Last week’s news that business blogs aren’t attracting return visitors didn’t surprise me.
Whilst those of us working in the more creative industries like PR, social media and advertising seem to have grasped that blogs need to work hard to entertain and inform to win a regular audience, a lot of corporate blogs are still struggling to break free of their corporate shackles. They’re bland, faceless and don’t work much harder than traditional press releases to persuade an audience to stick around.
Business Blogs and the Impact of Social Media
Social media has changed the playing field when it comes to community involvement and I think this is, in part, why blogs may be struggling.
After all, it takes more skill to craft a blog post that’s targeted for search engine optimisation (SEO), social media optimisation and customer engagement than upload a picture to Facebook and post a simple: “Here’s what we’re thinking of launching next spring? What do you reckon?”.
I’m not trying to undermine the skills of great community managers here. I just think that the everyday tone of social media channels like Facebook and Twitter is making it easier for businesses to shake off their corporate straight jacket and build communities of engagement with customers.
Bemz, who help breathe new life into ageing Ikea sofas with replacement covers, are a prime example of this. They have a vibrant Facebook Page that attracts daily community involvement. Their blog, however, doesn’t have the same level of community involvement.
Whilst Facebook is great for community building, Twitter is increasingly an important channel for customer support and crisis management.
A few days ago, for example, I moaned publicly about problems with the usually excellent blog-commenting system Disqus and got a personal response on Twitter.
Back in, say, 2007 I would have probably gone to a forum to complain or a blog to look for an explanation. In the past businesses viewed blogs and forums as the online places to engage with customers and show we were listening. Now, since social media went mainstream (400 million users on Facebook is pretty mainstream!), it’s less clear what role business blogs have.
If it’s easier to post short updates, pictures, polls and quizzes on Facebook, and chat and engage one-to-one on Twitter, maybe it’s time to rethink how business blogs can be used?
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Jon Buscall is a Communications Consultant specialising in online media based in Stockholm, Sweden.
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Dr Jon Buscall
Web: www.jontusmedia.com
Email: jon@jontusmedia.com
Twitter: @jonbuscall
