We asked leaders of SEO / web marketing industry this question:

 What do you think is the most important thing about business / corporate blogging?

The list is in order of replies received:

Jeremy Shoemaker (ShoeMoney): I started blogging way after my companies were well established. It gave me a outlet just to give my opinions on the industry.  What I found was the blog can be used to connect with people and bring you in more business. In our case way more business then we can even handle.

Rand Fishkin (SEOmoz): I’d say that writing well is almost certainly the most important quality for any blog. Blog_Readership_Report_March - Check out this report. Note that nearly every answer in response to “how do you judge blogs?” is “quality of writing.”

   I’d probably say that in addition to the quality of writing I mentioned above, receiving permission to be creative and speak freely is critical to the success of a corporate blog. Company blogs that act as press releases, or those that use a dry, unemotional tone provide very little value.

Rebecca Lieb (vice president of ClickZ): The most important thing? Well, the answer to everything in marketing is always, “it depends.” What are the goals for the blog? The most important thing, of course, is achieving those defined goals. But first, you have to define them.

That said, I won’t try to worm out of providing more of an answer and mention important things in business/corporate blogging. Honesty. A voice. A point of view and something to say. The right blogger – and that’s not necessarily the CEO. There may be someone more articulate and passionate further down the food chain.

Secondary elements of importance include considering whether or not your organization might benefit from a blog policy to cover what employees are blogging internally and externally (particularly if legal issues loom in your industry sector). You’re also going to have to learn to loosen the reins a bit. Press releases and ad copy should be run by legal, but not your average blog post. You do need a content strategy so the blog can be ongoing. The information superhighway is littered with enough derelict blogs as it is, and that won’t reflect well on your business.

I’ll stop there. The last thing blogging needs — even business blogging — is too many rules and regulations!

Kalena Jordan (Ask-Kalena): I would say “honesty and sincerity”.

Douglas Karr (Patronpath): The most important thing is transparency. That is, the ability of the corporation to provide insight to its character, personality and faults - as well as triumphs in an honest and open manner. In order to be respected as a corporate blog, you must be transparent. If you are not, readers will ignore you. If you are not, other people will be transparent ABOUT you on their blogs. If you are transparent, it enables you to build relationships with prospects, clients and employees - and gain their respect.

Jim Westergren: That the reader feels there is a real person there.

Andy Beal (Marketing Pilgrim): Don’t start a business blog until you fully understand your goals. Are you looking to sell more products, raise your credibility in your industry, or provide updates to stakeholders? Once you know the answer to that question, you’ll be able to better plan and launch your blog.

Jeff Quipp (Search Engine People): To be honest, my belief is that there are many really important elements. If I had to choose the single most important element I would say its the friend/contact network of the writer. I’ve seen many great posts go virtually unnoticed, and many poor posts get a great deal of visibility. A good contact network is not unlike farming. Friends will help to seed it, grow it, and harvest it. Once its out there and harvested, many will then use their own skills to adapt it and create recipes. Sometimes even if the crop/ingredient (the content) is bitter, combining it with other ingredients will bring out its unique complementary characteristics. It must be edible to begin with though, and friends are needed!

Jens Petter Berget (Slymarketing): I think that the single most important thing about business blogging is to share new ideas with your readers before you implement them. This way you can get feedback from “interested” people and people within your company before you actually do the work (implement something in your company). For instance, if you are going to do a new marketing campaign. Write a post about it, get the views from your readers, and then if they agree and you think that their views are ok, do the marketing campaign. I would share thoughts on “everything” regarding the business in order to get the views of your reader, much like Robert Scoble did with Microsoft at his blog www. scobleizer.com a great example by the way.