Companies Adopt Individualized Blogging Strategies to Balance Control and Autonomy

A January 2006 study by researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln found that Fortune 500 companies who were early contributors to the business blogosphere adopted individualized strategies for balancing messaging control with the autonomy of individual bloggers.

Based on their data, they determined that there were five different types of corporate blogging strategies that can be characterized broadly as being either “top-down” or “bottom-up.”

A company with a “bottom-up” strategy allowed all employees to blog, on the company website, about any topic that suits their fancy. Sun Microsystems hosts just such an open blogging forum for their employees. Each individual’s blog serves its own unique purpose - from humanizing the company to providing complex technical support.

By contrast, “top-down” strategies range from companies that allow only one or two top executives to blog to those that allow a select group of employees to blog about a predetermined subject. The researchers identified four subtypes of “top-down” corporate blogs:

1. Top-Down I–in which a top executive of the company blogs to establish thought leadership or to communicate with core stakeholders.
2. Top Down II–in which a few select individuals from different groups blog about preselected topics in order to establish thought leadership.
3. Top Down III–in which a group of employees work on one blog together to discuss a niche topic of interest to one or more of a company’s core constituencies.
4. Top Down IV–in which a company speaks with a “lack of human voice” to promote the company’s products or services. The researchers cited the ill-fated Raging Cow blog launched by Dr. Pepper/Seven Up as an example of such a blog.

I have a bone to pick with the researchers’ characterization of subtype IV. While they obviously understand that “traditional marketing gimmicks found in press releases are not tolerated in the blogosphere,” they don’t grasp that it’s possible for promotional bloggers to speak with an authentic human voice.

Instead of trying to be gimmicky in a promotional blog, we recommend that companies ask an employee or group of employees that are genuinely enthusiastic about the value of their products or services to blog about what they find helpful and relevant. Companies should also ensure that the blogger(s) are free to engage in constructive criticism without negative consequences. This helps to establish credibility and engages customers in the process of making the company and its products better.

We’ll discuss how to walk this fine line between promotion and gimmick at our upcoming Blog Business Summit conference in Seattle, WA this October. Our special discount pricing is available only until August 21.

Ooh yeah, and lest I forget, the Blog Business Summit is mentioned on the first page of the study. Hooah!