Corporate blogging has become incredibly popular in the business to business (B2B) sector.

Industries that were once thought inhospitable to blogs, these tools are not only popping up but are making a profound difference in marketing, relationship cultivation and client interaction.

Yet too often, the full potential isn’t realized. Corporate blogs either don’t deliver on expectations or, worse, are left to suffer a quiet, lonely death. When this happens, of course, blogs themselves are blamed, with little consideration given to the fact that execution (rather than platform) was flawed.

All the talk you hear of building an audience organically, waiting to go viral and other social media swill is worth what you pay for it. The only way to succeed is to apply brute force. You have to write often, make the bog your main focus and promote it aggressively. To implement a successful corporate blogging program, you need to commit and maintain a singular focus.

But, enough about success – that’s the kind of thing that makes corporate blogging seem easy. Instead, let’s talk about failure. What makes a corporate blog go belly up?

1. It’s hard work
To make a corporate blog successful, you have to spend some time with it. A 200-word post every week doesn’t give your target audience much reason to visit, let alone come back. You have to post regularly and say something interesting. Not every post has to long, detailed and insightful, but you should mix in a few longer analytical pieces.

2. Nobody has the reins
Blogging by committee is a bad idea. There has to be one person up front, serving as the de facto editor-in-chief. Your lead blogger will write and edit posts, identify topics, and manage the environment. Cutting corners will have a magnified negative impact on results.

3. You write about the wrong stuff
Overly promotional material does have a place on your blog, but it should be used sparingly. Focus on either informative or “newsy.” It’s even okay to reblog other news and blog stories, adding your own interpretation. Trying to sell too often means you’ll lose the marketing value of your blog. What you are really trying to sell is a reason to come back and read more.

4. The blog is perceived as “extra”
B2B companies publish plenty of material. When it comes time to start blogging, there’s a perception that the blog is (a) less valuable and important than white papers and glossies, (b) an extra effort above what is already invested in published materials and (c) easiest to ignore when resources are constrained. This thinking is absolutely incorrect. When you factor in search engines, media, flexibility and speed to market, the case against hefty PDFs and print is salient.

5. There’s no promotion
A blog that isn’t read doesn’t create much value, so it should be a priority for you to gain readers. The size and budget of your company will play a role in how you promote, but he most important tactic is to tell people about your blog. Feature it in newsletters, and mention it in clients discussions. Suggest that they visit your blog regularly (as long as you’re updating it regularly, of course).

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[Originally published on Technorati]