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Most Corporate Blogs are unimaginative failures.

Blogging is becoming popular among corporate communications officers. However, beyond being the 'new' new thing, how effectively are companies using this medium to extend their messages. Joining the bandwagon is not the end of the journey.

According to Forrester Research’s findings, most corporate blogs don’t achieve their goals (‘dull, drab, and don’t stimulate discussion’). In its report, the WSJ provoked an interesting debate in the Comments area, with both viscerally pro and rabidly con positions.

In fact, results from a survey run by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff, authors of Groundswell and Forrester analysts, found that only 16% of people who read corporate blogs say that they trust them. Respondents ranked emails from friends as the most trusted source (77%). Company blogs ranked almost the same as company profile pages on social networks (18%).Yet the authors emphasize that this is not a plea to give up on blogging. Instead, companies should give careful thought to why and how they blog.

So while corporate blogs may have some credibility and relevance challenges to overcome, they can still serve a valid purpose.

One sure loser is when companies limit blog topics to rave reviews of their products and services. Rather, the blog should be about the problems faced by customers and how the company is applying resources to provide solutions. This ‘it’s about you, not me’ approach is one way to build trust.

There are several positive payoffs for companies if they get corporate blogging right. But a big ‘if’ that is. Still, companies should give blogging a try if only for the simple reason that it allows companies to foster conversations with readers and one can never tell when that would come in handy.

The recent experience of GM, shows how companies can leverage their blog readership to communicate their point of view during crisis periods, as the GM team so masterfully did during the bailout debates in November 2008. Their GM Facts and Fiction site served to present the company’s arguments, and rebuttals of misconceptions on the issues faced by Detroit automakers. Other flagship examples include the ArcelorMittal site that was launched in 2007, as part of the communications strategy during the takeover of Arcelor by Mittal, to create the steel giant. Another recent example is the Wells Fargo – Wachovia blog, which has been launched to provide investors and customers with information about the ongoing merger.

Clearly, there is a strong and compelling case why company boards should take advantage of blogging as an investor relations tool.

Therefore, while company blogs may suffer from some distrust, this is not intrinsic to the medium. It is the method and content that may be flawed. Like most new media, users will learn by doing: jettisoning what does not work, and reinforcing behaviour in what works.

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