Why senior exec Russell Stalters blogs (and no, it's not to make money per se)

Had a great lunch yesterday with Russell Stalters, CTO of a system and software engineering firm and author of BetterECM (stands for enterprise content management).

He works nearby and a mutual friend suggested we get together. When I asked Russ what his blogging ROI is, he responded with a slight wince that "no" he couldn't pull a dollar figure out of the air and yes the blog does take time.

But he thinks the benefits are tangible. Namely:

1. Lead generation for his company, Applied Information Sciences.

2. Name recognition for him (he gets invited to speak at events like Gilbane's content conferences).

3. He meets interesting people (they leave comments on his blog or he discovers them on other blogs).

4. Writing the blog helps him gather and articulate his thoughts (he's been working on one blog entry for several months - it will be a definitive statement on where ECM is headed).

The lead gen piece is significant and a perfect example of what I try and explain to would-be corporate bloggers. A blog (with good content) is a heck of a lot more interesting / compelling / persuasive than a static site.

Send your prospects to your blog. They'll find their way naturally to your site. And they're much more apt to be in a positive state of mind about doing business with you when they get there.

Russ said his contacts at Microsoft (AIS is a Microsoft partner) send prospects to his blog first, as do his colleagues.

WOMMA gets practical with ethics: Dell signs up to say, "We get it and we're gonna do it"

WOMMA CEO Andy Sernovitz is up to more of his tricks (jeesh, does this guy know how to create buzz) but this time* I think he's got it spot on.

"Smart companies like Dell know that ethics isn't optional - it's the first priority in the consumer-generated environment," said Andy Sernovitz.
- from a Dell press release (Nov. 9, 2006)

Andy has gotten two top execs at Dell to publicly announce that the company - a relatively new player in the Fortune 500 corner of the blogosphere - is incorporating WOMMA's Ethics Adoption Toolkit into its blog policy. The principal ingredients of the Ethics Toolkit are:

- transparency of origin

- accuracy

- ethical conduct

- protection of confidential information

- enforcement and discipline

The ethics guidelines apply to internal (employee) and external (customer) communications via blogs and other social media tools. As well as to third party vendors (i.e. PR firms and agencies that big companies are hiring).

The latter is an interesting reminder that ultimately a company is responsible for the actions of its vendors (think Wal-Mart and Edelman).

Download Dell's Blog Policy (dated Nov. 9, 2006)

Is WOMMA the right group to sanction Edelman for violation of a social media ethics code?

* It's another question whether WOMMA is the right entity to call Edelman on the carpet (WOMMA has announced that Edelman's membership has been suspended for 90 days) for the PR firm's mishandling of the fake Wal-Marting Across America blog. My first response to this was, er, this is preposterous. Why should Edelman care what WOMMA thinks or does?

Here's one of the corrective actions in WOMMA's announcement: "Provide a briefing to the WOMMA Executive Committee to fully explain the details of the incident."

Let's get real here - how likely is it that Edelman will comply with this request??

BTW, I've just done a Google search and (unless I've missed it) I can't find Edelman's reaction to being suspended from membership in WOMMA.

My second reaction is... well someone needs to step up to the plate and insist on a code of ethics surrounding corporate use of blogs and social media. WOMMA is trying hard. Maybe it's the right group.

Useful Links

20 questions toward ethical word of mouth (Jackie Huba)

WOMMA's Ethics Program

Michigan vs. Wisconsin: rock concert meets WOMM

Update: with a gentle prod from commenter Brian Brown, I changed "viral marketing" to WOMM (word of mouth marketing). That's what I meant to say.

Oh and started to post this a few days ago. It's been a busy week. I went to the Michigan/Wisconsin football game last weekend in Ann Arbor, MI.

Wow. (Full disclosure: I don't go to Big 10 games that often so I was, well, wowed...)

You can see that Wisconsin is holding off Big Blue at 10 - 10 here (final score Mich 27 - Wis 13). What a scene! It was deafening. It was cool. Like being at a rock concert where everyone knows every word to the songs.

A record 111,000-plus fans did "the wave" in perfect flow around the stadium, first fast, then slow. The stadium is immense; they call it the Big House in case you're not a Michigan fan. The crowd groaned, in unison, if one section didn't get it right.

My husband and I were among the very few wearing red hats (we both went to grad school at UW-Madison). Our son is a law student at Michigan and, along with everyone else, wore the requisite yellow T-shirt. (They call it maize.)

Here's what struck me: this was viral marketing WOMM (word of mouth marketing) on steroids. OK bear with me. My analogy may be stretching it a bit. The university sent out the word earlier in the week via email: Wear the NEW yellow shirt (there's a new one for every season). And everyone did!

Show up at the stadium at 12 noon sharp for kick-off. And everyone did.

Scream your head off for three hours straight. Everyone did.

Do The Wave. Do the "you suck" cheer. Sing the Michigan fight song (it's gotta be the best football fight song). And everyone did.

Now how do you get 111,000-plus people together and create that same kind of energy, enthusiasm, and cooperation (there was no pushing or shoving) for your own cause? How do you harness the kind of passion Michigan Wolverine fans exhibit? To persuade and inform whether it's a political campaign or a new product?

There's gotta be a way.

And if my analogy to WOMM doesn't work for you, what the heck. It was a great game.

5 Tips to Overcome Your Fear of Blogging

Here's a tips article the WOMMA folks posted to their blog:

How to Confront Your Fear of Corporate Blogging (5 tips from author and blogger Debbie Weil)

P.S. I didn't write the below. I.e. they're not my words exactly. But the tips are good. I've got a whole chapter on Fear of Blogging in my new book, The Corporate Blogging Book.

Tip #1. Think about blogging strategically
Ask yourself these questions: Why does it really make sense for you to add a blog to your marketing communications strategy? What is it that you really want to say? What are your customers really interested in?

Tip #2. Consider starting an event-specific blog
If taking on a project with no end to it feels overwhelming, begin a blog surrounding a certain event. You may find that there's a long-term tie-in, and you can continue the blog. Or, you may find that you've had enough, but now you have some experience under your belt and may not feel as apprehensive.

Tip #3. Get familiar with the convention of blogging
Give it a try. If you don't tell anyone, the blog will stay private and you can practice for as long as you like until you feel comfortable. Show colleagues and ask for their input before making it public.

Tip #4. Don't worry about running out of things to say
It doesn't matter what your widgets are, because you're not going to blog about your widgets. You're going to blog about things related to your widgets.

For example, a blog from an all-natural yogurt company wouldn't be very interesting if it focused solely on yogurt. A blog about organic farming would have a much wider appeal.

Tip #5. Just do it
You've got some experience. The blog is up and running (if only for your own purposes). You've figured out what you're willing to say, and what your customers are interested in that is related to your products and services.

Now, simply keep it up.

Useful Links

WOMMA's How-To's Archive

Good write-up of the session I moderated on Great Corporate Blogs at WOMBAT-2

Why I don't believe in anonymous (corporate) blogging... Strumpette, you can stuff it

Because it's bogus.

What I mean is that, as amusing or clever as anonymous blogging can be (of course sometimes it's nasty), it's still slippery. Only half credible. And therefore ultimately an artifice. It's not real. It's not *authentic.* It doesn't carry the weight of legitimate commentary.

Even when an anonymous blogger makes a good point, we find ourselves saying hmmm...

The obvious, of course, is that an anonymous blogger is cloaked by er, anonymity, and can toss grenades at anyone or any company without fear of being personally attacked in return.

By contrast, the essence of effective business or corporate blogging is that it *reveals* something about the individual blogger... his or her smarts about a particular issue or discipline, whether it's PR or PVC (polyvinyl chloride). Or lack of smarts. Or willingness to take a hit from readers. We are usually as interested in the "who" of a good corporate blog, as in the "what." Of course if you're the blogger, it can be a bit scary to reveal who you are and how you think.

A company that has a corporate blog - or officially sanctions employee blogs - usually reveals something about itself by virtue of having the blog. The company is willing to let a senior exec - or a lower-level employee - speak candidly and risk being criticized. Unless of course the blog is written anonymously in which case there isn't much point in readers taking the trouble to converse with the blogger.

God, am I getting tangled up here... see my comment below.

So my take on Strumpette (A Naked Journal of the PR Business) is... baloney. Heck I could be just as outrageous and clever and nasty [did I mention sexy and catty??] if I didn't sign this blog. Dontcha think?

Useful Links

Who is Strumpette? (The Washington Post - Howie Kurtz - July 19, 2006)

Strumpette's snarky post about Shel Holtz. [Shel, are you too cool or what to get noticed by Amanda?!]

Interview with Strumpette in The Ragan Report

About Strumpette
Apparently it's four people. Principally Amanda Chapel but also two other women and a man. All are PR professionals; none wants to reveal her or himself. Oh so much easier to act like you're in seventh grade that way. Although she/he/they are wickedly funny sometimes.

Two asides

*Of course, you can use the blogging platform anyway you like. I make that point repeatedly in The Corporate Blogging Book.  As long as you're comfortable with the fact that you (as a corporate blogger) may not be publishing a blog, per se. What you may be doing is using blogging software as an instant publishing platform.

** I make exception for anonymous blogging for those writing from war-torn countries or who live under repressive governments. See Global Voices Online.

Technorati: anonymous blogging, the corporate blogging book

The two faces of WOMM: creationist vs. evolutionist

One of the more provocative ideas that came out of last week's WOMMA conference in San Francisco was the notion that there are two kinds of WOMM (word of mouth marketing): creationist and evolutionist. Each is legitimate but they spring from different philosophies.

Thanks to John Moore of Brand Autopsy for suggesting the terms. He couldn't be at the conference but sent a neat video [links to YouTube] which outlined his concepts.

In a nutshell, creationist WOM is marketing so clever it tempts people to talk about it. Moore's examples include Prada's pop-up retail storefront in a tiny Texas town, Carl's Junior which used sexy Paris Hilton commercials, forehead advertising (see above) and Home Depot's parking lot advertising.

Apply this notion to corporate blogging and you come up with an agency's "vision" for your blog. The agency finds writers to author your blog, monitors the comments and feedback for you and provides you with a nicely-packaged, hands-off blogging experience.

Evolutionist WOM, on the other hand, derives organically from products / services and experiences so remarkable customers just can't help talking about them. Moore's examples: TiVo, Google's search engine, Starbucks, Skype and YouTube.

Applied to corporate blogging, it means you launch your own blog with in-house talent, genuinely engage with other bloggers, and slowly create genuine buzz around your blog AND by extension, your products or services.

I moderated the panel on Great Corporate Blogs for WOMMA and here's how my two panelists squared off: one from the creationist or agency side, the other an evolutionist or DIYer.

Creationist Blogs

Marc Schiller, CEO of Electric Artists, has created impressively content-rich blogs for clients such as Fortune (featured in my book as an example of an "event blog") and Starwood Hotels. He shared his 15 Golden Rules for Corporate Blogging which the audience loved.

Evolutionist Blogs

On the evolutionist side, Pinny Gniwisch EVP of marketing for Ice.com and Diamond.com, described how he started a blog for the high-end jewelry e-tailer and saw sales rise noticeably [can't remember the exact stats] in a period of a few months. He no longer writes the company blog but several enthusiastic staffers do. Check out Just Ask Leslie for jewelry tips and Sparkle Like the Stars for what the stars are wearing.

Useful Links

Brand Autopsy John Moore's Creationist vs. Evolutionist WOM video

Corporate Blogging Tip #4: Who should write your blog? [WordBiz Report: June 26, 2006 issue]

Technorati: womma womm word of mouth corporate blogging

 

When it comes to word of mouth marketing, mom-fluentials are, uh, influential

We knew that, of course. But along comes a Burson-Marsteller study that proves it. Mom-fluentials are described as "online moms who are also public opinion leaders." As B-M puts it,

"Mom-fluentials issue warnings and make recommendations [about purchase decisions]. [A] majority of their friends follow on their advice."

Interesting study, but it misses the point. Mom-fluentials are most influential when it comes to their children (and it has nothing to do with being online).

Let me explain. I'm a mom of three (amazing) grown children* and I know how influential I can be. But there's a certain way you have to do the influencing and maybe there's a lesson in here for those interested in WOMM (word-of-mouth marketing:

You gotta be subtle. You gotta plant the seed. You say stuff like, "Have you ever considered taking a year off before you enroll in college?" Your teenager says, "No way! I don't want to do that!"

You wait six months without saying another word. The teenager comes back and says, "I have this brilliant idea. I want to take a year off before I start college!" You say, "Wow - what a great idea." And you never, ever acknowledge the idea as your own.

[Ed note: yes, all three of my kids had a gap year, as they call it in the UK, before starting college.]

I haven't thought this through completely as to how the "planting a seed" approach would work in marketing. But logically, it does. People like to make up their own minds. They don't want to be told what to do, or feel like they're buckling under and accepting someone else's directive.

* If you pre-order The Corporate Blogging Book on Amazon, you'll learn my kids' names and more about how cool they are. It's in the Acknowledgments section at the back of the book. Official pub date is Aug. 3rd.

WOMMA folks are ladling out a rich stew of blogs, ezines, research to promote WOMBAT-2 in San Francisco June 20-21, 2006

It's hard to keep up with the folks at WOMMA (Word-of-Mouth Marketing Association). A blizzard of announcements, blog posts and e-newsletters is coming out of their Chicago headquarters in preparation for WOMBAT-2 (Word of Mouth Basic Training) to be held in San Francisco June 20 - 21.

I'm excited to be one of their speakers (I'm moderating a panel on, you guessed it, Great Corporate Blogs). And if you have any interest in the umbrella marketing strategy of WOM (word-of-mouth, viral, buzz and blog marketing) you gotta be there too! (Use this secret discount code to save $100 - "debbiesentme" - when you register at www.womma.org/wombat2.No, I don't get anything out of it.)

Whether or not you attend, spend some time poking around the WOMBAT-2 blog/site to see what WOMMA is serving up as useful content / information / resources to market the event. It's a case study itself on how to do it right. A few of the ingredients:

• a new WOMM research blog & companion e-newsletter that launched today (it's a group blog with guest authors)
• the continuing WOMBAT blog
• testimonials from previous attendees
• an E-bay auction of event passes for charity
• a box to subscribe via email
• subscribe via RSS (looks like they don't have an interim FeedBurner or other information page to explain RSS to the uninitiated - at least from the WOMBAT-2 page)
• Tell a Friend (with multiple boxes to fill in)
• A podcast (but looks like they haven't fired it up since January)

Free teleconference on WOM (Word-of-Mouth) Ethics: April 19, 2006

Just learned about a free teleconference tomorrow, hosted by WOMMA (Word of Mouth Marketing Association). Here are the details:

Wednesday April 19, 2006 at noon ET
You are invited to dial into a free teleconference on WOM Ethics ("A Practical Guide to Doing it Right"). Call 512-225-3050 and enter passcode 772541#.

WOMMA's teleconferences are usually paid events so this sounds kinda interesting. It coincides with WOMMA's announcement that DuPont has adopted WOMMA's code of ethics for word-of-mouth marketing.

And the significance is that there's been a good bit of discussion on the ethics of word-of-mouth marketing campaigns where the sneezers (to use Seth Godin's expression) are offered some kind of incentive for spreading the word. It's an interesting debate -- there's often a gray area -- and I'll be interested to hear how the WOMMA folks frame it up.

The debate continues: WOMM vs. stealth marketing

No time to write but want to point out this hugely funny parody of WOMM (word of mouth marketing) in The Onion: "I'd Love This Product Even If I Weren't a Stealth Marketer."

And as a counterpoint, WOMMA's (Word of Mouth Marketing Association) new white paper, "Word of Mouth 101," which you can download here. I really like WOMMA's founders, Andy Sernovitz and Pete Blackshaw of Intelliseek. So I figure there must be an ethical way to do WOMM. I need to learn more about it.