With the spectacular growth of blogging of the last few years, it was inevitable that companies would see the potential of blogging as a communications medium get into the act sooner or later. Corporate blogs are of two distinct varieties – the external blog and the internal one. Years ago companies had to issue regular circulars to inform employees about company news and developments but now in can be done through an internal corporate blog which communicates with employs in near real time and which provides them with a ready way of giving their feedback. In the case of the external corporate blog, blogging is done to communicate with all external stakeholders, including customers, and through the act of keeping them informed of new developments and inviting their feed back, making them feel a part of the organizations – a loyalty that can translate into additional profits.

Unfortunately, there are many companies who have started corporate blogs with no clear understanding of what they are and how they should be used – companies who started down this path just to give the appearance of being modern. These companies usually produce corporate blogs with no defined purpose and when this happens, the results may not just be absent, the blogs may even have a negative effect. A blog that has no discernable purpose will create the impression among the readers that those who publish it – the company’s management – also have of clear purpose. It is not just that the blogs will be ignored – blogs are interactive media and a blog that expects responses from the reader when it has nothing of interest to say to them will not just be ignored, it will put the readers off.

But if the internal corporate blog is done correctly it can be a major factor in boosting employee morale as well as provoking discussion on company issues that can generate a positive buzz and enthuse the workforce by giving people a chance to respond to issues they would other never otherwise be able to. Giving employees current up to date information in the corporate blog will allow the management to collect valuable employees feedback on various issues in an informal manner and modify their policies accordingly, it needed. External corporate blogs do a similar service with those stakeholders who are external to the company by keeping them informed of developments in the company as well as giving them an opportunity to tell the management what they think and feel about the company and its products. Like the internal blog by giving customers the chance to connect with the management, a bond is formed that will translate into customer loyalty.