Beth holds a master's degree in integrated marketing communications, and has worked in journalism and marketing throughout her career.
When more than 20 million people pass through your gates every year, you know you have a captive audience. That's just one of the reasons that a blog (an informal online journal) has been beneficial for Disney Parks.
The Disney Parks Blog provides details about new features at the brand's parks, Disney dining and upcoming special events. The content can be sorted based on the viewer's destination, topics of interest (such as vacation planning) or latest stories. And, of course, the blog is full of photos of Disney's famous characters and attractions at its parks - from California to Tokyo.
Disney's blog is just one example of many corporate blogs out there that provides another touchpoint for a brand to interact with its audience, providing relevant content, visual appeal and social networking connections.
The idea of a corporate blog doesn't differ too much from a regular blog. A corporate blog serves as an informal, conversational venue for reaching a target audience through useful content.
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While a beauty blog might be focused on reaching makeup lovers, corporate blogs are designed to engage visitors looking for a bit more content related to the corporate brand.
Corporate blogs are generally useful for a number of important things:
Yet, a corporate blog shouldn't be all about being pushy in terms of advertising and marketing. Instead, it should be a more relaxed atmosphere than a brand website: creating a dialogue; providing useful industry information and tips; and building relationships with consumers.
Some experts believe that a business with its own corporate blog is up to 13 times more likely to cash in on its content than businesses who skip out on blogging. Why? Because it provides another venue for increasing awareness of your brand, setting yourself apart as experts or leaders in your industry, creating more engagement with your audience and even driving more traffic to your main website.
Corporate blogs are just one more tool for marketers today who are looking for a way to set themselves apart from their competitors. In the content-rich world of the internet that we live in, brands that are actively producing relevant articles and tips are going to be more useful to consumers than brands that aren't. All of that drives awareness, engagement and loyalty.
Creating a corporate blog isn't just as simple, however, as registering a domain and throwing up some website content. The strategy behind a corporate blog should include a purpose for your blog and a theme that guides the type of content you produce. For example, if you own a small grocery store, a good blog theme for your business might be cooking tips or easy homemade meals. Both topics would be a good fit for that type of business, and they're relevant to your audience.
Here are some best practices for designing a blog that will get traffic:
1. Be visual. Blogs are traditionally considered a forum for a lot of writing, but don't skimp on the graphics and photos. Your corporate blog should be visually appealing, as well as informative.
2. Be social. Give visitors to your blog plenty of options to share your blog content on their own social media networks. This can open your brand up to audiences who have never engaged with you before.
3. Be mobile. When designing your site, remember that a good portion of your web traffic will be accessing your site from a mobile device. Create a site that is responsive regardless of where it's being accessed.
4. Be useful. The best brands will fail at blogging if the content is not relevant and useful. Focus on writing and sharing articles, tips and information that will enhance your brand, not hurt it.
5. Be casual. Corporate blogs that are too formal or preachy will scare off visitors who are looking for a more casual, conversational tone. Blogs are the place to dial down the sales pitch and get personal with visitors.
There are numerous brands out there succeeding at corporate blogging, creating an atmosphere that enhances the business' other platforms and supports the company's voice and purpose. Here are just two:
500px is an online community for photographers, where they can share their work and learn more about their craft. The blog, accessible directly from their main website, is an extension of that community feel, offering a design that incorporates large visuals and tips for photographers to make the most of their time behind the camera. Rightly so, photographs play a big part in the design of the blog, while articles are accessible by clicking through to another page. It all adds up to a corporate blog that is visual (lots of pictures), social (plenty of buttons to share content) and useful (tips and news from the photography industry).
A financial management company that is a part of Intuit, Mint's primary website focuses on helping everyday people manage their funds, set budgets, track investments and pay bills (among other things). The company's corporate blog, called MintLife, supplements the company's main site, by offering content related to getting out of debt, abiding by a budget and other financial topics that will be relevant to Mint users.
Blogs are informal, conversational websites that provide useful content to their visitors. The same concept applies to corporate blogs, which serve as an extension of a brand, by providing relevant content in a more relaxed, engaging environment. Blogs are effective for thought leadership and building awareness and loyalty. The best corporate blogs follow design principles that encourage appealing visuals, social sharing, mobile-friendliness and useful content in a casual format.
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