Podcast length: 12:25

Wouldn’t you like to be a fly on the wall in the conversation between a big company’s CMO and the general counsel on whether the company should have a blog? I would love it. You have that chance by listening to David Ritter’s presentation at Social Media 2007, a conference for marketers and corporate communication leaders sponsored by Business Capital Edge. The conference takes place April 5 and 6 at the Sheraton in downtown Chicago.

David is an attorney with the firm Neal Gerber and Eisenberg. His presentation — “My employees are blogging: What do I do next?” — has received excellent reviews, and he is our guest on this episode of the Marketing Edge. I’m a cautious counselor on blogging, and David’s presentation is a must for any marketer approaching the “blog now!” Kool-Aid punch bowl. This podcast outlines some of the many parameters marketers need to consider before even approaching a conversation with other senior managers about blogging. There is also room in this debate for those responsible for human resources, as well.

Also, be sure to register for our contest. We’re giving away two full-ride registrations to Social Media 2007. Just complete this quick seven-question form.

Here are a few excellent sites and resources for corporate/employee blog policies, just to whet your appetite:

• IBM’s blogging policy
• Plaxo’s blogging policy
• Sun’s blogging policy
• Business Blog Wire: general articles on the topic
• “The Corporate Blogging Book” by Debbie Weil

Social Media 2007 preview: Nuts about Southwest Airlines Blog

In another preview of the Social Media 2007 conference, I chat with Paula Berg, manager of public relations and strategic communication at Southwest Airlines. Southwest Airlines joined the blogosphere in April 2006, and the blog immediately took off with customers and is flying high today.

The corporate blog at Southwest Airlines is used as a tool to provide a glimpse into the company’s culture and also creates an opportunity for employees to communicate directly and informally with customers. It represents the best practices of corporate blogging, reflecting the company’s culture and leadership. With its customer participation and two-way communication, the blog exemplifies what I call “embrace marketing.” Embrace marketing is fairly straightforward: Embrace your customers and their ideas; they will in turn embrace you back.

The driving force behind the Southwest blog is the customer. Paula believes the blog should reflect the whole company, not just one individual, and that the culture within the blog should remain intact, no matter who the CEO might be.

Today’s podcast covers:

• Why Southwest chose to launch a public blog
• Lessons learned along the way
• What parameters or policies should be in place?
• What steps are being taken to help the blog stay strong?

The Social Media 2007 conference, sponsored by Business Capital Edge, is being held April 5 and 6 in Chicago. It will cover essential issues about corporate blogging and podcasting and will include presentations from Southwest Airlines, attorney David Ritter, and examples in my presentation of how companies are using podcasting in B2B and B2C environments.

Provident Partners and the Business Capital Edge are promoting this great event by giving away two registrations to the conference. Complete the seven-question form to enter the drawing. If you’re curious about whether your company can benefit from integrating blogs or podcasts into your marketing mix, this is an excellent conference to attend. It will save hours of research and put you in touch with those who have first-hand experience with these new social media.For more information and to register, go to Provident Partners Social Media 2007.

Want to help out a food shelter? Contribute! Give us some feedback by leaving a comment on the blog, e-mail us at marketingedge@providentpartners.net or call us at 651-695-0174. We will donate a food item for each comment we get. Thanks for listening.

The Social Media 2007 conference, sponsored by Business Capital Edge, is being held April 5 and 6 in Chicago. It will cover essential issues about corporate blogging and podcasting and will include presentations from Southwest Airlines, attorney David Ritter, and examples in my presentation of how companies are using podcasting in B2B and B2C environments.

Provident Partners and the Business Capital Edge are promoting this great event by giving away two registrations to the conference. Complete the seven-question form to enter the drawing. If you’re curious about whether your company can benefit from integrating blogs or podcasts into your marketing mix, this is an excellent conference to attend. It will save hours of research and put you in touch with those who have first-hand experience with these new social media.

More on corporate blogging from the Social Media 2007 blog and our earlier podcast, the “Great Blog Debate.”

This year the talk is about how marketers can either leverage or participate in social media. I use the two words to indicate a school of thought. The “leverage” school I’ll define as more aggressive, more sales oriented. The “participate” school I define as one in which the marketer is on equal footing with others in the social group. This second school requires a different perspective for marketers and management within corporate America.

For example, blatant sales blogs that don’t disclose their corporate sponsors or connections to a PR firm are often exposed for attempting to deceive the reader. Corporate blogs don’t succeed at trying to be passed off as objective, consumer-generated conversations. Instead they cast doubt on blogs in general.

Those companies seeking to participate in social media do so first by changing their perspective of “typical” marketing. This change requires a dialogue, not one-way communication, and a commitment to realize that companies don’t control the message and certainly don’t control the market’s perception of them. Instead, marketing is conduit for dialogue of mutual reward. The company gets first-hand opinions from their audiences, and the audience gets a candid discourse with the company.

Each party has a responsibility to be civil, and the result of this environment greater trust, better product information, and stronger relationships to the brand. This type of relationship is not for every company, and that’s what most marketers are trying to figure out: Is it right for my company?