Digital Convergence

@wisdomsingh #in6minute #supersunday

CORPORATE
BLOGGING:
A DYING FAD?!
Stephen Davies | http://stedavies.com | @stedavies | sdavies@3wpr.co.uk | +44 (0) 790 4444 229

Before we start, lets meet Blog circa 2004/5

Fresh, hip, different and disruptive. Blog was the new kid in town and he was shaking things up.

... they're simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself. And they're going to shake up just about every business -including yours.
Source: http://bit.ly/5NVxrK

Eventually, most businesses will use blogs to communicate with customers, suppliers, and employees, because it's two-way and more satisfying.
Bill Gates, 2004

SHINY
OBJECT

SYNDROME
A very common condition among us geeks

The Shiny Object Syndrome got worse however, and we soon began to see people spelling the end of PR as we know it...

Why was there such an anti-PR revolution?

1. Immediate 2. Genuine 3. Simple 4. Inexpensive 5. Two-way

In truth, however, the benefits of corporate blogging were probably seen through rose tinted glasses

1. Little traffic

2. Time requirements
3. Difficult to be conversational 4. No ending date. When do you stop? 5. Concerns over employee superstars 6. Legal department has hangups

7. Hard to measure success

Source: Jeremiah Owyang

We have had an influx of more Shiny Objects at our disposal

Death reared its ugly head again, but this time it wasnt blogging that was going to kill PR...

Lets meet Blog in present day

You could liken todays perception of a blog to that of someone in their senior years. Insightful and often knowledgeable but not very cool

Is this really the case?

15.5% of Fortune 500 companies use corporate blogs

Source: Socialtext

Corporate blogging is very low among multinationals But some companies are using blogs to good effect

THE
CEO BLOG

 Chairman & CEO, Bill Marriott Blogging around three years

Dictates into a recorder and a staff member transcribes

Marriott has made more than $5 million in bookings from people who clicked through to the reservation page from Marriott's blog.
Marriott Head of Communications, Kathleen Matthews

o The means to reach out to customers and employers with an authentic expression of grief o The ability to react almost instantly o The opportunity for its customers to offer their own thoughts or the tragedy o The ability for Bill Marriott to assume leadership during the crisis
Ref: Shel Holtz

Part of the job of a CEO is to explain your mission and actions to the public. Why wouldnt you use one of the greatest communicatio n tools that exists (a blog) to do that?
Jonathan Schwartz Tactical Transparency

THE

CSR
BLOG

THE GROUP BLOG

Looking in to the future