Blogging For Specific Audiences

Blogs are humanizing factors Being a part of the blogosphere helps you keep a finger on the pulse of the industry, and that adds credibilityBecause consumers themselves are blogging. Its a way to connectBecause corporate speak doesnt work anymoreBecause it means you can communicate with your customers, colleagues and constituents in an unfiltered, unfettered way Because it builds a networkGoogleBecause it helps you both become and expert and be seen as an expertWhy Corporations Should Blog

Corporate ExecutivesInfluence, Impact

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.HughHewitt.com

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. Bob Lutz

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 UsNike Pepsi Texas Instruments Oracle Avon Apple Computer Shell McGraw-Hill Radio Shack Starbucks

CEO Bloggers Clubhttp://prplanet.typepad.com/ceobloggers/

CEO Blogs Listhttp://www.thenewpr.com/wiki/pmwiki.php/Resources/CEOBlogsList

Corporate Board MembersAccessibility

Inexpensive and technically very simple. Highly honest way to engage in dialogueAllows shareholders the opportunity to comment on postings. Demonstrates accountability and transparency to shareholdersOpen forum for airing out differences. Advantages to boards using blogs as means of Communicating with shareholders

Updates to investors on the board and its committee activitiesBoard policies and proceduresDirector nominationsDirector selection and evaluationDiscussions on major corporate events, such as mergers and acquisitions. What would board blog about?

Public Relations PersonnelTrust

Understand the mindset of the blogger

Become a trusted member of the blogosphereWhy should PR pros blog?

Steve Rubel PR blogger poster child

IT PersonnelEfficiency

Internalproject managementknowledge managementpersonnel changes

ExternalWhy should PR pros blog?

QumanaDesktop blog publishingsoftware that allows you to write your postoffline, then go onlineand publish.

Potential customersInvestorsExpertiseVersion updates, new versions

The god of the blogosphereRobert Scoble Microsoft Geek Blogger

Marketing PersonnelRelationships

Blogs are a cheap, convenient and enjoyable form of PR and marketing that should be part of every business plan in 2005.Bob Cargill, Senior Creative Director,Yellowfin Marketing

Blogs are interactiveBlogs are humanizingBlogs are inexpensiveBlogs are immediateBlogs are infectiousBlogs are empoweringBlogs are enjoyableBlogs are authoritativeBlogs are popularBlogs are valuable

"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."Jeremy Wright, popular blogger, Ensight.org

Company EmployeesEvangelism

Thomas Nelson bloggers

Macromedia bloggers

Industry Thought LeadersExpertise

Tom Peters

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. Elise Bauer, advisor to technology companies

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.

Senior management, with a lot of input from marketing people, would work out a companys 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 old public relations

Senior management works out a companys 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.The new public relations

OhMyNews.com

NorthwestVoice.com

Old way PR writes press release, pitches to journalists, journalist syndicate that to the massesNew way Every citizen is a reporter; PR must target every citizenTrust, word-of-mouth, transparencyOhMyPROld way New way

Responding to Blogs: Having your say after the fact Developing Effective Communication Strategiesfor the Blogosphere

Kryptonite bike lock

Intelliseek (www.intelliseek.com) - BlogPulseUmbria (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.comGoggle blog search (http://blogsearch.google.com)

Blog Monitoring

Responding to Blogs: Having your say after the fact (Blog Monitoring very important)Blog Outreach: Actively pursuing bloggersBecoming Your Own Blogger: Getting in on the actionDeveloping Effective Communication Strategiesfor the Blogosphere

BrandingWays PR pros are using blogs

Apple iPod

Jeff Jarvis Dells least favorite customer!

BrandingCrisis communicationEmployee communications Corporate public relationsWays PR pros are using blogs

The corporate weblog is now used by savvy marketing and public relations professionals as a way to communicate directly with journalists and influence their storiesblogs allow organizations of all kinds to tell authentic stories directly to the market. Journalists increasingly rely on blog content when they are researching stories." David Meerman Scott, author of Cashing in with Content

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 Euro RSCG Magnet report

Post with maximum immediacy breaking news and news releasesFilter and select relevant news from other sources Engage with customers and potential partnersLink to other sources onlineTell your storiesNever pitch, personalizeRespect a bloggers time and intelligenceNever, ever use the words, "I think your readers would be interested in this story." Quality, not quantity Keep learningPR blogging principles and best practices

How NOT to use blogs MWW Group

How NOT to use blogs Ketchem

How NOT to use blogs iFulfill.com

B.L. Ochman, President, Whats Next Onlinehttp://www.whatsnextblog.com Elizabeth Albrycht, Co-founder, New Communications Forumhttp://ringblog.typepad.com/corporatepr/ Shel Holtz, President, Holtz Communicationshttp://www.holtz.com/

Steve Rubel, VP of Client Services, Cooper-Katzhttp://www.micropersuasion.com Extensive List of PR bloggershttp://www.thenewpr.com/wiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DraftOnlinePRWeekProgram Bloglines List of PR Bloggers RSS feedshttp://www.bloglines.com/public/prblogsPR Bloggers

The CEO Blogger How CEOs Are Using Blogs

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 Paul Allen Managing Partner, Infobase Ventures

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. Reasons CEOs should blog

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

The CEO should be the blogger, not a ghostwriterKeep writingWrite in a personal, informal style, but make it your styleSpark new ideas or comment on others insightsTips for CEO bloggers

CEO Bloggers Listhttp://www.thenewpr.com/wiki/pmwiki.php/Resources/CEOBlogsList

BlogWrite for CEOshttp://blogwrite.blogs.com/

Corporate Blogging Surveyhttp://www.backbonemedia.com/blogsurvey/

Corporate Blogging Primerhttp://www.corporateblogging.info/2004/11/free-corporate-blogging-primer.asp

The Executive Bloggers Guide to Building a Nest of Blogs, Wikis & RSShttp://www.ogilvypr.com/pdf/bloggers-guide.pdfCEO blogger resources