The world’s 10 best company blogs

It has become more and more apparent that the most important section of most corporate websites is the blog.

The blog is the voice of the company, a place where company leaders can accomplish a variety of objectives, ranging from building brand image and customer loyalty to generating sales and culling new-product ideas.

The problem is good blogs are few and far between. Too many receive infrequent and half-hearted postings. With blogs taking on heightened importance it is critical that they be handled with great care and professionalism.

Where to start? It’s always wise to find excellence and emulate it, or be influenced by it. With that in mind one of the best things the aspiring blogger can do is find outstanding examples of corporate blogs and barrow the best ideas, including blog topics where applicable.

So you’ll want to become party to the information contained in an article that appeared on the Social Media Today website written by Mark Schaefer of Schaefer Marketing Solutions. It features the world’s 10 best company blogs and has a few things to say about them. Here’s a synopsis.

Schaefer started with a few general observations about corporate blogs.

1. Corporate blogging has evolved beyond personal journaling.
2. There is a chasm between the adoption of blogs at large companies versus the rest of the business world. The Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts showed in a study that just 22 percent of the Fortune 500 companies blog, compared to 45 percent of the Inc. 500 companies and about 80 percent of non-profit organizations. Schaefer writes that “corporate blogging is still a wide-open area for marketing channel development since there are so many proven benefits of blogging.”
3. The best blogs are found in the tech sector – with IBM, Oracle and SAP among the best. In fact, the tech-sector is so far ahead of other industries Schaefer decided to exclude tech blogs from his top 10 choices.

So … without further pomp and circumstance, here, in no particular order, are Schaefer top 10 picks, minus tech company blogs.

• Caterpillar. This blog is focused on problem solving, community building, and building loyalty. Caterpillar’s blog does a superb job engaging customers, using the community to solve problems, and rewarding customer ideas.
• Starbucks. The coffee giant’s blog is focused on new-product development and customer engagement. Interestingly, Starbucks’ blog is only tangentially about coffee. Instead, this blog is used as a global brainstorming platform.  Customers submit ideas for new drinks, food items, packages, even store designs.
• Marriott. The hotel chain uses its blog to promote sales, build customer satisfaction and handle crisis management. Bill Marriott is one of the most famous corporate bloggers in the world. The chairman’s personal involvement has won the site loyal fans since they know they are getting the word from a real executive — a powerful point of differentiation. The company has reported generating millions in direct sales from this blog.
• Wegmans. Considered one of the most innovative supermarkets, Wegmans finds its blog useful in building customer loyalty and selling product. The blog design changes every few weeks to reflect colorful seasonal themes. The company has managed to attract a loyal and engaged audience through posts from president Danny Wegman and other store employees on ideas for entertaining at home, recipes and nutrition.
• Manpower. Thought leadership is what this blog is all about. When visitors to Manpower’s U.S. website were asked what information they wanted most, the answer was employment law. This blog aims to meet that demand with engaging and educational content.
• General Electric. Brand awareness is what this blog is all about. If you want to see a blog that is doing a good job spinning some entertaining stories, look no further. It’s not uncommon to see wonderful photography, video, and even art and music used in a blog post to illustrate a point.
• Fiskars. The posts on this blog are designed to engage customers and build brand awareness. How do you create passion for scissors?  Fiskars has done it in one of the most creative blogs in the corporate world. The company solicited help from four scrapbook fanatics who demonstrate their love of crafting — and the tools they use — with customer-generated content. Schaefer calls it, “One of the greatest marketing applications for blogging I have seen.”
• Southwest Airlines. One of the best-known corporate blogs, the storied airline uses it to enhance its corporate image and connect with media outlets. This quirky blog is about travel and the people who make it happen.
• Patagonia. This blog’s focus is to complement brand image and community engagement. This purveyor of high-end adventure gear does a marvelous job featuring reader stories about their outdoor adventures.
• Whole Foods Market. This popular blog is full of how-to’s, best practices and exciting product ideas.

So there you have it. Some of these examples could be far afield from what your company is trying to accomplish. Others are probably a good approximation of where you would like to be.

Take a look at them. Learn from them. Be influenced. Don’t be afraid to emulate without, of course, committing acts of outright plagiarism.

The thing to keep in mind is that developing a strong company blog takes commitment and perseverance. They must be a priority or the quality will be impossible to maintain.

So don’t treat your blog as an ancillary activity. Treat it as central to your company’s online strategy – because that is the case.

For the full article by Mark Schaefer click here.

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