Blogging For
Specific Audiences
Why Corporations Should Blog
• Blogs are humanizing factors
• Being a part of the blogosphere helps you keep a finger on
the pulse of the industry, and that adds credibility
• Because consumers themselves are blogging. It’s a way to
connect
• Because “corporate speak” doesn’t work anymore
• Because it means you can communicate with your
customers, colleagues and constituents in an unfiltered,
unfettered way
• Because it builds a network
• Google
• Because it helps you both become and expert and be seen
as an expert
Corporate Executives
Influence, Impact
HughHewitt.com
Every CEO should have a
blog so that employees,
customers, partners,
investors--everyone--can
hear directly from the CEO in
his/her own voice about
what is happening in the
company.
Bob Lutz
“To blog or not to blog? For
a lot of senior executives
these days, that is the
question. The answer,
simply enough, is to blog.
No better opportunity
exists to engage in an open
dialogue and exchange of
ideas with customers and
potential customers.”
Influence, Impact
Michael Hyatt, CEO, Thomas Nelson Publishers
Other Corporations with Blogs
GM
Sun Microsystems
Microsoft
Google
Yahoo!
Boeing
CitiGroup
IBM
HP
Time Warner
Dell, Inc.
Lockheed
Wells Fargo
New York Times
Intel
Delphi
Merril Lynch
Disney (hugely,
internally)
Motorola
FedEx
Mitsubishi
Cisco
Raytheon
Haliburton
Kimberly-Clark
UAL
Delta
Winn-Dixie
MBNA
Toys R Us
Nike
Pepsi
Texas
Instruments
Oracle
Avon
Apple Computer
Shell
McGraw-Hill
Radio Shack
Starbucks
CEO Bloggers Club
http://prplanet.typepad.com/ceobloggers/
CEO Blogs List
http://www.thenewpr.com/wiki/pmwiki.php/Resources/CEOBlogsList
Corporate Board Members
Accessibility
Advantages to boards using blogs as means of
Communicating with shareholders
• Inexpensive and technically very simple.
• Highly honest way to engage in dialogue
• Allows shareholders the opportunity to comment
on postings.
• Demonstrates accountability and transparency to
shareholders
• Open forum for airing out differences.
What would board blog about?
• Updates to investors on the board and its
committee activities
• Board policies and procedures
• Director nominations
• Director selection and evaluation
• Discussions on major corporate events, such as
mergers and acquisitions.
Public Relations Personnel
Trust
Why should PR pros blog?
Understand the mindset of the blogger
Become a trusted member of the blogosphere
Steve Rubel – PR blogger poster child
IT Personnel
Efficiency
Why should PR pros blog?
• Internal
• project management
• knowledge management
• personnel changes
• External
Qumana
Desktop blog publishing
software that allows you
to write your post
offline, then go online
and publish.
•
•
•
•
Potential customers
Investors
Expertise
Version updates, new
versions
Robert Scoble – Microsoft “Geek” Blogger
The ‘god’ of the blogosphere
Marketing Personnel
Relationships
Bob Cargill, Senior Creative Director,
Yellowfin Marketing
Blogs are a cheap, convenient
and enjoyable form of PR and
marketing that should be part
of every business plan in 2005.
• Blogs are interactive
• Blogs are humanizing
• Blogs are inexpensive
• Blogs are immediate
• Blogs are infectious
• Blogs are empowering
• Blogs are enjoyable
• Blogs are authoritative
• Blogs are popular
• Blogs are valuable
Jeremy Wright, popular blogger, Ensight.org
"Anything which can get the right info to the
right people at the right time, empower your
company to become a thought leader, and let
you know what your customers and the
industry are thinking about you in real time
is something that has massive value."
Company Employees
Evangelism
Thomas Nelson bloggers
Macromedia bloggers
Industry Thought Leaders
Expertise
Tom Peters
Elise Bauer, advisor to technology companies
What differentiates a thought leader
from any other knowledgeable company
[or individual] is the recognition from
the outside world that the company
deeply understands its business, the
needs of its customers, and the broader
marketplace in which it operates.
How PR Professionals Are
Using Blogs
Blogs in the Age of
Participatory Journalism
“Blogs are the instrument through which PR
and communications professionals can transform
themselves from an impersonal and increasingly
inefficient business practices to outstandingly
effective means of ethical promotion, extended
exposure and ability to engage the company,
organization, and yourself in important topics
that synergize and contribute to the realization
of your mission.”
The old public relations
• Senior management, with a lot of input from
marketing people, would work out a company’s
message and talking points.
• Internal marketing people, working with PR
consultants, would try to burn the message into
the retinas of the trade press and analysts.
• The journalists and analysts would do what they
do, broadcasting the message to the masses.
The new public relations
• Senior management works out a company’s
goals and messages.
• Management works hard to make sure that the
employees understand them.
• The people who are really doing the work tell the
story to the world, directly.
OhMyNews.com
NorthwestVoice.com
Old way – New way
• Old way – PR writes press release, pitches to
journalists, journalist syndicate that to the
masses
• New way – “Every citizen is a reporter”; PR
must target every citizen
• Trust, word-of-mouth, transparency
• “OhMyPR”
Developing Effective Communication Strategies
for the Blogosphere
Responding to Blogs: Having your say after the
fact
Kryptonite bike lock
Blog Monitoring
•
•
•
•
Intelliseek (www.intelliseek.com) - BlogPulse
Umbria (www.umbriacom.com)
Blog Squirrel (www.blogsquirrel.com)
Do-it-yourself
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Bloglines (www.bloglines.com)
PubSub (www.pubsub.com)
Technorati (www.technorati.com)
Feedster (www.feedster.com)
Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com)
Google News (http://news.google.com)
IceRocket (www.icerocket.com
• Goggle blog search (http://blogsearch.google.com)
Developing Effective Communication Strategies
for the Blogosphere
 Responding to Blogs: Having your say after the
fact (Blog Monitoring very important)
 Blog Outreach: Actively pursuing bloggers
 Becoming Your Own Blogger: Getting in on the
action
Ways PR pros are using blogs
• Branding
Apple iPod
Jeff Jarvis – Dell’s least favorite customer!
Ways PR pros are using blogs
•
•
•
•
Branding
Crisis communication
Employee communications
Corporate public relations
David Meerman Scott, author of Cashing in with Content
“The corporate weblog is now used by savvy
marketing and public relations professionals as a
way to communicate directly with journalists and
influence their stories…blogs allow organizations
of all kinds to tell authentic stories directly to the
market. Journalists increasingly rely on blog
content when they are researching stories."
Euro RSCG Magnet report
28% of journalists rely on
blogs for day-to-day
reporting. Of those who
use blogs in their work,
53% use them to find
story ideas, 43% for
research and referencing
facts and 36% for finding
sources. And about a third
of the journalists who use
blogs say it is a way of
uncovering breaking news
or scandals.
Blogs are playing a more significant role in the way information is transmitted
to readers and journalists alike, and may profoundly alter the media and
communications landscapes. - Aaron Kwittken, CEO of Euro RSCG Magnet
PR blogging principles and best practices
• Post with maximum immediacy breaking news
and news releases
• Filter and select relevant news from other sources
• Engage with customers and potential partners
• Link to other sources online
• Tell your stories
• Never pitch, personalize
• Respect a blogger’s time and intelligence
• Never, ever use the words, "I think your readers
would be interested in this story."
• Quality, not quantity
• Keep learning
How NOT to use blogs – MWW Group
How NOT to use blogs – Ketchem
How NOT to use blogs – iFulfill.com
PR Bloggers
B.L. Ochman, President, What’s Next Online
http://www.whatsnextblog.com
Elizabeth Albrycht, Co-founder, New Communications Forum
http://ringblog.typepad.com/corporatepr/
Shel Holtz, President, Holtz Communications
http://www.holtz.com/
Steve Rubel, VP of Client Services, Cooper-Katz
http://www.micropersuasion.com
Extensive List of PR bloggers
http://www.thenewpr.com/wiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DraftOnlinePRWeek
Program
Bloglines List of PR Bloggers – RSS feeds
http://www.bloglines.com/public/prblogs
The CEO Blogger – How CEOs
Are Using Blogs
Paul Allen – Managing Partner, Infobase Ventures
Blogging helps CEOs communicate
their vision and their ideas to people
who matter to them. It's definitely a
short-cut way to getting some
constant PR and buzz around you. I
believe those who do will find a
following and a tremendous increase
in trust and confidence, as well as
some interesting "talk back" from
people who would otherwise never
communicate with them
Reasons CEOs should blog
• A good blog tells more of the organization's story
than the traditional media.
• Good brands truly reflect the day-to-day
operations of an organization.
• Internal audiences also want to hear from the top
brass
• The investment is minimal.
Michael Hyatt, CEO, Thomas Nelson Publishers
Michael Hyatt, CEO, Thomas Nelson Publishers
Z. Christopher Mercer, CEO, Mercer Capital
Buzz Bruggeman, CEO, Activewords
Buzz Bruggeman, CEO, Activewords
Jonathan Schwartz, COO, Sun Microsystems
Zane Safrit, CEO, Conference Calls Unlimited
Bob Lutz, Vice-chairman, General Motors
Bob Parsons, CEO, GoDaddy
Tips for CEO bloggers
• The CEO should be the blogger, not a ghostwriter
• Keep writing
• Write in a personal, informal style, but make it
your style
• Spark new ideas or comment on others’ insights
CEO blogger resources
CEO Blogger’s List
http://www.thenewpr.com/wiki/pmwiki.php/Resources/CEOBlogsList
BlogWrite for CEOs
http://blogwrite.blogs.com/
Corporate Blogging Survey
http://www.backbonemedia.com/blogsurvey/
Corporate Blogging Primer
http://www.corporateblogging.info/2004/11/free-corporate-bloggingprimer.asp
The Executive Blogger’s Guide to Building a Nest of Blogs, Wikis & RSS
http://www.ogilvypr.com/pdf/bloggers-guide.pdf