Blogs Are Myth-Debunking Machines

If you’ve been thinking that some of the material in corporate blogs could’ve been covered on the company’s website, you’re right, say blogging mavens Shel Holtz and Ted Demopoulos. But using a blog provides a number of advantages, they point out, including speed, the ability for readers to comment, and a way to present information in a less “corporate” and more informal manner.

Myth-debunks are a great use of blogs, I’ve found, because many of the misunderstandings about a product or service present themselves in the natural order of business, in the form of questions and comments from readers and customers. Shining the light of day on that misinformation shines light on your own expertise.  If it’s well written, with a bit of tongue in cheek, your blog can offer this enlightenment in a way that engages searchers and keeps them coming. 

The idea is that your making a habit of de-mystifying matters can go a long way towards making your blog a “go-to” site. Sure, web searchers could go to more authoritative sources to find out stuff, but sifting through tens of websites is tedious.  That’s why, as blogger David Markowitz puts it – “Searchers need you, as an expert in your field, to help them make sense of the information.”

In the latest issue of Mental Floss Magazine, I found a cute myth-debunking article about the “Eskimo kiss”. Popular wisdom claims that Eskimos rub noses (because kissing on the lips would cause their mouths to freeze together). (Loud debunk alarm – NOT.) The myth was created in Hollywood for the 1922 movie "Nanook of the North”, and started because the film director saw women giving their babies “kuniks”, pressing their noses against their babies’ cheeks and breathing in their scent. Truth be told, Eskimos kiss on the lips just like everyone else.

Mental Floss offers this sort of thing for readers’ fun and, as the magazine’s name implies, pure mental exercise, unlike blogging for business, which aims to drive traffic to company websites. The thought occurred to me, though, that the Eskimo kiss debunk would be perfect for the blog of a lip balm company, a lipstick manufacturer, or a candy company around Valentine’s Day. I know the tidbit about the Eskimo kiss caught my interest!

What are some common myths in your area of business?  Start mining those nuggets – they could be golden. Then, in your blog, don’t tell ‘em what you have to sell – use myths to show ‘em how much you know!