Communication Overtones Comments
Excellent post and right on target. Nice stuff. Stop by my place, if you get a chance.
Kami:
Thanks for including Direct2Dell in with such good company. Thanks for the tips too... I can say from experience that it's easy to drift away from blogging the right way as more people get involved.
Getting the balance right is hard and maintaining it is even harder. It takes lots of focus to make sure we're writing blog posts that matter to our customers. But, it's clear that when we focus on them, we end up building long-term loyalty even through negative situations.
Thank you very much for calling out two of our Corporate Branded Blogs (Graco & Rubbermaid). Note: full disclosure, I am the VP E-Business & Interactive Marketing at Newell Rubbermaid, parent company for Graco, Sharpie and Rubbermaid.
Your points in this post are absolutely right on. If the branded blog is nothing but a repackaging of the branded website, than the brand has failed and trust is not earned. We had a lot of internal discussion about how to approach social media marketing and creating blogs. Graco was our pioneer in this space. Our VP of Marketing at Graco is very progressive in the interactive space and gave the necessary resources and freedom to her team to experiment and explore the social media opportunity. We learned a lot about how to engage and how not too.
Those learnings benefited the next two brands to enter the social media ecosystem: Rubbermaid and Sharpie.
Sharpie is really interesting as the product has high brand awareness and is ubiquitous in the market - you can find them almost anywhere in North America. The blog http://blog.sharpie.com is focused on showing the nearly infinite uses for Sharpies ranging from artists, to redecorating of rooms to repairing shoes to beautifying furniture...and the list goes on and on. The key point being, if customers want to find out about our product line and company, go to http://www.sharpie.com. If they want to find out about the cool, fun and creative ways other customers use Sharpies, go to our blog.
Excellent post. Great insights and I appreciate the analysis and synthesizing of other sources on this subject.
We do 8 nights for Chanukkah....
Hey Kami: Nice job. It would be really nice if there were lots and lots of examples in each category.
For most orgs entering Web 2.0 space, it's just like you described it, thrusting business cards in people's faces. I can see the hand reaching out of the box. Your post will be a welcome to new corporate bloggers and should be good medicine - a look in the mirror needed for most institutional blogs.
Well done and seasonal note was perfect.
Great post and very helpful. I just read an article referencing the Forrester report and most of the corporate blogs I see definitely should take your advice. Also, love the way you started off with the Santa/gift example...very creative 
Your blog is one of my favorites.
Thanks so much for all of the input, there is much that we can learn from each other I think.
I like that Bert mentions how Newell used the experiences with Graco Baby to launch the Rubbermaid and now the Sharpie blogs. I have spent some time looking at both and have to say that they are very interesting. I look forward to seeing what kind of community is built around them.
Also, to Todd's point, these blogs are examples, but there are MANY others that are doing things right. I hope more people will leave their suggestions and I will take a look and then add them in if I think they fit.
As for Alan, maybe I should have come up with two more suggestions and called this the "12 Days of Christmas," what do you think?
My company (AAFES) just launched our blog one month ago. Our editorial calendar is a mash-up of directions you advise. What I have found most puzzling to date is how to address local issues on our blog. Our company is worldwide, but Internet has broken down geographical barriers. What is appropriate to post to the general audience? Do these local concerns link to a broader issue or area of concern that may be addressed? Once those questions are answered, then it takes an evangelist and high-ranked associate blessing for the topic to be addressed on blog.
It is important to note that while our intent not to "message" the audience is in good faith, it is difficult to address all directions (in above post)at launch...maybe it is easier for a company who has had extensive crisis to go full out in blogosphere than companies who are trying to balance the good and bad? Just a thought.
Excellent post. My company is toying with the idea of using a blog to distribute news items, so it's great to see the examples of how blogs can work well. At the same time, it's so refreshing to hear someone else acknowledge that maintaining a blog (and web 2.0 presence in general) is a draw on resources - it's commitment on multiple levels to providing great content that makes the examples you share work.
Lauren; To be honest, you might not be able to address ALL of these items in one blog. There will also be some times that, as you point out, it is not appropriate to address something in your blog. If you know who your readers are, then you can easily decide if a comment on a crisis is needed. Asking if it impacts a majority of your readers is a good start.
Kayla; It is also a commitment by senior management to a more transparent way of communication, also not an easy task in most cases.
All good advice, and all in one place. If more bloggers listened to you we wouldn't have found such low trust.
Josh; I appreciate you dropping by. While controversial, I think the study is raising a good opportunity to talk about the focus of these tools and the cultural aspects to social marketing and public relations. Thanks.
Thanks for the tips. We like the personal touch and letting people know that there are real people behind the scenes. This is an encouragement in that philosophy.
You've really hit the nail on the head with this post!
With Forrester's report on the lack of trust in corporate blogs, this is a sure way to build back the relationships a corporate blog is suppose to bring about with consumers.
Thanks for the kind words, Kami.
Another quick note for corporate folks to consider if they are looking to jump into blogging, is that the blog itself is just ONE way (in social media) to communicate with consumers. If corporate bloggers pay attention to the tips you've written here, that will certainly help them create a great blog, but if the company is not committed to a real, long-term relationship with its readers/consumers, they may fall flat on their face.
The Graco blog is just one aspect of our social media outreach - our outside commenting (like you mentioned with Dell) on other's blogs is a huge part of our "work" plus we host events with our readers to meet them in person and we tweet with them constantly!
The other thing for corporate bloggers to keep in mind is that they should allow for shifting. Listen to your audience, figure out what connects with them and adjust whenever necessary. We've given ourselves the room to dig in or pull back at anytime which I think has given us the freedom to try new things and recognize when some of those new things just didn't work.
Oh and Bert helps us too. Happy Holidays!
Lindsay; Great advice. I especially agree with the idea that you allow flexibility. For instance, right now Twitter is very hot as a back channel, but that could always change. You need to be where your customers are and where they like to interact with you 0 which are not necessarily the same places.
I love the list. I'll be thinking about how to apply this to my work context for a public university. Some of the ideas don't translate directly but can morph.
Suggestions and great examples welcome. On Twitter: @BarbChamberlain.
Great advice. I will put it to good use in the new year
Thanks Kami, these are great corporate blogging tips. I love the examples you posted as well to show your how your tips are in use on other corporate blogs.
Nice article.
Too many (corporations) think blogging and social media is about the hardware, software, marketing and crafted messages rather then content the your readers want.
This is an excellent learning and teaching tool for any corporation interested in a blogging mission and philosophy. Disclosure: I am a client of My PR Pro.
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