We read over at Thicken My Wallet that RBC has now entered the blogging world.
Here’s a sample mortgage-related post from RBC’s new blog, which it calls “RBC p2p.” Link
Like most big company blogs, RBC p2p has a commercial vibe to it. It’s probably due to the legal disclaimers that appear when outside links are clicked, the RBC colors and branding, the RBC-focused content, and the frequent RBC references.
Those aren’t just RBC traits however. It seems a lot of players in the mortgage business get into blogging to “cheer on” the home team. Heck, even we started this blog partly because we thought it would be good for business.
Yet, we’ve never forgotten the other reason we launched CMT: to provide, to the best of our ability, open-minded, quality information.
The public needs sites it can rely on for impartial mortgage advice. Mortgages are such a complex topic to most people. Bloggers in our business therefore owe it to readers to paint the whole picture and not just talk about their own products and services. That’s something most commercial blogs don’t seem to understand.
RBC probably won’t be the last bank to jump on the blogging bandwagon. Blogs offer staid old banks additional marketing exposure, a chance to be hip, and added search engine equity.
Unfortunately, most bank blogs will likely exist as impotent “advertorial” sites–at least until they discover the secret sauce of neutrality. In our case, CMT happily tells readers about non-broker products because neutral reporting is what repeat readers demand. Yet, when was the last time a bank wrote about a competitor that had better rates or products?
In the end, simple impartiality is sometimes the biggest thing separating good blogs from glorified advertisements.
Last modified: April 25, 2014
Here’s another take on RBC p2p from DarrenBareFoot.com:
Link
Like Darren notes, RBC deserves a pat on the back for making an effort to communicate on this more informal level.
“The public needs sites it can rely on for impartial mortgage advice.”
As a regular reader, this rings extremely true, and I just thought I’d throw my praise in. I’m really glad I found your site a few months ago! Thanks so much for your work on it, I recommend it whenever I get a chance :)
Copy me on the above comments. Your site has no equal in Canada.
Thanks for the link. Keep up the good work.
Great Job
interesting topic , I would like to read more on this topic and mortgage leads canada.
wow, excellent work here. You clearly must put a lot of effort into your articles. And blogs I know my readers will benefit greatly from this website so I am linking to you from my own mortgage website at http://home—refinancing.blogspot.com. I know that you will keep the content coming. Thanks a lot!
The difference between an actual blog and a glorified advertisement is the time of implementation and the way the blog is implemented. If a company blog is added only to sell its products, then it is highly unlikely that it will be successful; however, if the blog is used to provide knowledge, transparency, and insight to its clients without wanting anything in return, then it will succeed.
Thanks for these wonderful tips!
Blogging is an interesting proposition for any “corporate” entity. Blogging suggests an informality of information sharing, as well as the idea that there is an authentic person behind the blog. I’m not sure if the distinction matters, but there is a difference between a corporate site pretending to be a blog, and blog support a corporation’s interests online. There are countless mortgages and mortgage types in Canada, so an unbiased and impartial recommendation is absolutely necessary. I can absolutely understand a corporation’s desire to get involved in social media; that’s where the people are. The question is how to do so in a way that is consistent with corporate principles and not misleading to the general readership.
Blogging is not only a powerful marketing tool, but overall it helps building your organization well too, as you have direct contact with end user and thus you get instant feedback for improvement!
Lisa Oliver
Mortgage Loan Consultant at All Financial Services.
Having been a part of the Online Universal Work Marketing team for 4 months now, I’m thankful for my fellow team members who have patiently shown me the ropes along the way and made me feel welcome
http://www.onlineuniversalwork.com
I think this is good for the RBC to try and cater to the young!