Some brands blog about the latest happenings in the company. Some offer useful tips and tricks relevant to their readers. Some publish opinion pieces and while some don't blog at all.
While the last are definitely in a shrinking minority today, wouldn't it be great to look at what some of the best brand blogs in the business look like? Here's a tour of five of the most exciting corporate blogs around.
1. Marriott
'Marriott on the Move' is the Marriott hospitality group's legendary corporate blog that is managed single handedly by the group's Executive Chairman, Bill Marriott. The personal touch is evident in every post with Bill Marriott's signature sign off line "I'm Bill Marriott and thank you for helping me keep Marriott on the Move."
Marriott uses the blog to voice his opinions about business and workplace issues, initiatives that his group hotels have taken up, honors bestowed upon the group, it even offers a glimpse into his personal life. One thing that this blog has, that probably no large corporate blog does, is an audio version of each blog post in Bill Marriott's own voice!
Takeaways:
- A personal touch goes a long way in building a relationship with users. The behind the scenes looks, the personal anecdotes and the warm voice of Mr. Marriott that resonates throughout this blog makes it truly special.
- Clear navigation and topic categories make it easy for readers to find their way around the blog.
- Quality matters more than frequency. Many brands aim to churn out as much content as possible in a single day. Trouble is, this affects the quality of their content and also drowns out earlier content that a user may not have gotten around to reading yet. Take a note from the Marriott brand blog and post regularly (never mind if it's not every day), but make sure each post really connects with your users.
2. Virgin
Even though this is not the Virgin group's corporate blog, Sir Richard Branson's personal blog has the Virgin stamp all over it that it may as well be the Virgin flagship blog. One of the most striking things about this blog is its vibrant colors, large images and interesting design. Without sacrificing readability, the design experiments with the ho-hum layouts that most blogs have (probably to match its owner's colorful personality).
Branson writes about all the things that are close to his heart - his entrepreneurial spirit, adventures on mountains and seas, latest ventures that his companies are undertaking, business advice to up and coming young professionals to parental musings and advice to young parents. In spite of all the swashbuckling stuff that Branson immerses himself into, his blog never misses out talking about each of his companies individually and frequently. What better way to stay in the news than on a blog that's followed by thousands of fervent readers!
The blog embodies everything Branson stands for - it's interesting, wise, a little reckless and imminently readable.
Takeaways:
- PERSONALITY! Without a strong sense of brand personality oozing out of your content, you may as well be writing for any other brand and it would sound the same.
- Don't be afraid to experiment with the design of your blog. Content is paramount, but with design that has some real pop in it, your blog gets elevated to a different level altogether.
- The passion that brand evangelists will bring with them is something no outsourced writer can ever hope to offer. Have a chief evangelist and real employees craft your content and see the magic happen. Jeff Barr of Amazon, Tony Hsieh of Zappos and of course, Richard Branson of Virgin - all offer the kind of credibility that a 'pen for hire' cannot match.
3. Google
A brand as gigantic as Google deserves a blog that is equally well read and followed. The Google Blog (simplicity does run in Google's DNA!) is a hugely popular blog that is followed fervently by technology buffs, web developers, internet enthusiasts, business owners and marketers like you and me.
With the amount of clout that Google holds in the search and digital marketing space, thousands of people hang on to every word published on the Google blog - guidelines of what to do and what NOT to do, new product releases, bug fixes, trends, events, behind the scenes glimpses and more.
The blog is marked by its tremendous amount of white space, reminiscent of the Google search home page, minimal design and easy to read layout. It is easily searchable (duh, it's Google!) and offers links out to blogs by other Google businesses dedicated to individual interests like Public policy, Android, research and so on.
Funnily enough, the all-important 'subscribe' button is conspicuous by its absence on the Google blog. However, as you can see, that has in no way diminished the readership and devoted following of the blog. Works for Google, but not the best idea for brands that are in any way less iconic than the search giant.
Takeaways:
- KISS - keep it simple silly, is Google's mantra for nearly everything and its blog is no exception. From the layout and design to the language used in the blog, to the way new concepts are explained to readers - there's nothing complicated about this blog.
- If you have other blogs on specific interests, showcase them on your flagship blog to drive traffic and readership to them. Don't forget to track all the activity on all your various blogs with a unified dashboard.
- While diverse content attracts many types of readers, staying true to your core competence and developing a deep level of expertise in it will earn you readers and followers alike among the specific audience that your brand targets.
4. Mint
Financial services software Mint has its simple yet superbly useful blog called MintLife. Mint offers an information rich blog that educates but not in a heavy-handed manner. One would expect an online budget calculator to be focused on finance heavy topics, but Mint does a great mix and match of lifestyle topics, financial education, travel planning and spending, insurance and even auto care.
The basic tenet the blog follows is - write about everything that involves spending and our readers will be interested. And boy, are they right! They have lively engagement in the form of shares and comments on every piece.
Takeaways:
- Be bold in the topics that you tackle. They don't strictly have to be from within your industry, but can be related to it instead.
- Opinion pieces and sharing personal anecdotes work if the writer is a celebrity in his own right. If your blog is written by regular people like you and me, your readers will appreciate useful information in your posts than anecdotal ramblings.
- If your core product handles sensitive user information like credit card details, banking information, medical data, and so on, it helps to minimize your liability while offering advice on your blog. Even if you don't deal with sensitive information, it never hurts to be careful. So, check out this this legal guide to doing online business in the U.S., put together by Shopify, before you start selling your blog subscriber data to spammers. Just kidding, I know you won't do that.
5. American Express OPEN Forum
American Express operates in a business that most people do not understand and tend to consider a real chore in their lives - financial services. However, with the American Express Open Forum, Amex has managed to ditch the yawn-inducing image of financial services companies and offers fantastic perspectives into running modern businesses successfully.
This is a largely user generated blog, with guest authors from various fields speaking their mind on topics that relate to marketing, business, leadership and yet, also financial management. The result of this broadened focus is an extremely popular entrepreneurship and business blog that enjoys great readership and extremely high user engagement.
Takeaways:
- Don't be afraid to venture out of your immediate industry. Look at all the ways your brand impacts users and write about all those various facets - that makes your content interesting and more grounded in reality.
- Just because your business is into serious stuff like financial services (or repairing heavy machinery) that does mean you cannot have some fun on your blog. Make your content interactive and fun to bring in the eyeballs.
- Get experts to write for your blog if you want your content to be authoritative and really useful. Amex does a great job of this by inviting user generated content by asking users to 'Post Advice' and curating the best content to be posted on their site.
Closing Thoughts
These were some of the leading blogs that grab attention and inspire action, but there are so many more that are equally good and deserve an honorable mention - Coca Cola Unbottled, IBM Smarter Commerce, Salvation Army Doing The Most Good, and DisneyParks Blog, to name a few.
Remember, a blog is your brand's mouthpiece that is absolutely free. In an age where every move you make to promote your brand online or offline coming at a price, this is one platform that no brand can afford to ignore or mess up. Take a few tips from the masters and set out on your own journey to a great brand blog!
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Featured image: BusinessWeek cover, May 2005