Corporate blogs are still outsiders in Belgium

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Research by communication consultancy Leads United examines the attitude of Belgian companies towards corporate blogging

18th April 2007 – The communication consultancy Leads United today reveals the results of its telephone survey on the subject of corporate blogging. This survey was carried out between 20th March and 9th April 2007 with seventy communication managers of consumer companies and IT companies as well as of local and national authorities. 6% of the companies use corporate blogs as a means of communication and only 4% of the questioned companies employed specific blogging guidelines for employees. 34% of the respondents recognised a real opportunity in corporate blogs.

Blogging guidelines virtually non-existent in Belgian companies
As a follow-up to the two blogging workshops that the communication consultancy organised last year, Leads United now digs deeper in order to survey how communication professionals in Belgian companies stand with regard to weblogs. It appears that 93% of the communication managers know about weblogs. Although 37% read blogs, only a small minority of those questioned (4%) actually contribute to a weblog. Of the respondents that read blogs, a majority (68%) do this for the company. Only two respondents declared that they systematically monitor weblogs for the company.
The survey also revealed that 27% of the questioned respondents knew of blogging employees. Nevertheless, only 4% of the questioned companies had specific blogging guidelines for employees.

Half of respondents did not believe in corporate blogging
It is notable that 56% of those questioned saw no opportunity in the company blog.  34% of the respondents see a future opportunity in the company blog and 4 % of the companies in the survey had previously experimented with a weblog. 6% of the companies questioned already blog.  The blogging companies in the survey were three IT companies that were dependent on American organisations, a public company and a local authority. At the consumer companies questioned (companies that come into contact with consumers daily) corporate blogging is currently non-existent.
 
The company blog as a marketing tool
Of those questioned that saw an opportunity in the company blog, 89% thought of blogging mainly for external communication. A substantial majority saw the weblog as a marketing tool and not so much as a means of getting a conversation going on the company, for internal communication or for community building. Communication managers in many cases had no idea how they could integrate a corporate weblog into their corporate communications.

“The interest in corporate weblogs is growing but communication managers still do not know where this relatively new communication medium must be placed within the communications of the company. The younger generation surfs daily to weblogs and companies are starting to appreciate that they can approach them at micro-level”, says Dian Wahlen, Managing Director of Leads United. “In my opinion, it is only a matter of time before corporate blogs find their place. Now is therefore the ideal time to introduce blogging guidelines into the Internet policy of any company.”

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About Leads United
Leads United is a communication consultancy with a clear goal in mind – placing the brands, ideas and activities of our clients in the thoughts of their target audience and keeping them there. Leads United was established in 1993 and currently has 18 employees. Our core activities are media relations, internal communications and crisis communications in the most divergent sectors.

For our multinational accounts, we make use of several PR networks to cultivate world markets with consistent messages and localised programmes. Leads United is a full member of ECCO (a worldwide network of PR and marketing communication bureaux that work both within that structure and independently).

For more information:
Dian Wahlen, Managing Director
Leads United
Mastboomstraat 8,
2630 Aartselaar/Antwerp
Tel: + 32 3 466.01.88
Fax: +32 3 466.01.80
E-mail: dian.wahlen@leadsunited.com
Web site: www.leadsunited.com

Leads United
Mastboomstraat 8
B-2630 Aartselaar / Antwerp (Belgium)
T +32 (0)3 466 01 88
F +32 (0)3 466 01 80