Corporate blogs in 2016: finally grown up?

[jrineakter]

With the popularity of content marketing, the number of corporate blogs in the Netherlands has also grown in recent years. Most large companies have one, but many SMEs also see opportunities. How will the corporate blog develop in 2016? What can we expect? And how do those responsible for these corporate blogs experience this?


I interviewed Kim Koppenol , Manager Corporate Communication & Brand Strategy at RTL, to hear what she saw happening at RTL's corporate blog, which has been around for about 2.5 years now. And found a lot of points of contact with the trends I see at other corporate blogs. Below is a summary.

Blog trend 1: Corporate blogs are also taking on new forms
Most non-corporate blogs no longer resemble the blogs of 20 or even 5 years ago in terms of form and appearance. Frankwatching, for example, has undergone many transformations in the past 11 years . And a lifestyle blog like Christmaholic exudes atmosphere with beautiful visuals. But corporate blogs lagged behind a india telegram number list bit with boring layout, long paragraphs and always a focus on text. Fortunately, that is slowly starting to change.

On Microsoft's blog you can see how a blog doesn't have to be standard anymore: see for example this long form story in collaboration with a customer. Beautifully designed, with a clear role for audio, images and video. The focus is on storytelling, not on a specific product or service.

At RTL they also ask themselves the question: what next for the corporate blog?
And logically, the answer is mainly looking at the possibilities of video. For example, there has been an internal video blog for years. A camera crew searches for company news for that blog. Now, a similar format is being worked on for the external blog.

Kim: “A lot of people who come in here have no idea what’s going on and what the culture is like. It’s just really fun to get a look behind the scenes of a media company. A media company comes into people’s living rooms every day, so why wouldn’t you want to be accessible in that way too?”

Not all companies see all those possibilities yet
A tour of the fields shows that many corporate blogs could do with a makeover. More blank lines, better headings, more images and other forms of rich media. In that area, even old, renowned corporate blogs still have a lot to gain.

Blog trend 2: Blogs get a clearer framework
Many corporate blogs started off under the radar and without a clear focus. Communication departments saw the possibilities, but also knew that a large-scale launch often has a counterproductive effect: expectations are too high. Many corporate blogs therefore start quietly. Sometimes they are not even listed in the site navigation at first.

'Learning by doing' is not a crazy approach for blogs
As with other forms of social media, it sometimes takes a while before you know what you are doing, how to approach it and what it yields. By simply starting, with the support of top management, RTL also gained a lot of experience. This created a clear picture of what works and what doesn't. One thing turned out to be important: a clear framework for bloggers.

Kim: “Sometimes it is still difficult to convince people that they have something to say. They think that what they have to say is not interesting because it is their daily activities. That is precisely the job of communication: to see and recognize those stories. That is why it is increasingly important for communication stories to know what is happening in the company and where the hooks are.”