Wednesday 28 October 2009

Do your customers trust your blog?

As you might have heard already, the recent study published by Forrester research shows that the company blogs are the least trusted information sources and customers trust them less then direct mail or even Wikipedia. What is wrong with corporate blogs, you will ask. The researchers say that it is not the medium that is ineffective, it’s the way companies use it that is wrong. The study provoked a lot of discussion and suggestions on how to make the corporate blogs more trustworthy. Essentially, there are three things you might want to consider changing.

First: Think why and how you blog



You obviously blog to raise people’s awareness of your goods and services, but read your posts. Don’t they sound too salezy when you always concentrate on your news, your goods and your offers? It has been proven that you should be adopting the customer’s perspective and voicing their concerns and needs rather than pushing through your own agenda. Advertising and newsletters are appropriate means of passing the message, whereas the blogs have a different function.

Second: Make it personal



Traditionally, people trust companies less than they trust other people and the study can vouch for that as well. Therefore, your customers should like your blog because it is different, because it has a face, because it’s not like other corporate blogs. There must be some personal interest for the readers to be reading your blog. Make the stories more interesting, stimulate discussion, interact extensively and you will see your customers’ trust for your blog and eventually for your brand rise.



Third: Make it professional



You can obviously try writing all of the blog entries yourself, but don’t you already have enough on your plate to worry about? Especially now that you know that your customers are looking for original and creative content, something they would be able to discuss with their friends, not just some writing in the space of the free time you have after all of the other tasks are dealt with. Virtual Blue Bird has come up with a solution for companies who would like to reap the benefits of efficient blogging, without having to do all the writing.

With a team of talented writers and a vast knowledge of the rules of marketing communication, Virtual Blue Bird is able to literally provide you a helping hand to be writing your blogs for you. By delegating the writing of your blogs to an expert, you can ensure that your blog is in accordance with the needs of your customers and is a valuable marketing instrument. Whether you are a business owner or an independent professional requiring blogging support we are able to accommodate for all of you blogging needs.

Quality blogging takes time, effort and creative talent and so does your company’s reputation. It does take a long time to build up a sound reputation for your business so you simply can’t afford making mistakes. Making your blog more professional, personal and customer-focused is essential for establishing a reputation for the success of your business.

1 comment:

  1. Please note that the cartoon is created by John Cox & Allen Forkum. Here is the original cartoon: http://www.coxandforkum.com/archives/000478.html

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