Corporations are struggling with business blogs – at least according to a recent Forrester Research report mentioned by Ken Magill in his Direct Magazine article:
Business-to-business blogging took a nosedive this year, mainly because returns on corporate blogs haven’t matched investment, according to a recent report by Forrester Research.
However, analyst Laura Ramos, the lead author of the report, recommends businesses take a second look at corporate blogs.
“Rather than cross blogging off the marketing communications list, marketers would do better to embrace one of the four strategies prominently used by bloggers to attract readers, build conversations, and engage community members in sharing their experiences with their online peers,” said Ramos’s report, “How to Derive Value From B2B Blogging.”
Still, the number of new corporate blogs has dropped sharply in the last year and a half, according to the report, with 36 companies launching them in 2006, 19 in 2007, and just three in the first quarter of 2008, according to Forrester.
In my online marketing classes, I tell small business clients that engagement marketing is the great leveler; big businesses don’t engage well, but that small businesses do.
That’s a function of several elements, but in simplest terms, small business are often more “real” with customers. Corporations? They fall victim to their inability to escape boring, meaningless “corporatespeak.”
Indeed, Forester’s report speaks to the traits required to successfully engage customers:
Successful corporate blogs “talk openly with an authentic voice,” and are “humble and honest,” two traits that run counter to many corporate egos, said Forrester’s report.
Ouch.
Too many corporations see blogs as merely another pipeline into which they shovel PR materials, or worse – as Web-based showcases for preening executives.
The ugly truth is this: customers and prospects want useful information or thought leadership. While both are available inside your average corporation, the fear of transparency is a barrier most corporations won’t overcome.
Another trap lies hidden within the language itself; many potential contributors to corporate blogs aren’t very good writers, a fact which suggests the need for an editor.
Some organizations have shown excellent returns from blogging (like Patagonia’s Cleanest Line), and the benefits of engaging with customers (binding them to the brand via shared passions and values) are significant – and will grow more so as marketing costs rise.
The fact that growth in business blogs is slowing should provide additional fuel to those who are getting it right.
Stay engaged, Tom Chandler.
You might believe engagement marketing is the province of big companies — those who can afford big-dollar social networks and viral videos produced by top-notch Hollywood talent.
Happily, nothing could be further from the truth.
Witness the industry dominance of Pyramyd Air — the retail leader in the airgun niche.
Airguns??
It’s not glamorous, but like any niche, as long as you’re in it, you might as well be in it to win.
Which is exactly what Pyramyd Air is doing.
Engaging With Customers – Affordably
I first found Pyramyd Air prior to teaching an online marketing class; they became a case study in the benefits of high-quality content marketing for my mostly small and medium-sized business owners.
Despite the fact I also trumpeted Nike’s glossy, high-tech running site, Pyramyd’s tactics became the focus of our discussions. Why?
Because Pyramyd is doing what almost any business can do.
For example, Pyramyd’s Web site is not exactly a thing of beauty, but they leverage engagement marketing techniques better than all but a handful of Fortune 1000 firms.
They engage customers with a wildly informative daily blog (written by industry expert Tom Gaylord), twice-a-month podcasts, numerous "how-to" and product review articles (in an editorial style) and even short video snippets.
Pyramyd’s site isn’t pretty, but to search engines and airgun junkies, it’s pure art.
The Blog Leads the Way
Tom Gaylord’s daily blog clearly taps into the passions of his airgun readers; most blog posts generate more than 100 comments, and the comment count on popular posts exceeds 300.
Those are startling numbers given the size of the airgun market (as a niche, it’s not exactly in the same league as celebrity gossip or technology).
The blog itself is conversational in tone, and though I don’t recommend this to my clients, it’s even hosted on a free Google Blogger account. (Really – don’t do this.)
Pyramyd offers a page of helpful articles and another filled with monthly podcasts.
Gaylord’s blog posts are crammed with information, and slaughter some of blogging’s sacred cows. They’re long (by blogging standards), and though he breaks up the text with frequent subheads, his subheads (and copy) lack hype or strong benefits.
It’s an excellent illustration of engagement writing; he’s not talking to an audience as much as sharing with them, and avoids withering his credibility with excessively amped copy. In fact, he recently wrote a blog entry largely condemning a new air pistol with: "As the Typhoon stands today, it has very little to recommend it."
His readers crave information and a demonstrated passion for the sport, and he provides both in spades.
In short, Pyramyd Air isn’t selling airguns or pellets; the product here is rampant, authentic passion for airgunning — which then translates directly into airgun and pellet sales.
Does it drive revenues? Consider this: despite taking over several nearby spaces, Pyramyd has outgrown its building and is moving to a newer, bigger building.
That, my readers, is a problem any business would embrace.
Stay engaged, Tom Chandler.
