Can corporations leverage blogs?
Yesterday our account director asked me if people trusted blogs that come from corporations. Specifically he wanted numbers and/or case studies he could refer to when encouraging our clients to participate in the blogosphere. He was also interested in the manner in which they participate as compared to how an individual might approach his/her blog. I thought they were valid and interesting questions, the answers to which would likely be of interest to this blog’s readers. Here’s what I shared with him:
The first thing that came to mind for me was a talk I had seen at Webvisions this year by Jeremiah Owyang who is currently with PodTech. He was speaking on social media strategies and two of his most compelling themes for me were letting go and corporate transparency. Both concepts dealt with the main point of resistance established businesses have with social media: control. Companies that experienced success with social media did so by letting go of controlling the conversation.
He talked about an example with JetBlue where the CEO apologized to some of it’s customers for making them wait on the tarmac, which was out of the ordinary because they were admitting fault on an issue that most airlines would just cover up. Jeremiah shared that people saw that act as a trust builder so that the next time the CEO said something, people trusted the message more. Another example he shared was Robert Scoble’s blog evangelizing on behalf of Microsoft. The Scobleizer blog openly explored why people thought Microsoft was evil. After a year or so of blogging, the number of occurrences where people mentioned Microsoft was evil went down dramatically. These are just a couple of examples that illustrate that it is possible for companies to accomplish business objectives via social media. Their effectiveness comes down to trust. For Jeremiah, that’s all about being transparent and letting go.
Jeremiah is not alone either. In March of this year, Wired magazine’s cover story was on radical transparency revealing the international trend of businesses letting go. They too pointed to Microsoft as a positive example discussing more than just Scoble’s blog. They discussed Channel 9, which was a team of five people with camcorders that posted clips of unvetted and largely unedited interviews with Microsoft engineers to a Web site that anyone, inside or outside the company, could see and comment on. In the beginning, the project ruffled a lot of feathers in Redmond, but today people point to it as the strongest example of how they are a visionary company again. As the article put it, “No large company - with the possible exception of Sun Microsystems - is as far along in understanding how the Internet changes the way employees connect with suppliers, customers, shareholders, and peers.”
I too have been noticing open, honest participation in social media by large corporations. One of the biggest surprises I’ve had recently was seeing Ford approving negative comments on their Autoshow’s blog. Some of these comments are shockingly harsh given the typical reaction of a Fortune 500 company to hide critical reviews. This kind of radical transparency certainly made me trust the information on the Ford blog more.
Having credibility in the social web takes more than just naked content. I also shared with Nick the Stanford guidelines for website credibility. Stanford’s guidelines are based on a variety of studies that provide solid supporting analysis for their ten recommendations. They pertain to all websites, not just blogs. These guidelines offer some great insights into how a corporation can gain credibility for their blog beyond transparency. I didn’t feel like I learned anything earth shattering from their guidelines, such as having a professionally designed site, but it is nice to have Stanford research backing up what I advise my clients. ;)
What are your thoughts about companies participating in the blogosphere? What does it take for them to be successful? Are they an unwelcome guest in the conversation? Do you trust what you read on a company blog?
Yes corporations can leverage blogs although only, and I stress only, if they are truly transparent. Ford isn’t the only one allowing harsh comments to be posted to their blogs. An online real estate company called Redfin recently turned the tide of hate from real estate companies trying to put them out of business by putting up a blog and beeing completely honest about the way these companies were trying to kill his biz. The response from the public was so overwhelmingly in favor of Redfin that they won the battle and survived.
Dave Allen Nemo Design.
From Dave Allen on June 27th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
I have to say, although I don’t think Guy Kawasaki’s blog (http://www.guykawasaki.com) is officially an Apple blog, it sure had a profound influence on my view of Apple’s strategy. In fact, I have bought 2 Macs this year, and I think probably partly because I could understand Apple’s positioning from his blog in a much less “formal” way, rather than the usual corporate documentation that sounds like a sales pitch (that I wasn’t buying).
So I would say yes, absolutely they can, but they have to be sincere and personal. Readers are pretty quick to identify marketing “dribble” (no offense intended) that is posing as a personal blog entry.
–jg
http://metroknow.blogspot.com
From jg on June 27th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Well, two things come immediately to mind:
1) These ideas are not new, but their implementation is. In The Cluetrain Manifesto, the four authors saw that markets were conversations and called for corporations to get involved. Well, now that the technology has finally proliferated enough for that to happen (it was available seven years ago, but not on the scale — nor on the scale of awareness — that it is now), we’re seeing some of them try it. Which leads me to,
2) In The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell describes how eliminating graffiti in an area of New York reduced the overall crime rate in that area. Just by presenting the impression of reduced presence of crime in the area, the authorities saw crime diminish. The admission of fault by JetBlue’s CEO established trust in a similar way. When an ontology or a relationship looks a certain way on the surface, it is accepted that way until that impression is contradicted. While not completely analogous, the idea in Gladwell’s book and the gesture of JetBlue’s CEO have similarities that speak to the value of radical transparency. Graffiti on walls and broken windows (much like the general mistrust of large corporations) indicate a hostile environment (or relationship). When these are cleaned up (or a CEO admits guilt in an act of honesty and openness), the environment (or relationship) seems open and welcoming.
Obviously, openness in general is a good thing, but it takes an act of goodwill (such as the examples above) to establish trust beyond that.
From Roy Christopher on June 27th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
This idea also applies to blogging. My sites, though wide open for comments, rarely garner any. My ego won’t let me believe that it’s because there’s nothing worthy of comment on them. As you pointed out in a discussion we had a while back, perhaps readers don’t feel like I want comments, or that the format of my sites doesn’t welcome them to reply. You’ve obviously overcome this on Metafluence.
But, I just noticed that New Media luminary Geert Lovink’s new book is called Zero Comments, an obvious statement on the failure of blogs to incite real conversations. I agree that, in a lot of ways, we’re all just talking at each other. Blogging corporations face the same pitfalls (i.e., of their readers not feeling welcome to comment).
From Roy Christopher on June 27th, 2007 at 6:40 pm
I haven’t read any of the blogs you mentioned. But since the conversation is about why people don’t comment, I thought I had time to contribute.
I tend to only find blogs when I am looking for a specific topic. The best example was when I wanted to know more about Second Life- all the hype, hype, hype. I was very suspicious. The people who want Second Life to be a money making interface are all about playing it up. I did find people who said it was slow and empty (no one to talk to) and full of porn. It was also “all about the money” I.E. you couldn’t do anything unless you spent money. I found images of things people had created in that world but it made sense that it would be a sparse (too big for it’s own good) interface for a shopping mall. And I don’t like shopping!
I still feel that because of the deception, the “perfect picture” Second Life has painted for everyone that they are not being honest so I am more likely to trust those that had negative experiences. I am sure the technology has a long way to go before it becomes what it says it is. Transparancy people, is important.
From Sabrina on June 28th, 2007 at 8:43 am
Dave, the Redfin example is an excellent example of a business using a blog to help their business. And, you’re right; radical transparency is key.
jg, while Guy’s blog is not an official blog, it does point to the fact that people trust third party blogs and companies should be aware of the conversations that are happening on them.
Roy, commenting is an important aspect of blogging. In fact, it’s the heart of what makes a blog a blog and not regular news. I think people are less inclined to leave comments when they feel like there is not a person they are connecting with. It goes to the point that businesses are more successful with a blog if they can connect it to an individual, such as Robert Scoble on behalf of Microsoft. While people may still be suspect of Microsoft as a company, at least they can feel good that Scoble is there and may represent their opinion in the boardroom where they don’t have access.
Sabrina, you make a great point here, that people will turn to the blogosphere for a background check on a company they’ve heard of. It’s a more trustworthy source than the marketing info coming from the horse’s mouth. I think it also further underlines the importance of a business paying attention to the conversations happening about them in the blog world, and maybe even joining the conversation where it makes sense.
From Justin on June 28th, 2007 at 10:51 am
Transparent rhetoric is nice and I’d hope for it, to some degree, in a corporate blog, but even without it, any blog, whether “trustworthy” or not is a valuable text.
From Matthew Bowman on July 3rd, 2007 at 1:24 am
True. I even like to be marketed to when it’s done well. Apple is a great example of a company that doesn’t always act transparently, but I still have trust in them.
From Justin on July 3rd, 2007 at 7:46 am