by Ruth Belena

Created on: August 16, 2009

Company blogs have great value for public relations because they build brand awareness, trust and loyalty. Blogs are useful for posting positive publicity, and information on blogs can spread very quickly through social networks and bookmark sites.

[1] A blog allows communication between a company and its customers.

Customers and potential customers can see how the company responds to queries and comments. People are generally more willing to buy products and services from a responsive company.

[2] Feedback through company blogs allows some effective product research and can generate some good testimonials.

Bloggers in general are friendly and helpful. Some of them are more than willing to comment on blog posts, and to offer suggestions that can help a company improve a service or develop a new product. Customer reviews help companies to improve their products or service, and positive comments on a blog will help others to overcome any concerns.

[3] Company blogs are effective when they feature exclusive content and offer valuable information to visitors.

Company blogs must be kept updated with content that is relevant, original and fresh, so visitors will want to subscribe to the blog's RSS feed (Really Simple Syndication). A company blog can also encourage customers to sign up for regular opt-in email newsletters, to keep them up to date with all the latest offers, product reviews and news about the company posted on the blog .

- Setting up a company blog -

* A company blog should be designed for good public relations. It should be easy to use, with attractive layout and graphics to match the quality of products or services.

* Legal issues should be clearly defined on a company blog, by including disclaimers and limitations of liabilities. Legal advice should be taken when establishing corporate blogging policies. There should be some restrictions about what information can be made public and who is permitted to post on the blog.

* A corporate blogger should avoid posting too much marketing content from the start, or the blog could fail to interest visitors. A new company blog should focus on core values, and should have at least twenty good informational posts before any direct marketing content appears.

* A blogging schedule is necessary for a company blog, so new content can be added daily, or more often on some business days. With less frequent posting, a regular schedule is still required, and the best days should be selected for updating the blog each week. A company blog should never be allow to become stagnant.

Having an active blog gives a company a definite edge over competitors, and there is much value to be gained in public relations from corporate blogging.

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