge than companies that sell primarily to consumers.
Forrester found that most B2B blogs are “dull, drab, and don’t stimulate discussion.” Seventy percent stuck to business or technical topics, 74% rarely get comments, and 56% simply regurgitated press releases or other already-public news.
Forrester doesn’t recommend that businesses give up on blogging, however. Instead, it suggests that they spice the blogs up. Most B2B bloggers publish irregularly, don’t stick to it for very long, and rarely inject personality into their posts.
Forrester’s Report itself offers four strategies for a B2B blog:
- Strategy One: Be A Conversation Starter, Not A Spoiler
- Strategy Two: Make Blog Content Entertaining, Easy To Digest And To Use
- Strategy Three: Connect The Dots Between Events And Community Involvement
- Strategy Four: Invite Thought Leaders, But Coach Them On Community Etiquette
Solid advice for B2B blogs. However, it might not apply as much to B2C, B2P (business to partner) and C2C blogs.