Blogs were a bit of a self-indulgent fad not that long ago. You signed up with a service like Blogger or TypePad, and started writing about whatever you wanted to: your kids, your pet salamander, your volunteer work at the soup kitchen, your low-carb recipes. It was a nice way to share information with your friends, but a lot of people thought that blogs were a flash in the pan.
And then businesses got involved.
So what can your business gain from starting a blog? Well, you can offer your customers a behind-the-scenes look at how things work. You can give them a place to interact with you and join the conversation through the comments section. You can help build excitement about new products or services that are being developed or launched. And you can demonstrate a transparency that may just result in increased customer trust and loyalty.
I know these are rather intangible things, so let me give you an example of corporate blogging in action. The business solutions provider IBM decided to hand the blogging reins over to its employees. That’s right—they are letting their employees blog about whatever they want. Naturally, a lot of these folks are passionate about their work, so they blog about technology, business, economics, consulting. Others blog about their families, GLBT issues, history, travel, politics, skiing, photography and literature. Some blogs are funny, others rambling, still others maintain a professional voice. All of the bloggers will tell you that their opinions are not representative of IBM; these snapshots of the people who work there, however, do allow the blogs’ readers to connect directly with IBM employees and become invested in their lives. It also allows a little window onto the culture of the company and its day-to-day operation.
Practical Application
Another approach is the top-down blog. John Mackey, the CEO of natural and organic foods retailer Whole Foods, has his own blog—and has since September 2005. He uses the blog as a platform from which to speak about social responsibility, trust, health care reform, capitalism, and of course the ongoing activities of the company. Late in 2009, he blogged about stepping down from his position as Chairman of the Board at Whole Foods, although he has maintained his CEO-ship. A quick skim of the comments to this post reveals a polarization that is characteristic of consumers’ responses to this controversial company. The first comment lauds Mackey; the second lambasts him, and the conversation continues. What’s remarkable about this blog—no matter where you may stand on the love/hate divide when it comes to shopping Whole Foods—is the transparency it offers, and the fact that it respects all views. This allows consumers to voice their opinion, to speak directly to the higher-ups at a major grocery chain—you can rest assured that all of these comments are being read by someone at Whole Foods, if not by Mackey himself—and to really feel that they are being heard.
There are a lot of reasons to get involved in social media for your business, and blogging may be a good way to start. Give your customer a glimpse behind the scenes, share some things about your business in an informal, conversational setting, and see what happens. You might just find that opening your blog to the public eye will also lead customers through your doors.
