With more and more Fortune 500 companies tossing their hat
into the blogging and social media ring, I thought I would do a quick
tour of
the Big Boy Blogosphere and see who's getting it right and who needs to
turn
off the lights. Let's start with the ones that have figured out an
angle and are actually using social media to communicate effectively
with thier market or a segment of it. The following Fortune 500 blogs
are best of breed:
Want to see a list
of Fortune 500's that are blogging?
Check out the Fortune
500 Blogging Wiki and The Fortune 500 Blog Project. A special thanks to Easton Ellsworth for keeping such a great list of corporate bloggers.
*This list only includes corporate sponsored blogs and
doesn't include personal blogs of executives or employees. Also, I
intentionally left out Google, Yahoo and Microsoft's blogs because it is
completely unfair to compare many of the other Fortune 500 blogs to these.
Multiple author blog
about gadgets and gaming
No matter how you feel about Walmart itself. This is a great looking blog, easy to
navigate, full of useful information, written by knowledgeable, personable
people you can relate to. But what do
you expect, it's Walmart. The blog is
clearly geared to the consumer and brings the latest in gadgets, green, gaming,
etc. It is also written by a group of
expert Wal-Mart Associates. It's more
than clear these people love their jobs, the company and the topics they are
writing about. This is the poster child
for good Fortune 500 blogging.
How to Improve this
Blog: They might want to consider an RSS to email subscription offer
because they are dealing with general consumers. But other than that, I love it.
Read also: 10
features of successful blogs
Single author blog
about the history of the company
Phil Mooney, a 30 year veteran and Historian/Archivist of
the Coca Cola Company shares information on a wide variety of topics, ranging
from brand history to the value of collectibles in this unique blog. I looked a ton of blogs for this post and
this one stood out because it was fascinating.
There's no pitch here- it's all about the very rich history of one of
the most well known brands out there. I'm a big fan of corporate histories - I
read a lot of executive biographies and business profile books and even browse
biz histories on Hoovers in my spare
time, so when I ran across this blog it sparked my interest right away. It's perfect for the average consumer or
memorabilia aficionado because the posts are bite sized slices of the company's
history that range from entertaining to educational. I have to say- for all the
money these Fortune 500's can throw at blogging- very few of them are
interesting to the average consumer, and this one manages it. But then, again, Coke knows marketing!
How to Improve this
Blog: I would probably move the search up under the about information and
add an RSS to email subscription option like Feedburner, but other than that
the site is perfect.
Read also: Top
5 secrets of successful blogs
3.
Southwest's
Nuts About Southwest Blog
Multiple author blog
about Southwest corporate culture, developments, services and offers.
There is a reason this blog won a Platinum PR Award! This blog makes you feel like you are on a
Southwest flight. The writing is quirky,
witty and informative. But the kicker
about this one is - it has a call to action.
In the right sidebar there is a graphic that you can click to get
exclusive Southwest offers. Another
example of a great corporate blog.
How to Improve this
Blog: Offering an RSS to email
subscription option would improve readership and moving the call to action
closer to the top of the page would help conversion. But overall, this site is perfect.
This one it a total pitch for the company, but somehow it
works. Jim Bunnell's writing is down to
earth and informative. It's clear he has
a passion for the product line. I like
that he says stuff like "And if there's anything better than introducing three
new products, it's introducing three new products that show Pontiac's getting
its mojo back." Pitchy, but re-assuring to the consumer that thought Pontiac's
product line just got soft, which it totally did. This isn't a die-hard car blog, but it is a great
way for GM to update consumers on new products, events, relationships,
etc.
How to Improve this
Blog: A few things that would greatly improve readership on this blog is to
allow RSS subscriptions by email (we're dealing with average consumers here...)
and penning some tutorial posts for new drivers and maybe targeting the
die-hard car fanatics with some tutorials on vehicle customization or antique
restoration. They also need a viral post like "Top 10 Most Expensive GM Cars
Ever Sold."
Single author
executive blog that covers hotel amenities, personal thoughts on the economy
and even personal growth.
I got to be honest, when I came upon this blog, I didn't expect
much. I mean, you don't expect Bill
Marriott to be hip enough to write a blog.
But, he is. He is totally hip and
engaging. He talks about golf courses at
Marriott's while admitting his clubs are gathering dust. He delves into his personal thoughts and
observations on the human condition, the economy, etc. He had a really dry
topic - how interesting can you make hotels and amenities? And yet, he did what a professional blogger
would do- spiced up the dry content with personality and providing just enough
of a bird's eye view into his life that you feel like you know him. The blog looks very corporate and
professional - has all the proper tools like RSS to email and site search. Posts have images and even a complimentary
podcast. This blog strategy reminds me
of what Lee Iococca did for Chrysler in the 80's where the man behind the brand
put himself in front of it. Humanization
of a brand, especially one that doesn't immediately seem that interesting of a
blog topic is a brilliant strategy.
SEO Dashboard
How to Improve this
Blog: Really, the blog is
great. Because Bill Marriott is so
personable on his blog- it might be fun to have more images of him at the
various hotel locations doing the things he talks about.
Read also: Humanizing
a blog for intimacy
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