Product Blog: The iPhone Blog September 16, 2008

Today’s example of a product blog is the iPhone blog, which actually is an entire blog only about things concerning the iPhone. According to the about section of the blog:

“The iPhone Blog features the latest iPhone news, reviews of software and accessories, an iPhone-focused podcast, and excellent forums for discussing all things iPhone.”

The iPhone is a great candidate for a product blog since there are many, many features on the iPhone that can be blogged about, and even more things associated with the product. Since the iPhone has been such a big thing recently, especially with the release of the newer 3G model, the iPhone blog is a great way to keep consumers updated. And if you haven’t noticed, there are A LOT of people crazy enough about the iPhone that they’d want updates everyday. Recent posts have discussed protective casing, Google maps software on the iPhone, comparisons with other products and the new version of iTunes.

Something I do find annoying, however, about this blog is that the posts look a lot like advertisements. That can be off-putting to a new reader and make you skip over useful content.

Speaking of the new version of iTunes… if you haven’t downloaded it already, do it! I’ve been waiting for this. iTunes 8 contains a new feature called Genius which is really… genius. The user picks a song and iTunes will form a playlist off song in your library based off that one song. If you’re familiar with Pandora, it’s basically that – except you already have the songs in your library.

And as if that wasn’t enough, Genius also has a sidebar that will find related music based on your song choice available for purchase. If enough people are suckers like me, I predict a huge increase in single songs purchased from iTunes. I’m going to work on tracking down this information, since this has to be one of the best marketing tools incorporated into a product.

Expect many more posts about Apple marketing – I’m fascinated with how quickly Apple is reeling in the younger generation and how the brand is instantly associated with anything cool. Soon enough, Apple will take over the world.

Company Blog: Coca-Cola September 12, 2008

I just recently found this great example of a company blog. It’s written by Phil Mooney, historian/archivistat The Coca-Cola Company for the last 30 years. Capitalizing on his immense knowledge of Coca-Cola’s history, Mooney posts about everything from little-known product facts to customer stories about how Coke has impacted their lives. My favorite posts are recipes that include Coke products.

Started in January of this year, I’m surprised to find that this is the first Coca-Cola blog. For such a large company with one of the best brand recognitions around the world, I can’t believe it’s taken them so long to get on blog train. But now that they have, this blog is fantastic!

Coca-Cola is unique because it’s so deeply rooted in pop culture. Almost always a sponsor of anything great and found in every grocery store of gas station, Coca-Cola has influenced American life since well before I was born. Mooney is armed with millions of topics to post about that are interesting and relevant to the everyday Coke drinker.

This blog is a great marketing strategy because it can raise awareness to the company’s philanthropy and dedication to the consumer throughout the long history of the company. In addition, it can bring attention to the MANY other products that Coca-Cola owns aside from Coca-Cola and Diet Coke. Did you know Coca-Cola owns TaB and Fanta?

I stumbled upon this blog simply by searching “Coca-Cola blog” for this thesis project, and since a good friend of mine just recently accepted a marketing internship with Coke - it was one of the first major companies I thought of to search. But my questions is this: if they’re putting all the effort into creating a great blog that can serve as an effective marketing/branding tool, why not market it better? I’m an avid Diet Coke drinker and very loyal to the brand (Pepsi’s rarely allowed inside my home), so why haven’t I heard of this blog before? Marketing seems to be a common issue that I’m finding among major corporation’s blogs. Any ideas on how a company can successfully promote their blog?

CEO Blog: Craig Newmark September 11, 2008

Here’s one of my favorite CEO blogs written by Craig Newmark, CEO of Craig’s List. Recent posts include political updates, hurricane information, media coverage and anything random he feels like posting. My favorite recent post is titled “Bad bird haiku” and is a picture of goldfinch followed by Newmark’s poem.

Newark’s blog definitely gives readers a look into his interests and personality. The bird post in particular made me smile and left me feeling like I knew a little bit about Craig that I didn’t know before. Although Newark’s posts don’t typically relate to Craig’s List, a personality blog can be very effective too.

Since Craig’s List is operated online, it makes sense that the CEO would be in tune with online and social media. A blog that makes readers feel like they know him can build customer loyalty and humanize the company. After seeing that sweet bird haiku, it’s hard to think of Newark as a hardcore businessman who only cares about the bottom line.

This CEO blog particularly appeals to me because the posts always short and sweet. Most posts take a “hey, look at this cool thing” approach, and you don’t need a lot of time to check it out. Newark often posts multiple times a day, and consistency is extremely important to any blog.

Do you read a CEO blog regularly? Does it make you like the CEO and/or company more?

Types of Blogs September 10, 2008

Since I’m primarily focusing on blogging for business purposes, let’s talk about some different types of business blogs. To define these types of blogs, I’ll again be using my trusty Blogging for Business book by Shel Holtz and Ted Demopoulos. (If you can’t tell already, it’s a great resource and I love it!)

• Executive / CEO blogs: Among the most common of company blogs, executive blogs are authored by the CEO of a company or someone in senior-level management. Posts usually address issues facing the company from the executive’s perspective. These blogs can be extremely effective marketing communications tools because readers feel that they’re speaking directly with company decision makers. This feeling is only enhanced by the ability to comment. Executive blogs also provide a perception of transparency, which is becoming increasingly valuable as the general public continues to distrust corporations.
• Company Blogs: Company blogs are similar to executive blogs, except the author can be any company representative writing on behalf of the organization. The purpose of these is primarily to keep stakeholders updated on the happenings of a company, much like a Web site could do. Using a blog format, however, keeps things timely, interesting and conversational. Company blogs are more engaging than a typical company Web site and a personal approach can go a long way with customers.
• Product Blogs:Product blogs are usually written by members of the product team and ofter readers consistent updates on one specific product and things related to that product. An effective product blog can build greater loyalty for a product and the company that produces it. Product blogs can discuss new versions of a product, promotions, upgraded software, new features, accessories and related tools for a product, answer customer questions and provide tips and “how to”s.
• Customer Service Blogs:Customer service blogs are both proactive and reactive public relations toold since they aim to keep customers informed about problems and how the company plans to remedy them. If done well, customers who trust the customer service blog will go there for information when something goes wrong. This gives the company a chance to reach the customer first, explain what’s happening and dispel any rumors that may be circulating.
• Advocacy/Nonprofit Blogs: Many corporations have a foundation attached or take a stand on political issues. Advocacy blogs keeps readers updated on actions taken and the company’s government relations. Many nonprofit blogs also include what readers can do to support their efforts.
• Employee Blogs:These are the trickiest of company blogs. Employee blogs are written by any employee who’d like to have a blog and are not typically regulated or preapproved by public relations, company lawyers or people or upper-management. Although often risky, employee blogs can provide a refreshing voice to customers who don’t want to hear corporate speak or people who’ve been drinking too much of the corporation’s Kool Aid. Employee blogs also give customers a chance to see that company employees really care and love what they do.
• Internal Blogs:Internal blogs are written by a company’s corporate relations staff or upper-level management and intended to be read by company employees. Internal blogs can be an effective way to keep employees on the same page and enhance company messaging. They can also be positive for employee morale by including information an intern newsletter might have such as birthdays, promotions, weddings, baby announcements and employee recognition. Although a newsletter could suffice here, blogs are much more conversational and interactive.
• Political Blogs: Despite the fact that political blogs are not necessarily company blogs, I’m including them anyway because the upcoming presidential election makes them very relevant. Political blogs often contain strong opinions about work to influence readers. They also keep readers informed about what’s going on in the political arena.

Now that we have all of that out of the way, we’ll look at real examples of each type in future posts. I’m sure you can’t wait.

History and Evolution of Blogging September 10, 2008

Although (according to NPR) blogging has been around since 1994 when Claudio Pinhanez of MIT started publishing his “Open Diary” and Justin Hall created his “personal homepage” logging his daily activities, it’s really only taken off in recent years – especially business blogging.

Jason Berger, often credited for authoring the first blog, started posting interesting Web links in reverse chronological order in December of 1997. He coined the term “Web log,” which has now become just “blog.”

Blogging first became popular as personal diaries. Open Diary, created in 1998, was one of the first tools that made it easy for the average person to start blogging about their thoughts, feelings and whatever else they felt like sharing. Other journaling tools followed soon after such as LiveJournal and Xanga. Everyone who was anyone had a LiveJournal in middle school and high school – so obviously I did, too. Why I thought anyone would care that I was mad at Sarah for not inviting me to her birthday party, I could not tell you. But that’s the kind of lame stuff that caught on quickly. As if high school didn’t already have enough drama, now you could call people out and spread rumors on the Web for all to see.

In 2002, Technorati – a blog search engine – launched, making it possible to track and search blogs. Since then, blogging has skyrocketed. Today, Technorati reports tracking 112.8 million blogs. And now they can add one more to the list.

As far as business blogging goes, Shel Holtz and Ted Demopoulos’ book Blogging for Business marks May 2, 2005 as a landmark date. BusinessWeek did a cover story that explored the business consequences and opportunities associated with blogs. Because it was one of the first serious articles in a serious business publication about blogs, people really started to take notice. Since then, many major corporations are seeing the value of blogging. More and more companies are entering the conversation – but there’s a long way to go.

In addition to the inevitable expansion and growth of blogging, new media channels are becoming available. Podcasts, video blogs (vlogs) and other forms of social media are taking off. Business are slowly but surely realize that they need to adapt or become outdated. As an intern in Allstate Insurance Company’s Southwest Region corporate relations department, I’ve seen the company struggle to incorporate new media into their public relations plans. Blogs are here to stay, and certainly aren’t just a fad.

What is a blog and why is it unique? September 9, 2008

If you’ve made it to this page, chances are you already know what a blog is. But for my purposes of starting at square one, let’s define a blog and discuss why you and I should care about them.

According to Blogging for Business by veteran blogger Shel Holtz and Ted Demopoulos, a blog, short for Web log, is a simple Web site organized by short “posts” or articles arranged in reverse chronological order. Blogs typically have one or a few authors who frequently add new posts containing both personal opinions and facts. (This blog only has one – me!) Although many blogs focus around a particular topic, blogs are not generally tightly focused and are written with an informal tone. Regular readers of a specific blog must actively visit the site or use a feedreader to view new posts. In most cases, readers of a blog can comment on a post, which facilitates conversation between the blogger and the reader as well as among readers. Most blogs are primarily text, but posts can also contain photos, audio and video.

Okay, so what’s the big deal? The conversational nature of blogs is what makes them unique. Blogging allows one person to converse with multiple people in multiple locations from any place where there’s Internet access. Although blogging has been around for quite some time, companies have only recently started seeing the value of business blogging. Blogs can be a great way to break down barriers between corporations and customers and create an interactive atmosphere where customer’s words are valued and most importantly, heard. In future postings, I’ll be looking at current examples of this.

So since blogs are supposed to be conversational… comment! (Future posts will be more interesting, I promise.) You’re not only making me feel important, but you’re also helping me to graduate and complete my thesis. And you should feel good about that.