Corporate Blogging and Virtual Communities

INTRODUCTIONAs buzzwords go, ‘social media’ has beenone of the most social. Social media havebeen endlessly discussed in journals, newsstories and books. Facebook has beenheralded as the ‘deathblow’ to websites. Asthe number of smartphones and tabletsgrows, mobile and location-basedmarketing will change the internet. Yet,with all these changes and predictions, thecornerstone of any web or internetstrategy should be the humble blog.

A blog is a tool, like a brochure, a sign,or even an advertisement. There are manyways to use it. A blog does not have to beWordPress, Drupal, or a platform likeBlogger or Tumblr. A blog can be any webpage or a section of a website withfrequently made posts. Blogs usuallyinclude permalinks, tags, archives, andmost importantly, comments.

Blogging software is not a requirementper se, but as a platform, the speciallydefined software optimises results. Aone-click feature or enhanced summarymay seem trivial at first, but in some casescan mean a 20 per cent growth in trafficand faster rates of growth.

Launching with the web scene in the1990s,1 the number of blogs has explodedto 184 million as of 2010.2 Written by aclass of individuals more educated than thegeneral public, 75 per cent of US bloggershave a college degree, 40 per cent of thoseare at the graduate level. One in fourbloggers has an annual household incomeof over $100,000.2 These are all desirabledemographics.

Blogs vary in topic, size and audience.Homebound mothers (and fathers) whofeel disconnected from the world use blogsto socialise. Barack Obama perfected the

182 Journal of Digital & Social Media Marketing Vol. 1, 2 182–191 � Henry Stewart Publications 2050-0076 (2013)

Corporate blogging and virtualcommunitiesReceived (in revised form): 5th April, 2013

Bradley Joblingis Social Media Manager for the Columbia University Department of Surgery. Mr Jobling has 20 years ofweb strategy and online marketing experience, and has been a speaker at a number of conferences onsocial media. Mr Jobling earned an MBA from the Columbia Business School in the management ofinformation, communication and media. He is an active member in the Social Media Club of New Yorkand the Columbia Business School Alumni Club of New York.

Columbia University Medical Center, Department of Surgery, Office of External Affairs, 21 Audubon Ave, Room 209, New York, NY 10032, USATel: +1 201 723 8605; E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract A well-defined blogging strategy that includes purpose, mission and goalsshould be the cornerstone of any social media programme or digital marketing initiative.Understanding and locating blogging communities and the influencers in them isimportant to promote readership and participation. This paper describes five strategyexercises required for a successful blogging programme.

KEYWORDS: blogs, blogging, social media, digital marketing, marketing strategy

art of political blogging, breaking onlinefundraising efforts at the time.3 Yet blogsare than a shingle for posting notes orraising money. Blogs can be used toorganise protests.

A Canadian woman by the name ofShannon Smith used her blog to organisea ‘nurse-in’, protesting against a storemanager that requested she discontinuebreast-feeding in a children’s clothingstore. The event received national attentionon Canadian television networks.4 Blogscan also be used to collect information.The US Department of Health andHuman Services is the largest healthorganisation to have used a blog, havingcreated it for the purpose of collectingpandemic flu preparedness informationfrom healthcare leaders.5

The blogosphere is highly fractured, verydecentralised, and grouped into clusters.Each community has its own style, norms,practices and objectives. These clustersrarely link to each other. To use a blog formarketing purposes effectively it is criticalto be seen as a peer.4

Business blogs represent one of the topcontent marketing tactics used to reachconsumers and potential clients. Accordingto a 2012 Content Marketing Institutereport, 69 per cent of North Americanbusiness-to-consumer content marketers6

used blogs to reach audiences while thenumber was 77 per cent for business-to-business.6 In the UK, 78 per cent of allbusinesses that create content for marketingpurposes were found to keep a blog.7

As depicted in Figure 1, there are fivesteps to developing a strategy for a blog.They are:

1. Listening and research.2. Defining purpose, mission and goals.3. Installing the editorial calendar, defining

roles, regulations and procedures.4. Reaching out through social media

platforms and other bloggers.5. Analysing, refining and regrouping.

The ‘listening and research’ and ‘definingpurpose, mission and goals’ phases can beworked on concurrently. They are iterativeprocesses at times contributing one intothe other.

If the blog is already in place, thesestrategic exercises can be performed to fixor readjust the focus of the blog.Additionally, these exercises should berevisited from time to time toaccommodate changes.

Listening and researchListening, or monitoring, is a social mediaterm that involves finding and analysingcomments about a company or brand onsocial media. In the past, listening wasperformed by media-clipping services thatscanned periodical databases for articles.With the proliferation of blogs, new toolswere created to collect and analyse thecomments. Listening can be performed bysetting up a series of Google Alerts or bysubscribing to a social media monitoringtool.

Even though listening is the mostimportant of all phases it is often skippedor poorly performed. In a 2012 surveyconducted by the consulting firms WebLiquid and RSW/US, 75 per cent of themarketing executives surveyed reportedmonitoring social media for discussionsabout their brand or product; however,only 25 per cent of these were extremelysatisfied with the results.8 Part of this maybe due to the quality of tools or aninability to extract actionable insights fromthe information provided. Whenperforming social media monitoring orlistening, the report concluded that paidtools led to better results.

Why is listening for a blog strategy soimportant? A blog needs to connect withits audience and cluster. Finding the targetcommunity and becoming a part of itincreases traffic and encourages valuableengagement. By listening to or reading theposts of others, the blogging team will

� Henry Stewart Publications 2050-0076 (2013) Vol. 1, 2 182–191 Journal of Digital & Social Media Marketing 183

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understand the norms and practices of thecommunity, ensuring the blog’s acceptanceas a valued member.

Questions to be answered from thelistening (or monitoring) phase of ablogging strategy include:

• Does the demographic community existonline? If so, where are they locatedand what types of content do they readand write?

• Can the blog community be classifiedinto a type? (Examples would includeparent blog, product reviews, political,

health or travel blogs.)• What are the norms and practices of

the blogging community?• What is the purpose of the blog within

this community?• Do the readers and writers of these

blogs wish to remain anonymous?• Does the community use specific social

media sites or forums? If so, which ones?• Is the community currently discussing

the product or service being marketed?If so, what are they saying?

• Who are the influencers in thiscommunity?

Corporate blogging and virtual communities


Figure 1: Steps to developing a blog strategy

Even though the types of blogs andcommunities vary, those that cater tospecific niche products or services may behard to find. If a target community is notfound, there is a distinct advantage tobeing the first, but it is not easy work noris there instant payoff. Nevertheless, even abusiness-to-business industry, such ascement mixing, can write about customersuccess stories to create virtual interactionsthat might ultimately turn into real-worldbusiness.8

Outreach to other bloggers at this stageshould focus on finding those who are themost able to help spread your message.Unlike traditional media, blogs andblogging communities do not havedirectories or standard rating services.Looking up site rankings and Twitterrating scores will locate the more popularblogs and influential bloggers.

Defining purpose, mission and goalsOnce there is an understanding of theplaces where target communities exist,the knowledge gained from this researchcan be used to define the mission andgoals.

Effective blogging should be anextension of existing marketing andbusiness strategies. Even though onlinemarketing has been heralded as the levellerof advertising, a fully integrated approachthat combines traditional and digital willachieve the best results. Blogging canachieve much more than just marketinggoals. For example, personal computercompanies were the first to use blogs forcustomer service and technical support.Blogs can also be used to:

• solicit feedback from an exclusive list ofloyal customers to develop and launch anew product;

• communicate regulatory changesaffecting an industry to clients,employees and stockholders;

• provide a personal side of the company

by spotlighting the environmental andphilanthropic efforts of individualemployees;

• provide timely and useful case studies tohow clients can use products or servicesin unique ways;

• build and foster links with thetraditional media or other bloggers; and

• expanding television and printadvertising to online communities.

Although it may seem like the ‘the sky isthe limit’, it is important to rememberthat a blog must be sought out and worksbest if informative and participatory. Aspot developed for television can besplashed on the web, but if not useful orentertaining, will not be seen by many.

As for another misconception, bloggingand social media sites are not free. Whileblogging software and services can bepurchased and maintained for hundreds ofdollars a year, a blog’s most valuableresource, the content, will involve timeand resources to be effective.

As social media and blogging audiencesgrow, so will the expectations of clientsand customers. Videos embedded in blogsand used in social media sites shouldreflect the image of the company. This isespecially important for blogs targeted tobusiness-to-business vendors.

To justify the expenses incurred todevelop good content, it is important tohave a clear mission with measureablegoals. Example missions and goals couldbe as follows:

• A blog from Columbia UniversityMedical Center will communicate thechanges affecting patients due to theenactment of the Affordable Care Act2010. The goal is to reduce the numberof customer service calls regardinginsurance by 20 per cent.

• The mission for this personal blog is toconnect with others in the social media


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field by summarising conferences andnetworking events. The goal is toexpand professional networks.

• The mission of the Leonia Communityblog is to document and record changesoccurring in the neighbourhood causedby the construction of the light-rail line.The goal is to encourage communityinvolvement and possible political action.

• The mission of this internal blog is todocument the steps taken as a companyto resolve a product recall. The goal isto work with related vendors to designa solution.

• The purpose for this internal blog is tocommunicate the changes occurring inthe company caused by theimplementation of a new procurementsystem. The goal is to minimisedisruption and provide a platform foremployees to pinpoint installation issuesearly.

• This blog will communicate innovativeuses of the product line from realcustomer experiences with a goal ofincreasing sales leads and volumes.

Some goals are not always measureable inquantifiable terms. Yet whenever possible,these should be stated in ways todetermine objective success. The missionand goals can be posted in the blogsub-header as a constant reminder ofpurpose.

Most goals will be business-related andusually involve sales or leads. As with alldigital marketing initiatives, the results canbe measured partially through a webanalytics package. Analytics consist ofsecondary metrics such as page views,visits, time spent on site, or number ofdownloads. Key performance indicators(KPIs) define goals that affect the bottomline. The secondary metrics are used tohelp tell the story behind changes in theKPIs. The process and use of web analyticsand KPIs should be considered within thisstage.

Installing the editorial calendar anddefining roles, regulations andprocedures

Marketing on a blog requires thinking likea journalist. Growth will require creativityand consistency.

The first step in achieving this is settingup an editorial calendar. Good contenttakes time to develop and will come fromvarious sources. Customer serviceemployees and sales personnel havefront-line access to the wants and needs ofconsumers and will be excellent resourcesfor blog post ideas. A collaboration site canbe used for the process of collecting theseideas and organising the resources tocomplete them.

Along with this calendar, both thecontent development process and theresponse interaction will redefineworkflows and require new roles that crossdepartment boundaries. New processeswill need to be thought out to deal withquestions such as:

• Who will moderate the blog?• Will the comments be policed

internally or by the community itself?• What are the regulatory roles regarding

the information discussed?• Does the legal department need to sign

off on content? If so, when should theybe involved?

• What is the process for handling acustomer complaint?

• Who is going to analyse comments?

Within this stage, a team as well asprocesses for several scenarios should bedeveloped and planned.

Reaching out through social mediaplatforms and other bloggersIn the multi-platform media world oftoday, viewers consume information invarious ways and different places. Socialmedia networks are challenging searchengines as the primary entry point to the



web. Even with the most useful andentertaining content, readers will requirereminders or hooks to be brought backinto the fold.

As shown in Figure 2, keeping a blog asa central hub of marketing content andthen using social networks as a means ofspreading this content will take advantageof the viral nature of social media siteswithout giving away control or ownershipof the content itself. Using the blog as acentral point will also protect the contentwhile diversifying reliance on a singlesocial media platform.

Social networks require a certainamount of time and effort. In the end,these sites still maintain ownership of thecontent and the subscribers or fans. Inreturn for sharing the company’s content,the networks send traffic to the blog thatcan be verified in the analytics. Not all

social media platforms are worthy. Thosethat are increase KPIs and important webanalytics.

Blogger outreach should also beconsidered as a means of contentdistribution. Pitching a story to a bloggeris similar to pitching a traditional meeting.Targeting the correct blogger with theappropriate message requires research andincreases the likelihood the writer willcover the story. Blanket pitching or ‘sayand spray’ does not work.9

Analysing, refining and regroupingThe blog and its community are living.Changes occur in the members whoparticipate, the goals and missions of thefirm, and the general businessenvironment. The reason for the blog maycease to exist. Throughout the daily andmonthly process of managing the blog, the


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Figure 2: Using the blog as a central point protects the content while diversifying reliance on a single socialmedia platform

overall strategy and mission defined inthese exercises should be kept in mind andreevaluated periodically. Any signs ofdecreased participation or readershipshould warrant immediate interventionand possible realignment. As growth slows,it becomes more difficult to reanimate thehive of activity that was once in place.10

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

Comments and commenting toolsComments are the lifeblood of the blog.Comments drive traffic and traffic drivesadditional comments. To encourageparticipation, calls to action are a criticalpart of any blog content. A post that iswritten to provoke thought, criticism andeven controversy will do better in searchrankings and traffic than one that is not.Replying to comments in a timelymanner, and in a way that encourages evenmore engagement, will promoteconversation and keep the article alive.

Technological features that enhancesharing and commenting systems areworth the efforts and cost. Anyengagement performed by a reader shouldbe magnified as many times as possible andas privacy dictates. Tools that post theusers’ comments on social media sites ormicro-blogs will help drive and expandthe community. Encouraging commentingthrough gamification can also grow theblog.

On the human side, the communitymust have clear rules of engagement andcodes of conduct. The types of speech andallowable actions should be explicitlydefined; the consequences of violationclear and fair. As in any functioning group,order is required for a smooth-runningblogging community.

Content, navigation and attentionBlog content should be natural and in thefirst person. Blogs are meant to be journals

and opinion pieces discussing thecompany, product or service from apersonal point of view. The reader shouldbe made to feel like an insider.

Forget 15 minutes of fame. A blog posthas seconds to catch a reader’s attention.The length of a blog article should beshort, around 500 words. Visual graphics oran attention-grabbing picture are a plus; awell-crafted title critical. Bullet points orparagraph headers should be easilyscanned to attract the reader’s attention.Whatever can be done to draw the readerin is helpful.

An excellent navigation system isessential to keeping a reader on the site.Tagging, categorisation and archivingschemas that help readers locate additionalarticles of interest will keep them on thesite for longer periods of time.

Blog frequencyIf there was a blog post for every time thequestion ‘How many times should I post?’was asked, the blogosphere would bemuch larger than it is today. Unfortunately,the answer to this question is the typicalconsulting answer of ‘it depends’.

As a rule of thumb, experts suggestthat posting multiple times per day willresult in the fastest growth for a blog. Forsteady growth, post once per day. Postingtwo or three times a week will lead toslower development. Anything less thantwo or three times a week will stiflesuccess.11 The caveat to these numbers isthe quality of the content. Fewer posts ofhigher quality mean more than actualquantities.

CASE STUDIES

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia(MSLO)The consummate homemaker MarthaStewart is an accomplished blogger. Shehosts ten blogs, covering topics that range



from home design, crafts, food, gardeningand pet care to purvey her televisionprogrammes, radio shows, magazines andgrowing line of products.

Each blog is written by a topic expert,Martha Stewart herself, or — apparently— one of Martha’s French bulldogs. Inaddition to recipes, crafts, weddingplanning and home design, Martha pensposts about her farm, trips abroad, anouting to the circus, even an emergencytrip to the local hospital for stitches. Alongwith a few good recipes, takeaways fromMartha’s blogs include:

• Optimal use of content: MSLO uses clipsfrom Martha Stewart’s televisionprogrammes as web video. This expandsaudiences to include workinghomemakers and the increasingnumbers of online video viewers. HerPinterest site contains pictures ofperfect-looking dishes with links torecipes on MarthaStewart.com.

• Reaching out through social media: MarthaStewart uses Facebook, Google+ andTwitter to promote the content from herblogs. Effectively using the cluster, theMartha’s Circle blog posts link to postsfrom other like-minded bloggers togenerate additional content for MSLO.

• Be multi-platform to reach fragmented andchanging audiences: In addition to thesocial networks and smartphone apps,MSLO partners with wedding planning,event, greeting card and recipe/groceryshopping sites for additional viewers.

• Be strategic: MSLO has a small presenceon LinkedIn with some job listings, butnothing else. Not every social networkis appropriate for all blog communities.Knowing the audience will preventwasted efforts on unproductive sites.Analysis will determine how well asocial media site is performing.Regrouping will lead to new ones asthe blogging and social mediaenvironment changes.

• Be informative for inbound marketing:MSLO makes money from advertisingand product licensing. Several USretailers will claim that the MarthaStewart brand is a leader or driver ofsales in their store. Yet, rarely will therebe a mention of a Martha Stewartproduct in any blog content. Posts thatfocus on the perfect recipe, the mostbeautiful flower arrangement or thecutest children’s party sell cookware,stationery, pet scoopers and Caribbeanhoneymoons. It may not make goodsense to stretch a brand to all of theseproducts, yet the use of informative blogposts as an image builder is spot on.

Mayo ClinicCan healthcare be marketed on a blog likea Martha Stewart product?

Hospitals and clinics mean so manythings to different people. Good thingshappen in these places like the birth of ababy. Yet people also go through badexperiences such as cancer therapy.Traditional media covers heart-warmingstories, innovative technologies andcelebrity deaths, but mainstream news isnot interested in the small stories such aspositive clinical trial results. Yet thesetopics are of utmost interest to thecommunity or people who have thatcondition or disease.

Several years ago, Mayo Clinic took arisky gamble by creating a few podcastsand setting up a blog. Within a shortamount of time, results from these effortswould lead to situations such as a motherfrom California finding a YouTube videoabout postural orthostatic tachycardiasyndrome and a cure for her daughter.12

Philadelphia Phillies outfielder JaysonWerth participated in a Twitter chat on thesplit tear of his ulnotriquetral ligamentthat led to national coverage of his story inUSA Today and an ongoing USAToday/Mayo Clinic series.13 Amobile-phone video of an elderly couple


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playing a duet on the piano in the cliniclobby began a viral sensation that endedup on Good Morning America.14 These areall great images of a place that wants toinspire hope and provide care.

These anecdotes should not besurprising, however. Confirming long-heldbeliefs that more people are seekingmedical advice online, a 2013 PewInternet Study found that within theprevious year, 59 per cent of US adultinternet users looked for healthinformation on the internet, 35 per centof those self-diagnosing a specific medicalcondition.15

As healthcare information is niche andat times technical, a blog is a perfectplatform for conveying information thatwould be of interest to few, but veryimportant to those interested. Bloggingseen as the most intellectual of socialmedia platforms can be an effective way tocommunicate with hard-to-reachclinicians.

THE FUTURE OF BLOGGINGAdoption of blogging by institutions andbusinesses varies by industry and audience.Technology and software companies werethe first to reach out to their audiences.Healthcare and financial services are finallygetting on board. Still, there have beensome recent, interesting shifts in theblogging landscape.

A survey by UMass Dartmouth foundthat the percentage of firms on Inc.magazine’s 500 fast-growing companiesthat maintain blogs fell to 37 per cent in2011 from 50 per cent in 2010.Additionally, 23 per cent of Fortune 500companies maintained an active blog in2011, a number that has flat-lined for thelast several years.16

Underutilised platforms to watch arethose that provide event-based bloggingand social media tools. Webinars, onlinecall-in radio programmes, chats and

hangouts could be the most sought-outweb content due to their informativenature, and format that can easily beconsumed on-the-go and on-demand. Assmart televisions become the norm, it willbe interesting to see how technologychanges affect corporate marketing.

Regardless of changes or newplatforms, a strategy-based approach toblogging of any kind will protect thevalue of content and allow forrealignment of the marketing efforts toenvironmental and technological changesas they occur.

References1. Wikipedia (2013) ‘Blog’, updated 14th February,

available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog(accessed 15th February, 2013).

2. Clauson, K. A, Elkins, J., Goncz, C. E. (2010) ‘Useof blogs by pharmacists’, American Journal ofHealth-System Pharmacy, Vol. 67, No. 23, pp. 2043–2048.

3. In der Smitten, S. (2008) ‘Political potential andcapabilities of online communities’, German PolicyStudies, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 33–62.

4. Morrison, A. (2011) ‘Suffused by feeling and affect:“the intimate public of personal mommyblogging”’, An Interdisciplinary Quarterly, Vol. 34,No. 1, pp. 37–55.

5. Thielst, C. B. (2007) ‘Weblogs: a communicationtool’, Journal of Healthcare Management, Vol. 52, No. 5, pp. 287–289.

6. Pulizzi, J. (2013) ‘B2C content marketingbenchmarks, budgets and trends’, available at:http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2012/11/2013-b2c-consumer-content-marketing/ (accessed3rd April, 2013).

7. Pulizzi, J. (2013) ‘Content marketing in the UK:benchmarks, budgets, and trends’, available at:http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2013/03/uk-2013-content-marketing-research/ (accessed 3rdApril, 2013).

8. Web Liquid and RSW/US (2011) ‘Marketers &social media monitoring survey’, available at:http://www.brandchannel.com/images/papers/124_web_liquid_paper_social_media_monitoring_0811.pdf (accessed 3rd April, 2013).

9. Harris, R. (2012) ‘Rethinking blogger outreach’,Marketing: Advertising, Media and PR in Canada,26th November, available at:http://www.marketingmag.ca/news/agency-news/rethinking-blogger-outreach-66719/2 (accessed15th February, 2013)

10. Bartholomew, M., Jones, T. and Glassman, M.(2012) ‘Community of voices: educational blog



management strategies and tools’, TechTrends:Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning,Vol. 56, No. 4, pp. 19–25.

11. Gunelius, S. (2008) ‘Blog posting frequencyoverview’, available at:http://weblogs.about.com/od/startingablog/qt/BlogPostingFreq.htm (accessed 3rd April, 2013).

12. Aase, L. (2010) ‘Hayley’s POTS story: gettinganswers at Mayo Clinic’, available at:http://sharing.mayoclinic.org/2010/02/23/hayleys-pots-story-getting-answers-at-mayo-clinic/(accessed 3rd April, 2013).

13. Turner, E. (2010) ‘My e-patient Twitter successstory’, available at: http://www.spectrumscience.com/blog/2010/02/26/my-e-patient-

twitter-success-story/ (accessed 3rd April, 2013). 14. Aase, L. (2009) ‘Mayo Clinic “octogenarian idols”

appear on Good Morning America’, available at:http://sharing.mayoclinic.org/2009/05/25/mayo-clinic-octogenarian-idols-good-morning-america/(accessed 3rd April, 2013).

15. Fox, S. and Duggan, M. (2013) ‘Health online’,available at: http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Health-online.aspx (accessed 3rd April,2013).

16. Yu, R. (2012) ‘More companies quit blogging, gowith Facebook instead’, USA Today, 20th April,available at: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2012-04-19/corporate-blogging/54419982/1 (accessed 3rd April, 2013).


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Corporate Blogging and Virtual Communities

Social Media

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