This document summarizes a research study on corporate blogging strategies among Fortune 500 companies. The researchers identified five main strategies: employee blogs by individual employees, executive blogs by C-suite leaders, individual blogs by a small number of selected employees, group blogs by experts in specific fields, and promotional blogs intended to generate buzz. Most large companies now take a top-down approach, exercising more control over blogs through guidelines and hosting blogs internally rather than allowing individual employee blogs. While employee blogs can provide customer service benefits, they also carry risks if employees discuss proprietary information or gossip. Authentic, human voices sharing useful content are still needed to engage audiences, regardless of the blogging strategy.

1. Corporate Blogging Strategy of the Fortune 500 companiesSang Lee, TaewonHwang and Hong-Hee Lee,Department of Management, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Jessica Roberts | @thefullreport | COM 597 Summer 09 | 7.14.09

3. 18 Companies -- 3.6% of firms who blog

5. The “Wild West” -- Benefits As “citizens” of an organization, they could also be used as brand ambassadors Celebrity bloggers emerged, as Robert Scoble Online evangelists and critics Can promote products, criticize and explain from an insider’s perspective

6. The “Wild West” -- Downside Disagreements about appropriate content Employees crossed internal lines & were fired Microsoft employee who discussed Apple G5 Delta employee wearing uniform in racy pictures Google employee who blogged about low pay

7. Control vs. Autonomy Striking a balance between control and autonomy “Shed light on how organizations are addressing the issues of control while supporting autonomy” Developed five corporate blogging strategies in terms of control mechanisms and categorize corporate blogs launched by Fortune 500 Analyzed content of each blog

8. Five Types Blogging Strategies Employee Blog Maintained by one ‘rank-and-file’ employee Executive C-suite author Individual Select group from across company Group Blog Experts in a field, technical focus Promotion Buzz generator Newsletter Company messages in a formal tone

10. Employee written, initially hosted on outside site, some on internal servers

11. Tend to focus on product development & customer service

12. Top-downAssign or allow a small number of employees to blog inside the company-owned domain Provide a directory page that contains links to those bloggers on third-party sites; or Have corporate blogs other than employee blogs Tend to focus on thought leadership & promotional content

13. Bottom-Up (Company Wide) Bottom-up strategy formally allows employees to blog individually or on their site Pattern and extent of use Company has blog sites and several types of blogs Purposes Develop customer service, thought leadership

14. Pros &Cons Bottom-up (Company Wide) Pros More effective & timely means of customer service and product development Provides a ‘human side’ to large companies (ex. Robert Scoble) Platform to create outside relationships Cons Can place blogger and company in a vulnerable situations (proprietary information, internal gossip)

15. Top-Down I (Top Management) Primary Blogger is C-suite executive Company does not host employee blog but has several of its own internal blogs, which use conversational tone , but written by high-level executives Uses blog for thought leadership and communication with stakeholders

16. Pros & ConsTop-Down (Top Management) Pros Can bring a great deal of media attention Speak directly to audience without media Help squelch rumors directly and quickly Cons Executives must be cautious about content Difficult to be as transparent as audience demands Posts must be timely and follow online etiquette to be taken seriously

17. Top-Down II (Individual) Select department heads blog Company hosts several internal blogs, each written by a single author Thought leadership is primary goal

18. Pros & ConsTop-Down II (Individual) Pros Thoughtful essays on the company and products Cons Content is not as relevant because it isn’t considered “insider” info – Not “in the trenches” or “from the top” Fewer act as online evangelists Dialogue is minimal Low readership

19. Top-Down III (Group) Selected group of employees from all areas and levels Company operates one type of blog, but numerous experts serve as authors One area of expertise Can provide quality content

20. Pros & Cons Top-Down III (Group) Pros Content is seen as valuable because it comes from the company’s most innovative opinion leaders Reduces risks associated with personal blogs

21. Top-Down IV (Promotional) Primary blogger isn’t known and lacks original, human voice Company operates one type of blog Complaint that there no authentic voice because purpose is only promotion or customer feedback,

22. Pros & ConsTop-DownIV (Promotional) Pros When done well, can create an original community around a new product Nike focused “Art of Speed” took a new approach and showcased short films on the theme of speed Cons Typically, content is lacking Blogs aren’t always actively maintained

23. Current Corporate Blogging Practices Top-Down is more popular form of blogging High levels of control over corporate blogs The risk of employee blogs as advocates out-weights the benefits Have created guidelines for outside blogs “If your blog is self-hosted, use your best judgment and be sure to make it clear that the views and opinions expressed are yours alone and don ‘t represent the official views of IBM (IBM’s Employee Blogging Guidelines) Creation of intranet to keep comments internal Rely on other bloggers and community watchers

24. Conclusions No matter who is blogging, a human voice sharing authentic, useful content is required to engage an audience