Forrester Research recently compiled a review of ninety different Fortune 500 blogs, and found most to be lacking the proper amount of stimulation. Sadly, two things of these corporate blogs barely ever received any comments, 70 % of them stuck completely to topics of their business without ever straying, and sadly, more than half of them simply regurgitated press releases and other news that was already pubic. Because of blogs like this, the general consensus on corporate blogging has been that it is not really worth the time and effort, and this is a true shame because when a corporate blog is done right, it can actually have a tremendous value to the owner. Below is a brief list of some of the corporate blogs out there that are shining examples of what this activity can do for your business because they really “get” corporate blogging.

37 Signals –

You could consider these guys to be the poster children for corporate blogging, with more than one hundred thousand RSS subscribers and a blog full of advice and insight about design and business, editorials and so much more.

Adobe –

Adobe actually offers a large collection of different employee blogs, and many of them happen to be excellent reads. Because Adobe is allowing its employees to blog, it has given them the power to evangelize the company’s products through reviews, tutorials and advice without actually forcing them to talk only about these products.

Amazon Web Services –

Amazon’s Web Services blog is one of the greatest corporate blogs in existence, because it reads like the blog of Amazon’s greatest fan. The great mind because the Amazon Web Services blog is actually an evangelist for the company, but his blog posts read like they’re from someone who is really truly amazed by the things that people are building in Amazon’s suite of different web services every single day. This blog is a true pleasure to read, which is what corporate blogging is about.

Freshbooks –

Freshbooks seems to be taking the lead from 37 Signals, utilizing their corporate blog in proactive ways by sharing insights and advice into how they do things to create true fans out of their blog users and readers.

Lenovo –

Lenovo is a computer making company that has a collection of blogs, which prove in no uncertain terms that they understand what corporate blogging is all about. They post about their products, but also musings relating to business, life, design and technology. One of their best blogs, Design matters, is a must read blog for anyone who is into design, and can be found at http://www.lenovoblogs.com.

Southwest Airlines –

The Southwest Airlines company has a “Nuts about Southwest” blog that does not take itself seriously, but rather it blogs about the airline industry and the company itself with a really important personal touch that allows the company to produce interesting and enjoyable content with only a slight hint at seriousness.

Photo Credits: 1

Originally posted 2008-12-29 05:47:09. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

• What Does a Corporate Blog Say About You? When you have a corporate blog, it is important to realize that it will be saying a lot about you. Whether or not it’s projecting a good image of your company is entirely up to you. Here are some tips to make sure that your blog says all the right......
• Ten Tips for Better Corporate Blog Traffic pt 3 It is basically what allows your blog to notify other blogs that they have been mentioned elsewhere on the internet. Track backs most commonly appear as blog comments, creating another link back to your blog in other blogs on the internet. Not only will this create new links to your......
• Sunday Roundup: Corporate Blogging, Web Traffic and SEO Tips Welcome to another edition of Buildify's roundup. We have more for you on best blogging practices, blogging tips, corporate blogging, gaining reader traffic and more. We hope you enjoy this little guide into a corner of the blogosphere. Tell us what you think or would like to see by leaving......
• Make Blogging Work for Your Business pt 2 Are you ready to make blogging work for your business? If you already know the benefits associated with corporate blogging, then the next step is to put these concepts to work by creating your own corporate blog and sharing your company with the world. This is part 2 in a......
• 5 More Tips for Corporate Blogging A lot of the most common tips for corporate blogging are obvious now, and are becoming stale for that reason. But does that mean that we know everything that we need to know about getting a good corporate blog started? Here are five new tips for corporate blogging that have......

• Is There Such A Thing As Free VoIP Service? When VoIP was first introduced over the Internet, most of the programs available offered free VoIP services. Ah, the good old days. Unfortunately, those days are gone and nowadays these services are no longer free; but are still offered at a very minimal monthly fee.However, even after youve decided......
• Why Big Companies Are Blogging? There are still some old school business people out there that consider the whole idea of blogging for their business rather ridiculous. Unfortunately for these people, they will never understand that the world is changing and blogging is a whole lot more than just a bunch of people in their......
• 7 Social Media Traffic Tips 7 Social Media Traffic Tips By David Hale Social media networking today is the great equalizer that allows small businesses to battle it out with the big corporations. Using just a few routine tactics will allow the small business to gain a greater Web presence, build a following, and develop......
• My Sources Of Alternative Income And How I Make Them Work For Me. As I mentioned just the other day, a while back I stopped depending on only one source of income and started focusing on making money from multiple sources. While I still have a day job that I do for about 25 hours a week, I realized that depending on only......
• Three Reasons You Need a Great Header Graphic for Your Web Site The single most important graphic element on your Web site or blog is, without a doubt, your header graphic. If your site lacks an eye-catching, targeted and topic-specific header graphic, it runs the risk of being ignored by untold numbers of potential clients and readers. But an attention-grabbing, well-designed header......

Spend a few weeks reading about search engine optimization and you’ll likely become obsessed with your Google page rank score. If you’re not familiar with this, it is a system employed by Google that determines the popularity of a site and then assigns a ranking to it. Many factors are used in calculating popularity, but generally, the amount of links, the frequency of new content additions and the overall traffic a site receives will have a major bearing on their Google page rank.

But does this really matter to your corporate blog?

The answer is yes and no, and it pretty much depends on how you look at it. While a low ranking can make it harder to get a good search engine results placement, it doesn’t make it impossible. However, if you are trying to take advantage of all of your promotional avenues, trying to raise your Google page rank is pretty important.

So, here are some easy tips that can dramatically affect your page rank score and as such, where you are ranked in search results.

1. Increase the amount of links coming in to your site.

These are called inbound links, but not just any links will work. You’ve got to have “quality” links that Google will approve of. This means that submitting to link directories or using black hat linking methods will not help you much. You need to increase the amount of real pages that link to you. You can do this the old fashioned way by contacting site owners to exchange links, or you can do it on your own by leaving your link in comment’s on blogs, sending out press releases and encouraging readers to link to your blog.

2. Page titles really do matter.

This is a huge factor in your overall Google page rank. You’ll want to make sure that you are using keyword rich post titles for every blog that you write. For example, Company News is a bad title for a blog post. You would want to use something like Company Name – Keyword and then News. Try to experiement with different blog titles, making them keyword rich but still useful for your readers.

3. Using keywords in your posts.

Every post you make needs to have keywords in it, but you don’t want to go overboard. Stick with mentioning your primary keywords two to three times, unless your posts are very long. The best density is around 3 to 4%.

If you are curious to see how your efforts are paying off, we recommend installing the Google toolbar which will contain your current page rank when you visit your own site. You can keep track of your progress this way and see how well you are doing. It won’t happen overnight, but these tips will help you improve your overall page rank and as such, your search engine rankings, blog discoverability and the overall popularity of your site.

Photo Credits: 1

Originally posted 2008-09-25 05:16:48. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

• Professional Blogging Roundup - Twitter Tools and More Welcome, welcome. Here's another roundup of what's going on around the blogosphere on blogging. Lots of Twitter tools and tips in this edition, be sure to check them out. Corporate Here are some Blogging Tips For Business Owners over at Best News Small Business Today. CIO Insight presents Robert Scoble......
• Corporate Blogging Made Easy One of the best ways for a company to reach out to their customers and build a strong brand is corporate blogging. However, there are a lot of misconceptions out there and a lot of room for error. Let’s take a look at some techniques that you can use to......
• Are Your Blog Posts Effective? If you have ever felt like you were blogging to a wall, you know how difficult it can be to engage your audience. During the first few weeks or even months after starting your own corporate blog, there are going to be dry periods where you are writing for a......
• How to Get Readers to Delve Further into Your Corporate Blog Deep linking is a practice that many corporate blog owners do not practice, mainly out of fear that a reader will miss the front page of the blog, and possibly the advertising that is located there. However, deep linking, when used properly, can actually be very beneficial. When you are......
• The 6 Best Tools to Use On Your Corporate Blog Whether you are new to corporate blogging, or trying to find ways to blog more effectively, there are some great tools out there that can truly enhance your blog. Most are free to use, while others do have a small fee. However, this is definitely time and money well spent,......

• Social Media Marketing Keyword Strategy - Learn How to Reach the 1st Page of Google Using Keywords First don't let the word keyword scare you. Keywords are just the words or short phrases people type into the search box of Google when they are looking for your services or information online. It is important to do research and find out which of these words your prospects......
• Articles Versus Blog And Ping - Which Is More Effective At Building Your Sites Search Engine Position? Articles vs. Blog and Ping I think it’s time for many Affiliate Marketers (AM) to reconsider their methods for building their web sites Search Engine position. I have been using Blog and Ping techniques for about a year now, but blog and ping is slowing loosing its effectiveness because so......
• Boost Your Website's Search Engine Rankings in 5 Simple Steps Are you one of those people who launched a site yesterday and expect to make big profits today ? Unfortunately, it doesnt work that way, however, there are many people who start an online business everyday and expect that to happen. Realistically, there are 5 steps to greatly increase......
• SEO - Search Engine Ranking Factors - Inbound Links, Anchor Text, and Keyword Use in Title Tags I read an article the other day which was written by an author who had the privileges to interview 37 leaders in the world of organic search engine optimization. The points highlighted in this article were brief but very important.When we talk about SEO then were talking organic results......
• Boost Your Web Site Traffic - 14 Benefits of Keyword Optimization Having a top search engine ranking is like money in your pocket. However, search engine optimization is an ongoing challenge for companies and individuals who want to drive more traffic to their sites. One of the best ways to boost your search engine traffic is to populate your site......

In today’s fast paced world, where companies are built daily and there is a big scandal every week bringing a corporation crashing down. That is why it can be very beneficial to start a corporate blog. We will go into this and four other reasons for starting a corporate blog today.

1 – Transparency of operation.

The one thing that brings a company to a halt is when it makes decisions outside of the eyes of its share holders. Further, today there is no real way to operate to maximal effect without a global presence on the internet. By starting a blog, you hit both of these issues on the nose, by providing a more real time window into the operation of your company. Comments on the blogs, user forums, news services and other directions in user interaction provide your customers and investors a way to make their voices heard. This will increase confidence in your company and keep you connected to your customers.

2 – Blogs can be beat press releases.

Everyone reads blogs today. Blogs are subscribed to more than newspapers and magazines today, and users who are interested in your business will be watching your blogs significantly more than your press releases. By making announcements over a blog posting, you are guaranteed to get the interest of those customers and share holders who will spread your message faster than wild fire. These users are business professionals, those who are the best choice to advertise to.

3 – Earn your investors trust.

Blogs and the relationship between bloggers and their user’s comments, in the corporate world, helps the company to build a relationship with its customer and investor base. With this comes a great deal of trust, which in turn will allow the blog to become a more valuable advertising outlet. With the trust of your customers, you will in turn gain a valuable asset to company growth.

4 – Get ahead of the herd.

Those companies with which you compete will get a blog, that is a certainty. The most important thing is to ensure that your corporation gets theirs first. Possessing even a week’s lead will place your blog above others when searched in todays lightning fast search engines. Showing up late to the party will give your business the appearance of trying to keep up with the times, which can severely hurt the number of customers you have.

5 – Be a part of the hype.

No matter what, people will talk about your product. The only question is how involved will you be. Your blog allows you to host the conversation, forums allow you to respond as well. You need to be able to address customer needs as they arise, so that your customers will see your dedication to them. Not hosting a blog is paramount to going on without concern for what your customers are saying, meaning slower reaction to customer problems and the loss of a great research opportunity.

Given all of this, there is no reason for you not to host a blog. It is a easy way to boost your business to new heights in customer satisfaction.

Photo Credit: 1

Originally posted 2008-12-17 05:17:34. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

• Use a Corporate Blog to Build Customer Loyalty and Product Awareness One of the biggest problems of any company is managing relationships with its customers. It may sound cliché, but it's true that customers are the "life blood" of any company. You want to keep your customers happy, but you also want them to be thinking about you. Excite your customer......
• Make Blogging Work for Your Business pt 1 Are you ready to make blogging work for your business? If you already know the benefits associated with corporate blogging, then the next step is to put these concepts to work by creating your own corporate blog and sharing your company with the world. This is part 1 in a......
• Are You Asking Yourself, Why Blog? The first question that needs answering when it comes to journeying down the path to creating a social media endeavor like a corporate blog is "Why?" For business, it is already expected that a company have a website presence, but what do consumers really want to see when they try......
• How to Use Your Corporate Blog for Networking A corporate blog can be an incredible promotional tool, but it can also be used for networking purposes. Nearly every company can benefit from networking and much of the current internet community has been built on the back of social networking. How can you take advantage of this trend and......
• Why Fear Blogging? Are you afraid of blogging? Many companies and businesses are actually quite afraid of corporate blogging because they are afraid of being different. It's time that we get over our fears, however, because the new way of establishing permanent relationships with people is to ask "Do you have a blog?"......

• VoIP Phone System - Help Improve Your Business Image A VoIP phone system, with all its advanced functionalities, is a perfect addition for your offices and can help improve your business image. At reduced costs, you can achieve quick business processing and improved employee productivity.Connecting People Round the GlobeThis is the phone system most sought after by small......
• Business Virtual Phone Systems A virtual phone system may be the most cost effective way to impress you customers. For much less than it would cost to hire a live person to answer your phones and take messages, you can enjoy the services of a virtual receptionist. Not only will your business save......
• 3 Simple Ways to Build Customer Trust at Your Website 3 Simple Ways to Build Customer Trust at Your Website By Candice Pardue Establishing customer trust should be your number one concern when designing your site. Why? You'll be able to persuade your visitors to buy from you if you have their trust. By gaining the confidence of your visitors,......
• Reasons to Start Blogging In the 1990's people started to set up websites know as web logs, a term which has been colloquially evolved into the term blog. A blog is a internet website where users post regular article, providing commentary, information, news, and various other forms of posts. Why do individuals start blogging?......
• Reduce Operating Costs, Gain efficiency, and Compete Effectively with VoIP Imagine phones (that look like regular phones as we-know-it-today) connecting to the Internet via an Ethernet jack (similar to a PC) instead of the phone plug on the wall. These are called IP-based phones. These phones do not use analog phone lines - instead they get connected to the......