Los medios sociales, aquellos propios de la Web 2.0 son medios de comunicación al alcance de las organizaciones.

Hay que dejar el temor y comenzar a explorarlos, a utilizarlos, a volverlos parte de la mezcla de medios en nuestro plan de comunicaciones.

Comparto un documento titulado: A bloguear, es hora de conversar con los públicos. Los blogs en la comunicación organizacional.

Por fin, puedo decir que lo terminé para poderme graduar como Especialista en Periodismo electrónico.

Más información

Jeg forstår at dette blir en viktig læringsmetode i fremtid skoleutvikling. Dette fenomenet vil jeg undersøke nærmere i min innleveringsoppgave. Men er skolens ressurser tilstrekkelig for fremtidige læringsstrategier?

Blogging is quite the familiar term nowadays, and a lot of people either read blogs or post blogs, even in the Philippines (check out my previous entry at ). However, most blogs are usually personal or about a certain niche, and not really corporate blogs. Why is this so? Maybe because a lot of organizations are still traditional, but organizations must adapt to these developments if they don’t want to fade into oblivion.

The problem, however, with corporate blogs is that it’s just not appealing, in other words, plain boring. And since last Aug. 29, 2009 we had a lecture regarding corporate blogging and microblogging, I’m going to share a few points that I remember in order to make a corporate blog more interesting.

It’s all about the conversation. A lot of things fall under this simple sentence. Firstly, a conversation is all about people. Organizational charts do not talk; it’s the people in that chart who talk to each other. Therefore, the blog should be something that actually has personality, unlike the organizational chart which does not have any. Also, a conversation is never one-sided; there’s always another person who talks. Therefore, the blog should always be open to what the people has to say. You cannot just spout off whatever information; it has to matter, and it has to create a response from them. One way of ensuring this happens is to comment on other blogs, and to reply to comments on your blog. Another is to make sure that the content of the blog is something that is relevant to the people, even if it’s not explicitly talking about your company.

It’s all about the community. This is something that we know already. Organizations never exist in a vacuum. What more in the internet? The internet, is a whole world in itself, filled with different communities. Communities that should be talked to, and listened to. As a part of a community, one must be aware and listen to what your community has to say. One must also converse with other members of the community in order to ensure a lively conversation and to build lasting relationships.

As I have already mentioned before, new social media tools are not the strategy. Therefore, there must always be an encompassing communication plan to which the blog belongs. Remember: people are not just statistics on a market research, they are people who now have the means to reach you, or talk about you, whether you like it or not. Best to use it to your advantage.

Quick Update: Coca-cola whom I included in the corporate blog rankings a few months ago, just announced an ambitious program to send three corporate bloggers into space. Nah! Just kidding. They’ll be sending 3 bloggers across all the 206 countries they’re sold in, to chronicle happiness.

Quite an ambitious and buzz friendly theme. Read all about it here and check out their current blog here. Now back to the Top 10 corporate blogs on the planet…

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Did you know: Nearly 13% of bloggers interviewed for the State of the 2009 blogosphere (conducted by Technorati) either blog for themselves, their own company (I’d consider small businesses part of this category) or for a larger organization?! Not too shabby for a space that was in its infancy when I started blogging three years ago?

State of the Corporate Blogosphere

The above slide from Richard Jalichandra’s presentation at Blog World gave me another reason to dust off the Corporate blog rankings that I’ve assiduously crafted over the past few years (July 2006, May 2008, and CEO blogs in 06). I’ve decided to publish these rankings annually to coincide with Technorati’s State of the blogosphere announcements.

So, what are the brands that have continued to effectively communicate to their users through social media such as a corporate blog? The permanence of many of the 15 companies listed was altered by two fast rising brands, Twitter and Mint, both of whom have been in the news this past year. [Disclosure: I maintain and run a corporate blog for LinkedIn that can be found in the rankings below].

Top 10 Corporate Blogs in 2009 (per Technorati Authority)

1. Google [Authority: 826]

2. Twitter [Authority: 733]

3. Facebook [Authority: 657]

4. Yahoo! [Authority: 656]

5. Dell [Authority: 641]

6. Mint [Authority: 633]

7. Yahoo! Search [Authority: 631]

8. LinkedIn [Authority: 610]

9. Adobe [Authority: 553]

10. General Motors [Authority: 537]

Bonus: 11 through 15 of the corporate blog rankings are below

11. Garmin [Authority: 502]

12. Monster [Authority: 123]

13. Southwest Airlines [Authority: 118]

14. Delta [Authority: 114]

15. Digg [Authority: 104]

Note: Click through the above brand names to get to their corporate blog and feel free to bookmark them or subscribe to their posts on your favorite RSS reader.

–
Methodology: I’m using the New PR Wiki (Corporate blog listings) and Technorati authority to help navigate the corporate blogosphere terrain. This term made most sense to rank corporate blogs for 2 reasons.

1. Popularity

“It is the # of blogs linking to a website in the last 6 months. The higher the number, the more authority the blog has”.

Not only does that give a clear indication of the popularity, it also provides context for this rank in the past 6 months. You’ll be surprised at the number of dead blogs in the list, since the last ranking.

2. It’s the number of blogs vs. number of links that’s being measured

It is important to note that we measure the number of blogs, rather than the number of links. So, if a blog links to your blog many times, it still only count as +1 toward your authority. Of course, new links mean the +1 will last another 180 days

Also, if you find any corporate blog (official) that find themselves in the middle of the above rankings, please let me know by leaving a comment.

Given my experience, both starting and running a corporate blog myself, I’ll continue investigating best practices and sharing them here. If you’re interested in learning more, please consider subscribing to this blog.

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER HERE

On November 27-28, 2009, there will be the two-day conference entitled COALESCENCE of the Organizational Communication Program for the Organizational Communication students of both University of the Philippines Manila and the De La Salle University Manila.

COALESCENCE, as defined by my resident dictionary, iFinger, is the coming together [to] form one mass and whole, or the combining of elements in a mass or whole. The word originated in the 16th century, from the Latin word coalscere, which meant “with” “grow up” “nourish”.

This event is being organized by the Organizational Communication Society of the University of the Philippines Manila and the Team Communication of the De La Salle University Manila. It was named COALESCENCE because both organizations envisioned a gathering of the Organizational Communication students from two different schools that will allow them to grow together as they learn the core meaning of their degree program.

—

Because I am an officer of my organization, I am aware of the nitty gritty details of this project. More than that, I am part of the persons who meet up with Team Communication to plan better how this event would spell success.

One of the speakers of the conference would be Mr Barrientos, my professor in Communication Trends and Styles. The cause of all the blog posts, viral videos, and all my new social media activities (except of course probably the Social Networking Sites and websites I’ve loved since fetus-age). I guess there is no reason to conceal this since the course is nearly ending.

For a couple of weeks, we have been engaged into writing blog entries to complete the course requirements and to make it to top blogs–some requirement that we have been encouraged to participate in. It wasn’t a cruel requirement, as I see myself continuing on posting in my comm-blog, only in a less constrained-in-topic fashion.

I would have to admit. It felt tiring to keep on thinking of blog entries that would totally become an interest to possible stakeholders in the online world. We have been used to writing personal blog entries revealing deep thoughts and putting it out in the public–exactly the kind of writing I’m doing right now.

Personal. Self-attached.

I am disobeying all the advices that were given to us in establishing and maintaining our wordpress accounts. However, let me, just this once, for I am in the mood of revealing it all.

I found it annoying to be forced to write. I loved writing back in high school. I regularly maintained my blogspot account–even xanga, asian avenue, and others like. I loved releasing my thoughts online.

I liked blogging a lot.

However, to be forced to write weekly because it is a course requirement was one of the reasons that stressed me out in college. When years ago, it was so easy to write a funny entry that will earn 20 comments from my friends, this time, the idea of it being required made it all hard for me to think of a specific topic to write about, or even to relate it in the lesson-for-the-day discussion.

I was fine with the lessons I learned about wikis, podcast, viral videos, vlogs, corporate blogging, conversation prism, social media dashboard, social media releases and all the communication trends and styles.

But I guess required blogging became somehow difficult, with the thought that it is required.

At first I found it easy. If one would recall my first post, I wrote there something like, “how can required blogging be difficult? I used to blog everyday.“

Again, since I am an officer of my organization, I got to be involved in the planning of COALESCENCE. Such that would include asking prospect speakers if they would agree to speak in the conference. To ensure that the discussion meet the common grounds of the Organizational Communication program of both schools, I had to get the course curriculum of Communication Technology of the program in DLSU.

And I saw how they also had blogging as their requirement.

And then I felt ashamed of myself.

How could I have felt negative towards blogging.

And then it hit me–Sir Barry did say this to us, it just probably did not seem real as how it is becoming now:

CORPORATE BLOGGING IS INEVITABLE IN MOST COMPANIES.

It is the reason why we were weekly practiced to maintain the blog and start to be professional. And it is the reason why in Communication Trends and Styles and Communication Technology, this activity is a basic requirement.

Write often, read daily.

This will be my often.

And in the last remaining days of this subject, I realize how much Comm Trends and Styles has heped me. And I’m sure, come COALESCENCE day, a lot of undergraduates will enjoy the talk about this program, and learn a lot, the same way I do!

Corporate blogging for Dollar Days since September 2009

Looking for a case of flip-flops, sunglasses, candles, socks or hand sanitizers?

You’ll find them all at wholesale distributor Dollar Days, along with practically every other consumer product under the sun.

In September 2009, Dollar Days began publishing a blog with weekly promotions plus Small Business Advice and Frugal Living Tips.

As corporate blogger for Dollar Days, I update the Dollar Days blog three times per week. Not only am I much informed these days about how to live frugally, but I also know exactly where to go if I suddenly need 60 sets of fleece gloves, scarves and hats!

Of course, it helps that I have more than a year of experience writing my own personal eco-friendly product review blog over at 1GreenProduct.com, but each blog has its own voice and personality. 

In comparison with 1GreenProduct.com, my Dollar Days blog posts are a bit more formal and much more succinct.

Corporate blogs can be a great way to add value for your current or existing customers by giving your company a real human voice and mixing information with promotional content. You can use corporate blogs to announce new products, solicit feedbacks or run contests. You can even include audio or video content of speeches, tutorials and product demonstrations.

Get in touch today to find out how a corporate blog could benefit your company.

Quick Update: Ben McConnell (Church of the Customer) weighs in.

FACT: “54% of employers have completely prohibited their employees from their employees visiting Facebook, Twitter or MySpace while at work” according to a recent survey of CIOs of companies across the United States (via @Mashable)

The survey, which was developed by Robert Half Technology, is consistent with other recent reports that show companies are quickly moving to block social media in the workplace. Of course, even when companies allow social media, it doesn’t always end well for employees. Another recent report indicated that 8% of companies in the US have fired staff over social media misuse.

Companies are grappling with the emergence of social media tools like Twitter that allow for a rapid dissemination of content and ideas. Now, this could be a double edged sword for any organization but as I’ve been advocating on LinkedIn’s Talent Advantage blog – this is also a great opportunity for companies to build their brand through their employees. [Disclosure: I work at LinkedIn, a professional networking site not covered on the survey, as Community Evangelist]

As you can see from the above breakdown, over half of the employers polled seem to have banned any use of social media in the company, while 19% allowed it only for business and 26% allowed employees to use social media sites for personal purposes as well.

For lack of a better analogy, I think a good approach would be similar to the ads titled “Parents: the Anti-Drug” that you see on TV. Surveys have shown that listening to a kid’s concerns makes them far more communicative with a parent and has proven to be more effective at reducing risky behavior. Ditto for employers and social media guidelines.

Responsible companies will take time to educate their employees on how best to utilize social media to build their brand, explain what’s at stake and help clarify how improper use of social media could inadvertently end up destroying both the employee’s professional brand and hence the company brand.

To policy or not to policy (I meant police v.)

Still wondering how best to approach this seemingly intractable problem? As I mentioned, I just published part 2 on my series on helping companies craft social media guidelines and it’s about the 5 questions you should ask yourself before you craft a social media policy for your company. Here are some tips:

1. Ask yourself: does your company need a social media policy?

2. Find your existing company evangelists

3. Find alignment with your company values and culture (read my entire post with all 5 tips for companies here)

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So, in essence, while crafting a social media policy – don’t keep it too heavy,  nor too light; don’t ban complete usage, nor allow unfettered personal access while at work. And, remember that this is a great opportunity to build your employees brand, where they could share information about their company brand with the rest of the world. And, for employees – with great power comes great responsibility.

What is your company’s social media policy? Leave a comment (after the jump) in the comments section. If you like this content, feel free to follow me on Twitter.

If you have a corporate blog, be sure to buy a domain name and drop the .wordpress or .blogspot or whatever you use. This is rudimentary, I know, but sometimes overlooked.

Need to choose a domain name for your corporate blog? Well, do it [social].

Today I registered doitsocial.org!–doitsocial.com is squatted.

My brother Beau is a web developer and set up my blog domain because I’m lazy–but this is really a DI[S] thing. If you have a web guy, though, totally ask him to do it.

Domain names cost about $10/yr. I use NearlyFreeSpeech–but there are plenty of others. In fact, you can register a domain with WordPress.

Chances are you already have a Web site with a root domain: brand.com. From what I’ve read, there is no consensus on whether to use a subdomain brandblog.com | blog.brand.com or not brand.com/blog for your blog. Both examples are represented by successful corporate blogs:

• blogs.adobe.com
• blog.flickr.net
• blog.facebook.com
• www.ysearchblog.com
• dell.com/blogs
• blog.digg.com
• blog.linkedin.com
• blog.ask.com
• gmblogs.com

An important note I extracted from a jargon-happy online forum for webmasters: link to and from your main Web site and your blog. This creates “link juice” which can  increase the blog’s Google PageRank (PR) in a search-which is a practice of Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

In the event an external webmaster (someone who manages a different Web page) links to a typo of your blog brand.com/blog, you can register that domain and redirect it to the correct one blog.brand.com.

Whether or not you use a subdomain is insignificant compared to the PR  your corporate blog will earn if it has fresh and valuable content–also a strategy for SEO. I’m more keen to this strategy because I get bored with the technical stuff–although it is important.

This post begs a post on SEO. Content too.

Also, Google treats your link to another Web site as a vote for that Web site’s credibility–and, in turn, yours. So go out and rock the link! That is, after you set up your blog domain.

…

I will be helping a client with corporate blogging over the next 10 weeks and will undoubtedly learn new things along the way. Please impart any wisdom you have on choosing a corporate blog domain below.

fromblaugh.com

To say that blogging is one of the best features of the Web 2.0 will be an understatement. Not only has blogging enabled normal Internet users like me to document whatever selfish details of their lives are for all the world to see, it has also handed a challenge to companies. That challenge can be summarized in two words: corporate blogging.

In all honesty, I haven’t read a single decent corporate blog in the Philippines. There. I said it. I’ve heard about the best corporate blogs there are and that includes Dell’s and BBC’s. There are even CEO bloggers like Craiglist’s Craig Newmark, who surprisingly have the time for corporate blogging. But no, not in the Philippines. Our lecture in corporate blogging made me realize how it is nearer to talking with people than it is to achieving organizational goals. That said, Philippine companies should be brave enough to face the fire and try corporate blogging; they’ve listened long enough. Why not let us listen to what they have to say?

A word of caution to Philippine companies from an Organizational Communication student and a proactive Internet user, though: Don’t even think of corporate blogging if..

You’re not going to promote it anway.

With gazillions of websites in the Internet, how can you expect your corporate blog to be read by the unsuspecting reader? Two things: first, it has to have engaging content; second, it has to be promoted. I’m a firm believer that content is the be-all and end-all of everything, so if you can’t manage to get great content in your corporate blog, you might just as well not make one in the first place.

In promoting your blog, you should have a clear cut plan: identify who your target readers are and strike at the heart of where they are. Once you’ve caught their attention, make sure they never stray away.

You don’t have the heart to update.

Even the lousiest bloggers I know can update their blogs every so often. And once they do, it’s anything but unreadable. The last thing you want is to be a has-been corporate blog that was read by people at some point in the past. Worse, your outdated corporate blog can even damage your reputation.

Make sure you are willing to invest time and effort in your corporate blog. A great amount of both is needed to keep your blog rolling. And remember: no one wants a rotten apple.

You don’t want to listen.

More than a tool of getting information out to the public, your corporate blog is an instrument for you to hear out your readers’ thoughts. It can come in the form of responding to their comments, asking feedback at the end of every post or seeking their input on a new product you’re about to release. The feeling of having to listen may be unusual at first, especially if you’re used to heavy trimedia advertising. Try listening, though. You’ll surprisingly get a lot out of it.

You want ease and convenience.

A study conducted by my professor on corporate  blogging in the Philippines revealed ease and convenience as primary reasons for convincing supervisors to try corporate blogging. Something is very wrong with this reason.

Corporate blogging isn’t easy, especially if you’ve never tried it before. Rewards can be dire and almost impossible to come by. Sustaining reader interest is a science in itself. Responding to reader comments one after the other is a tireless job. It is not easy and convenient.

You’re not a person.

Are you planning to post news articles on your corporate blog? Never mind. Corporate blogging is not about posting news updates on your website. There’s another place for that–your (probably boring) company website. What your corporate blog has to have is the voice of a real person, someone with a perspective, a mind and heart. Someone willing to listen and respond. You know, like a normal human being.

Before even thinking of corporate blogging, make sure you have a blogger in the first place.  A blogger–that’s what you call someone behind a blog, corporate or not.

note: this piece was originally published on behalf of bnet at http://blogs.bnet.co.uk/sterling-performance/2009/09/23/five-tips-for-b2b-social-media-marketing/

Business brands using social media are starting to see the benefits. But are there any best practices they can use? Guessing that the average businessperson may not know where to start, George Krautzel and Bill Connfrom online agency Toolbox.com have issued a whitepaper on that subject. Here are some ideas:

1. Set objectives first. Don’t head on towards social media just because it’s hip. Who is your target audience and what are you trying to achieve. Are you using the right media outlets for the audience you want to reach?
2. Build a roadmap to engagement. Start advertising on social media platforms and then slowly engage in conversations. “Entry in social media can be as simple as advertising in an online community”, as Conn and Krautzel point out.
3. Examine the costs and benefits of building your own community, as opposed to tapping into existing communities.Building your own community is a lot more costly and exacting than joining an existing one that fits your needs.
4. Transparency is a must. A marketer has to say that he is a marketer, and that’s that. A comprehensive guide to disclosure, as it’s often called, courtesy of the Social Media Business Council. So-called Flogs (fake blogs) are a no-go area,
5. A good marketer listens to what is said about their brand. It’s inppropriate to control feedback, so you should be able to withstand criticism and use negative feedback to improve your service.

I agree with most of Toolbox.com’s advice, but I’d add a couple of caveats:

• Words like “campaign” and “targeting” aren’t really appropriate for social media, in my view.
• And whereas Toolbox advises you to get started with online advertising and then to learn how to engage in conversations, I’d do just the opposite. My ultimate best practice advice would be to ask permission and learn by doing, slowly but surely, one step at a time.

I’ll be picking this theme up in a post soon, but in the meantime, you can download the toolbox social media whitepaper here.

Let me know if you have any other tips to share.

We’ve recently set up our Essential Research blog. It’s started well, albeit a little slowly. Go check it out.

The main reason for the slow start is that we are currently crazy busy. However, a second reason is that the majority of us have never blogged before. And as those who have their own blog know, it is a little scary to begin with.

What do I write about? Who will read it? What if it is rubbish?

I’m quite happy with how this blog has evolved. But the number of blogs I’ve had is in double figures (I think), and it has taken me 6 or 7 years to get into a position of (relative) confidence.

So, using a combination of my past experiences and the advice of others that are quite proficient in the space, I’ve created a little guide on blogging.

See below – it is a draft, and particular to research, but I’d be interested to know where it could be improved.

Click on the picture for a larger (and readable) version.

Yes, I like mnemonics.

Incidentally, the further reading list is:

• 101 essential blogging skills from Skelliewag
• Mashable’s guide to using free media for your blog
• IBM’s corporate blogging policy
• Chris Brogan’s 40 ways to deliver killer blog content
• Advergirl’s tips to start blogging

All images are taken without credit. Sorry. If one of the images is yours and you’re not cool with my use then let me know and I’ll change it.

sk

Corporate blogging is another way of writing blogs. But this time, this kind of blog focuses on organizations and companies. Being a relatively new trend in blogging, corporate blogging is not yet embraced by every organization.

Here are some factors:

First, companies admit that they are not yet ready for this kind of advancement in technology. Some companies are still operating in the traditional way and are not yet that open to changes especially in terms of technology.

Second, companies do not have time to devote on this kind of activity—that it’s just a waste of time on their part. Companies think that corporate blogging will take a large chunk of their precious time which they can fully devote on more productive tasks.

Third, companies think that they do not have anything to say. Most companies think that their company’s intranet is enough to get people’s attention and to actually rely on their products and services.

On the contrary, corporate blogging can be beneficial for them in some ways:

First, aside from the intranet, blogging can be a form of advertising/promotion of a company. It is in blogging that they can make their companies known especially for those people who rely on the internet for information about companies.

Second, blogging is not a waste of time because one can write entries during his/her spare time. And blogging can be considered as a productive task since you are doing it for the sake of the company. In fact, the CEO or the president of the company may be the one to write and maintain their corporate blogs. In this way, the entries will be more credible and the structure will be cohesive and parallel.

Third, it is not true that companies do not have anything to say. In fact, they can use corporate blogging to promote their products or services. It is another avenue that companies can take in promoting their services, aside from the traditional means. They can also use blogging to answer their clients’ or customers’ concerns about their products and services because blogging provides space for the company to actually explain to their customers the things that they want to know.

These only goes to show how corporate blogging can help companies in their businesses. It may be new to them.. it may sound too technical.. but it’s up to them to maximize its use and make it work for their advantage.

E’ con un pizzico di soddisfazione che scrivo questo post. Con quella soddisfazione di vedere cambiare le cose piano piano, dando un piccolo contributo.

Alla Sapienza, un po di tempo fa, grazie a Francesco ed un manipolo di volenterosi ed entusiasti smanettoni è nato un blog, websapienza.wordpress.com. Piano piano sta diventando un canale di informazione importante per tutti coloro che nell’immensa organizzazione dell’Università di occupano di ICT e comunicazione.

Piano piano stanno nascendo idee e progetti ma sopratutto stanno procedendo e realizzandosi.

Il dibattito pubblico si dimostra il modo migliore per dare impulso al lavoro di molte persone che troppe volte resta imbrigliato nella complessità dell’organizzazione burocratica.

E’ così che sta prendendo forma un template per Joolma che adotta le regole dell’identià visiva de la Sapienza, che una google appliance presto fornirà adeguata risposta alle richieste degli utenti del sito dell’Ateneo e tante altre iniziative che man mano speriamo di riuscire a portare avanti.

websapienza.wordpress.com

Most companies worth their salt now have some form of corporate blogging guidelines that stipulate what employees can and shouldn’t do. Some have plans for responding to external criticism.

How many have guidelines (beyond gag and get rid) for dealing with internal breaches?

September’s London Bloggers Meet Up was sponsored by the wonderful Ebay.co.uk, recent sellers of Skype and bargain hunter’s online refuge.

Heat re-appeared and beer (kindly paid for by Ebay all night) was shared with conversation, as always, in full flow (hi Cate, Mike, Cristiano, Mel, Alex and Ant et al…)

I like Ebay, I use it a fair amount, and it’s great to see a huge company embracing engagment with the blogosphere in a positive way and what with the likes of Lastminute.com, Guinness, and of course Starbucks (yup, full disclosure, I am indeed a Starbucks guy) having sponsored the event, it shows how important the movement is proving to be for these brands.

I’ve mentioned before how odd it can be doing the PR and blogging thing, and how the balance can be tough to find, but it struck me last night how many of those in attendance juggle both, without detriment to either.

What would be great now, would be to see the brands who sponsor the meetups contribute with a next step by blogging themselves. It’s great that they want to take part, get involved in the community and add value to it – the next stage in the progresion is to become blogging entities themselves, whether it’s through a network, a shared blog or from comments of the CEO.

PRs are becoming bloggers and bloggers are becoming PRs, so why not have brands become bloggers too, if they’re increasingly being represented by people who are themselves blogging and understanding of the nuances of the community?

Lots do this already of course, in particular the more technology-oriented companies. What’s stopping those that aren’t?

Fear of the community and the way that the language will sit within it (don’t be scared, we don’t bite)

Time is of the essence, and who has time to put together 400 words once a week? (A lot of us with full time jobs, not to mention those who are parents, manage this just about)

Hesitance to be totally transparent (surely we should all be aiming for this anyway?)

Personalities within the company who are reluctant to use a new or untried channel of communication (there’s a few of us who blog y’know, it’s not a fad)

The first step towards ‘getting there’ is to get in and amongst bloggers, find out what makes them tick and then apply your business’ characteristics to give the writing a voice – readers and credibility will follow.

Honestly, I still find it difficult to blog. Not because I’m lazy, but because I find it hard to infuse interest in such serious topics (this is after all an academic blog). Not that all discussions in class are sleep-inducing and straight-face serious, It’s just that I’m worried that I might not attract readers and keep those kind souls who opened my blog to read further on. That’s why when we had our lesson on corporate blogging, I became interested to know how companies (of great seriousness) attract readers, or attract people from actually finish reading the post (and not just scanning through it, like most people do).

To blog is not an easy thing to do. You have to find topics that can arouse readership and loyalty to your blog, but it’s not just about writing about the “right” topic. One thing I’ve learned is that a blog is more personal as compared to reading something from a printed article. Through my manner of writing and the way I describe things and events, you can somehow see my personality. As much as possible, I try to blog using my own voice; much like the same way I talk to someone in person. You give the reader a sense of who you are as a person. You give them bits and pieces of how you think and why you react in a certain way. A blog that has a more personal touch, for me, is better than reading something that is too overplayed with words, too highfaluting, and just too much for my brain capacity.

A corporate blog should be just as much as your own blog. A company with an effective corporate blog knows how to write to an audience as if he’s writing to a single person. When you say “corporate” it somehow automatically gives a serious tone, which can oftentimes be a turn-off (especially to young readers like myself). I’m not suggesting that a corporate blogger totally diminishes the “seriousness” of its purpose, If he does, he might be the blame to losing the company’s credibility. A corporate blog must be informational, and factual as well. It must sound smart, but not to the point of alienating your audience. It must be formal, but with a hint of entertainment (just a dash, not too much). It has to be  less stiff and more personal. And lastly, it has to be sincere. You audience are, after all, people. They have emotions too, and most of the time, emotions over ride reason.

A way to capture your audience’s heart, loyalty, and attention is to show them your company’s heart, loyalty, and attention.

TIPS on Corporate Blogging

It’s the same as the ‘blog’ that we do. With a few thingamajis. :)

 1. The most passionate of them all

It is important to have someone, maybe the founder or CEO of the company, who would write, and will be willing to commit to write for the blog. Without the passion, there will be no human side on the blog. Find this person and the corporate blog will stay alive as long as this person is alive. :)

 2. Search Engine Optimization

Content is important – make it relevant. Search engines will be able to locate it easily and you might even rank higher in searches.

3. Blog often

 It is also the same as saying ‘update.’ (I know, right? ) Posts should not have information overload. Make them easy to understand and easy to subscribe. It would also be helpful if posts are entertaining but still informative. Just always be careful on what you post. :)

 4. Comment back

It’s a social media tool, ergo communication should be two-way. When people comment, you reply. This brings us back to all of corporate blogging’s objectives.

When we had our OrCom142 class with Sir Barry, he made us organize a miniseminar on New Media which included Intranet, RSS, Podcasting, Wikis and Corporate Blogging.

The topic that was assigned to us was Corporate Blogging. We first researched on the topic, but the information that we gathered still wasn’t enough so we interviewed two corporate bloggers. I rummaged through my old notes and luckily, I found my interview scribbles. Big thanks to the interviewees for giving us sufficient information for the miniseminar (and for this post! )

Brief History

Blog came from the words web and log – a web log is used to monitor the progress of a company’s internal project (as far as I can remember.) Then eventually, the term ‘blog’ was coined.

Technology prompted the existence of blogs. Before, organizations only used press releases to provide information. But the use of internet opportunities increased. Ten to 20 years ago, it used to be dial-up. Then, DSL emerged giving internet users faster and easier connection with a very low cost. This allowed people to reach more people. And one doesn’t even need to own his or her own PC since there’s always an internet café somewhere.

Status Quo: Inbound vs Outbound Marketing

Outbound marketing refers to the use of traditional media in marketing like the use of mass media.

 Outbound marketing = You find your audience

Inbound marketing refers to the use of new social media like blogs, profiles and search engines.

Inbound marketing = They are finding you

Today, outbound marketing is considered to be just 10% and inbound marketing is 90%. 

What is Corporate Blogging?

Basically, it is a blog focused mainly on a company or business. (this is the simplest that I can give )

Its Objectives

A corporate blog aims to:

1. provide additional information

2. give an update about a new product/technology

3. venue to answer questions/comment on products or services

4. reach more people through online presence

5. feedback mechanism

6. build a good image

7. engage customers in a conversation

Types of Corporate Blogs

1. Internal blogs – “what’s going on”

- contain company events, announcements, updates, etc. which are not accessible to the public

2. External blogs – purpose is to inform an make an impression on the reader since it is open to the public

Other types*

1. CEO blog

2. Marketing blog

3. Engineering blog

*blogs that have specific targets

Advantages

Generally speaking, a blog is beneficial because it is easy to set up and more efficient. It is more efficient in a way that you give information that needs to be given out like promotions and marketing, and people can comment, plus other people can view these comments. It is search engine friendly so your company is accessible. Also, you get new customers online and even connect with other competitors.

But more importantly, corporate blogs create personal relationships and more one-to-one personal conversations with people, whether they are consumers or not. It makes conversation easier and it is like having direct communication with your company.

 The Catch

Since blogs are open to anyone who uses the internet, they are certain drawbacks to be considered. First, it can expose a lot of things, which might inadvertently reveal information about the company. Second, it sets up the company to questions/comments/interpretations – which can be linked (competitors, privacy issues, spam). Third, it is in danger of harassment by being hacked. And fourth, it raises legal issues because a company will always be held liable for what is posted in the blog.

Corporate Blogging in the Philippines

In the Philippines, corporate blogging has only been introduced for more or less three years ago. Many Filipino companies still do not fully understand and realize what blogging is and how helpful it can be to their businesses. There are existing blogs in the Philippines which are being used to sell products, but they are still pseudo-personal and pseudo-business blogs.

Edge over other social media

Corporate blogs are easier and to control and more manageable because you can choose what to post and what not to post, plus you can filter messages. Another is flexibility – you can add, delete and edit the content, so it stays updated. They also have their long term benefits because people will keep going back to your blogs.

*Credits to our Miniseminar in Corporate Blogging (OrCom142). This post will not be possible without it.

This blog, though not a personal one, is the 5th blog I have created since second year high school.

Last saturday, Sir Barry discussed how corporate blogging is important for organizations. He told us that corporate blogging can be an integral medium for companies nowadays, in the sense that it can reach a wide range of audience. Ergo, it can boost one’s reputation and make marketing easier for their products. Also, he told us that if one company would just give the online community and the New Social Media some importance, these can actually get that company the attention it wants from its stakeholders.

And then the thought dawned on me, sh*t, I have been blogging since 2nd year high school but did I get the attention I want? Did I reach the people I wanted to read my blog? Or wait, did I really want people to read my blog? Did I really want attention when I was writing those blogs?

I looked for my old blog in the net and read it again. Man, you don’t want to stumble upon that gross thing! I was reading it and actually thinking of my shattered reputation after anyone, that knows me now, reads it.

I know youre getting curious, and so I’m giving you a tiny peek of it. BUT PLEASE, DON’T LOOK FOR IT. PLEASE.

Disclaimer: This blog entry was posted September 10, 2006, first year college, some days after my last break up. If you dont want to read it, just skip it. This came from my second blog. The first is lost in cyberspace I guess.

And oh, PLEASE, JUST SKIP THIS PART. HAHA:))

Gosh. its been years since my last update. well, well, well.. maybe its just becoz i had to make ipon so many stories to tell now.. hehe.

first stop. second MATH dep. actually, this story is not really that interesting. i just had this super happy feeling when i got an 80%. making revenge from the 60% that i had from the first dep. kudos to jena! the girl who consistently is topping the math dep charts. ever! she’s really a great teacher. she adviced me to answer the exercises which i usually neglect. hehe. eh, that’s the secret naman pla.. kea yon. i got a high score.

second stop. sick relationship. my boi and i just broke up last saturday. haha. this is so funny. we’ve been good for almost four months and i dont understand why we broke up… gee. i ddnt know that he was this cruel. one week before our 4 monthsary,, he ddnt txt or coll or make any gesture for us to communicate. he ddnt even bother to say goodbye properly.he didnt tell me the reasons why he left? after all that we’ve been through together… que mal. i was the one who ended the relationship even if it really suck for me to do it. i feel really really sick ryt now. im soo missin’ him. the way we talk. the way we laugh at each other’s antics. the way he makes me feel loved. the way he whispers sweet nottings to mah ear.. i’m still soo inlove with him. ever! and i hate this feeling.

***question: why is it so damn hard to forget someone you love so much?? i really dont understand the feeling of still loving him even if he hurted me so much! ever.

Read that horrifying language? NAKAKADIRI.

Good thing, ORCOM made me a better person! Oh, how I love ORCOM.

And so after reading that I thought, maybe I really didnt want attention and people to read my thoughts then. These were really personal poops I had that, I think, I didn’t want people to know–except my very close friends who actually have access to the blog where the excerpt came from.

Hindi na pwedeng ituloy kasi ubos na ang kahihiyan ko. Kadiri.

*****

Please continue to read my blog as I my knocks are vying to be one of the Top 20 blogs in TOPBLOGS. Thank you and good day!

]]> http://orcomments.wordpress.com/2009/09/01/corporate-blogging-for-you-and-me/ Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:05:50 +0000 ORCOMments http://orcomments.wordpress.com/2009/09/01/corporate-blogging-for-you-and-me/

aside from being a member of an organization or corporation, what else do we need to consider in putting up a corporate blog?

1. Companies don’t blog; individuals do — who would want to read a boring, technical and formal blog (it’s a blog not a business letter???hello!) just as everything else in new social media, it’s suppose to be personal, it should be a mix of you and the corporation that your attending to. you should make a piece that is about your experiences while not mixing out with what your company is all about

2. Writing blogs is about reading blogs — just as in the real world, you won’t get notice if you don’t put yourself forward and introduce yourself. only when you say some something to a stranger (‘nice dress’), will you might be able to spawn a new friendship and next thing is that you alreaady have a huge network. it doesn’t always go well. but when you read and comment, not only that you might have a chance to expand but you’ll also learn and teach somebody somethings worthwhile.

3.Blogging is just a tool, it’s a strategy — don’t expect to have millions of clients just by blogging, just as the other new social media tools, it’s just a supplement. it should be a part of something bigger like a PR campaign or a marketing strategy.

and best of all, you should have PASSION, readers are not dumb and passive in this medium. they are active and loud. so show your sincerity and love in doing this. it will triple or even quadruple your initial expectations regarding the result. blogging is about sharing experiences and knowledge. if you’re not happy to this, just like everything else, don’t do so

It Blogs. That title because now blogging is no longer limited to the human race alone. Corporations also do it. Okay, the human species are still behind it but it is actually the corporation that is speaking. Sounds scary? I say exciting!

BLOGGING THE BELO WAY

I was Googling the top corporate blogs in the country when I stumbled upon this site. Okay, I’m not a fan of Vicki, er, Victoria Belo (she recently said that she now wants to be called by her real name) but I don’t like her either. I mean with all the scandals tarnishing her image and reputation of her clinic, what does her corporate blog has that made it win an award? So I click on it right away completely forgetting the real reason I hopped online.

Gah. You can just imagine how disappointed I was when I browsed almost the entire site. Let me enumerate the thing I hate about it. Three things:

1. PURPOSE. The blog only serves advertising purposes.
2. CONTENT. The blog boasts a lot of gorgeous famous personalities in the local showbiz and… Ohmygosh, that’s all there is to it. The blog is nothing but a photo gallery of their celebrity endorsers.
3. FOCUS. The administrators of the blog only comment on price inquiries. The very focus of the blog is to sell their services. It’s like a TVC/RC/print ad disguising as a corporate blog. Still, very profit-centered. Questions will be answered by the template “It would be best to have a consultation first with one of our doctors.”

Okay, I’m not an expert on corporate blogging, per se, but you don’t actually have to be an expert on it to point out what’s good and what’s not. I mean, what are the criteria for judging? The frequency of updates? Okay, let’s give them a credit for keeping the site updated. The number of beautiful bodies that grace the blog? They have Piolo and Dingdong and they were enough to keep my heart pounding. But seriously, what are the criteria for judging? C’mon guys. Is the Belo Medical Group (BMG) the only local company that maintains a corporate blog? Maybe. LOL.

Suggestions for BMG:

1. MIND YOUR CONTENT. Instead of wasting web space on excessive pictures which are actually not blog-worthy, why not try to post some tips to help your valuable clients maintain their perfectly engineered bodies?
2. COMMENT. Reply on the comments! I don’t care if it’s those are corporate manipulated comments or what at least try to strike up a conversation. Make your future clients feel that BMG is worthy of their penny. If BMG can help you online, what more in the flesh?
3. MIND THE CLIMATE. Make an extra effort to have a client-centric feel on the site. The corporate blog fails to encourage people to actually communicate with the brand. The blog clearly lacks that welcoming atmosphere and it appears as if BMG is sooo hungry for clients. Case in point, instead of having BELO MEDICAL GROUP HELP DESK reply on some of the comments, why not use a real name to add a personal touch on the blogs? Or create a character to whom they can identify themselves with. This way a lot more women can relate to it and feel as if they are talking to a real friend.

But on second thought, they already won an award? Will they care to listen to any of my suggestions? LOL.

BLOGGING THE COCA-COLA WAY

Okay now on the brighter side, the corporate blog of Coca-Cola is totally awesome. No wonder it landed a spot on 10 Best Fortune 500 Blogs. The things I love about the blog:

1. The administrator of the blog really revealed himself on the About This Blog section. He’s very welcoming and makes the readers feel that the blog is for them.
2. The blog is very transparent. The section House Rules made it very clear that some of the comments are edited, and comments that are deemed offensive and inappropriate will never be allowed to be posted. Okay I’m talking too much, I suggest that you just take a trip to the blog and be ready to be awed.
3. I like how Coca-Cola markets their product by making it a part of pop culture. And it is very evident in their blog posts. Selling a brand has never been this natural.
4. The post about a certain recipe is quite fun. It’s nice to know that the blog really has something new to contribute online. I hope Belo gets to read this. LOL. Going back to Coca-Cola, they get to sell their product while we get to learn a new recipe. Nothing beats a mutual relationship.

So the question is, How did Coca-Cola made it to the 10 Best Fortune 500 Blogs?

Want to create your corporate blog the Fortune 500 way? Here are some tips from PROBLOGGER:

(Thanks to Problogger, but I own the explanation, though)

1. Determine if blogging is a good fit for your company. Study the target market. It is important to know if you can really reach your market via this communication tool.
2. Determine if your company is willing to invest in a blog. Hiring people to take care of the aesthetics of the blog can be costly. Also, investment here is not only limited in financial context. More importantly, be ready to invest time and effort.
3. Create a strategy. Before joining the bandwagon, be sure to lay out the plans that will guide the company towards corporate blogging. Just like a communication plan, a blog needs the key elements like objective, goals, evaluation measures, etc.
4. Ensure that everyone is on the same page. For something to be successful, first it has to be successful internally. It is important to guarantee support from the key players so that when a crisis comes, it will be easier to fix things.
5. Determine the Involvement of PR. PR practioners should know how the blog works or else come crisis time, fixing the corporate mess can be really hard. Moreover, since corporate blogging involves the public, getting back up from people who really knows the public can be really helpful.
6. Select Bloggers. Decide whether the blog will be authored by different persons or not. It actually depends upon the need of the company. If the company offers a lot of products or services, then it may be advisable to assign people according to their product expertise. The Coca-Cola corporate blogs are being authored by a single guy only and judging by the recognition gained by the blog, the man must have been really doing something great. The blogger can either be the CEO or someone from the corporate communications team. What matters most is that the blogger knows what he/she is writing about and can draw a good number of audience share.
7. Train the Bloggers. It’s all about form and substance. The blogger’s writing style should be watched. The blog will carry the name of the company so every word, every category, and every minute detail should be carefully considered. For security purposes, it is advisable to come up with a corporate blogging policy that would guide the bloggers as they write.
8. Writing Posts. Keeping the blogs updated is the key to keeping your audience. Press releases can do harm to a corporate blog. People want something that is dedicated for them and for them alone. Talking about the company activities the whole time may just bore them and cause them to eventually veer away from the site. For example, if you are an electric company, posting power-saving techniques can do wonders.
9. Realize that the Blog doesn’t need a tone. Companies may employ different bloggers thus giving the blogs different attacks, different styles which are actually great. It gives variety and people love variety. Say no to boredom!
10. Editing. Some companies do not require the bloggers to submit their works to the higher-ups but when they do, they have some editing process to follow. Here are some of the editing processes corporations actually employ:

Possible Editing Processes:
Blogger > Editor > Blogger > Editor > Publish
Blogger > Editor > Publish
Blogger > Publish

11. Establish a Comment Policy. The Coca-Cola blog has this one and it can be found on their site. Having a comment policy would regulate the comments and would discourage people from actually posting offensive and inappropriate comments.

12. Develop a Promotion Strategy. What’s a fantastic blog without an audience? Research to know the sites your audience frequents to know how and where you can promote your corporate blog. Are they on Facebook? Myspace? Do they visit Youtube? Knowing these things can speed up the success of the blog.

13. Establish a Measurement Program. Finally, assess whether the corporate blog is worth the company’s time or not. Develop evaluation measures that would determine the outcome of the blog. It can be the number of hits, comments, RSS subscriptions, etc. Submitting a monthly report about the corporate blog’s performance is advisable.

Hope you learned something! Here’s to corporate blogging in the future! WEE!