Corporate blogging: the Letting Protection Service example

It is a truth universally acknowledged that politicians need the media and the media need politicians. But in the last few years, new social media has changed the way politics is discussed and thought about. Political blogging, Facebook and YouTube have all changed the way politics is practiced and presented. Sometimes, as Gordon Brown’s now infamous appearance on YouTube proved, this hasn’t always been a good thing. But while MPs and the political classes have taken an unexpected lead in blogging, most business bosses are only now just catching up.

A few, including one of our clients – the Letting Protection Service (LPS) which provides services for landlords – have already started changing the way they communicate with their core audiences. LPS Director, Kevin Firth, started his own Letting Protection Service blog, in his words, is “an opportunity to start a conversation about the landlord and lettings industry”.

The blog is a way of sharing good practice, listening to what other lettings professionals are saying and swapping top advice. Of course, the existence of the LPS and its services – such as the tenant reference service – feature on the blog, but what makes for an effective blog is one that isn’t simply marketing a firm’s own products at readers in every post.

Chief Executives from a range of organisations across the public and private sector are taking a similar line. Blogging allows them to reach a wider audience including an internal one, develop a dialogue with their customers and clients, show that they are au fait with the latest trends and technology and position themselves as leaders in an often crowded and competitive market.

Since Kevin Firth started his LPS blog, he has posted on everything from energy efficiency to the perfect tenant to protection for landlords. The number of visitors to the website has increased and it continues to go from strength to strength.

Good companies know that they need to find different ways of reaching out to people. A good blog like the LPS one is a simple but effective way of doing that.