Today I had the pleasure of listening in on a teleconference hosted by the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA, or as my roommate likes say Woahhhhhh-Man).
(full disclosure: I volunteered at WOMMA for a week, well, almost a full week, prior to eventually joining Edelman)
The topic of the conversation was corporate blogging, using the case studies of GM's Fastlane Blog (made famous by VP Bob Lutz) and Richard Edelman's Speak Up blog. On the call were Mr. Edelman himsel f (My big boss); Laurie Mayers, Senior Vice President, Deputy Managing Director, Hass MS&L (the agency that helps run the blog for GM) ; and Michael Wiley, Director, New Media, General Motors.
Here are the Highlights (my extreme apologizes if I get a few words wrong):
Wiley:
On what the blog has accomplished: "The blog has been a vehicle to Intitiate culture change in the company. It is living the idea of customer first. It is about listening, about one-on-one attention."
On dealing with varied comments: (Paraphrased) GM filters out comments that are product complaints and forwards them to the appropriate customer service department. Wiley said that they follow-up on the the things they forward to customer service complaints. People are surprised to get this type of service and it turns them into advocates
On the speed with which they launched the blog: "If we would have done the standard PowerPoint, come up with business metrics, had to explain why is it good within the business structure, it would have taken another two years to launch."
On why there is so little oversight: Wiley said the blog was designed to be outside the corporate hierarchy. He is the only individuals who reviews Bob Lutz's posts. "Keeping it away from the PR people has been a formula for success for us."
On promoting the blog: If people ask them about the blog, they will answer questions, but they do not pitch the blog to media. Wiley said they sent out e-mails to a few bloggers but that was about it.
Mayers:
The value they bring is on the back-end support for the blog:
- They summarize comments and identify patterns and areas of increased chatter. This information is distributed throughout the company
- They spend 3-4 hours a day on the blog
On the issue of control: Most common question they get from clients is “How will we know exactly what will happen?”
On the ROI of blogs: The Fastlane blog has received more than 8,000 comments in a year, when you think about how much those opinions are worth in terms of what focus groups would cost, it is a bargain.
Edelman:
Things corporate bloggers need to know:
- "Yield control of the message, learn by listening, repeat the message"
- View rank-and-file employees as credible sources of information (gave examples of Scoble and Lutz)
- Opportunity for co-creation, asking people what they think
- Paradox of transparency - you should say what you know, when you know it, then commit to update
- Understand that customers (and employees) are more credible than your company
- Engage your critics
- Your ethical standards must never waiver, you should say who you are, what company you work for, etc.
- Embrace the power of social media (MySpace, Youtube, etc.)
On the value of having a blog: One of the real values of the blog is in recruitment and retention. Edelman has hired at least a half dozen employees who contacted the company through the blog.
On participating in the blogosphere: You have to read other bloggers, post on their sites, read Technorati. "You have got to be in this. It is not enough to be on the side occasionally throwing a stone in the water. You have to get in the pool."
Aspects of successful blogging:
- Short
- Punchy (even controversial)
- Niche
- Consistent (you must post consistently)
- Admit errors and ask how to get better
- Look around at what others are saying because they wont always talk to you, but they will talk about you
Areas of consensus:
- Blogging is not for everyone
- You need to allow comments, especially negative comments, in order to gain credibility
- This will not work in a rigid hierarchical corporate structure where material requires approval from multiple divisions
All in all, a great conversation. I look forward to next Wednesday.
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