Bernaisesource

Reviewing more than a dozen websites, I wanted to follow up on last week's posting about social media’s value in helping challenger brands take on market leaders. But whether it was Avis and Hertz, Reebok and Nike, Miller and Budweiser, Pepsi and Coke, Lowes and Home Depot, Stonyfield Farms and Dannon, Target and Wal-Mart, Burger King and McDonald’s, I discovered that there was no correlation between market position and the use of social media.

Granted my choices were somewhat arbitrary and my methodology unscientific. I limited my analysis to blogs. I deliberately focused on well-known consumer brands and avoided technology companies who have been the earliest adopters and most vocal supporters of social media.

Disappointedly, few of these companies even had a blog and an even smaller percentage had a notable one. For example, Hertz lacked a blog, but Avis had one. But while Avis may try harder, their corporate blog is decidedly British. Kudos for being “the first car rental company to start a blog,” but its writers are based in the U.K. I know Avis is a global company, but I am not sure how referencing a soccer match in Liverpool has much relevance for a customer trying to get an upgrade in Tucson.

Overall, my research yielded no consistent use or placement of blogs. More vexing, even if a company had a blog, it was not easy to find. I am not sure if that was by neglect or design.

And so I am left asking the following question: If companies are going to take the time to invest in social media tools, how can they avoid making them so difficult for customers to access? Or put another way; if social media is meant to improve the customer experience, why do barriers exist that prevent customers from taking advantage of them?

In general, there is no agreement about blog placement. Some companies (particularly Web 2.0 companies) take advantage of their homepage. Others place their blog on the media relations page. Others put them somewhere in the corporate “about us” page. And still others use the website search function. Another group puts the onus on users to find it through an outside search engine like Yahoo or Google.

One of Stonyfield Farms blogs

Among the group of companies I looked at for this posting, only Stonyfield Farms and Wal-Mart had links to their blog on their homepage, and only Stonyfield had done so prominently. I found McDonald’s blog (they also had podcasts) on their corporate values page. With Nike’s “blog” (doesn’t allow comments and doesn’t identify its authors), and Miller’s, I had to type the company name + blog on Google Search. If I could find the search function on a website, it often yielded no results.

Perhaps the different “placement strategies,” reflect the different function that each blog serves. Some promote a lifestyle associated with the brand. Others reflect the values of the corporate culture or the overall industry, and others are intended primarily to sell products.

• Stonyfield, whose web strategy I have long admired, has a blog, “where parents can meet up, rant, offer and seek advice, or just tell us their trials and triumphs." They have another one called “Moos” from Jonathan Gates and his organic dairy farm, Howmars Farm in Franklin, Vermont. It plays perfectly to the lifestyle of its customers and reflects the values of the company.

• McDonald’s blog focuses on their corporate social responsibility.

• Wal-Mart’s is “dedicated to bringing you the latest in gadgets, green, gaming, and more, and written by a group of expert Wal-Mart Associates.”

• Miller’s “site aims to give beer people daily analysis, commentary and some original reporting on the current state of the alcohol-beverage industry.”

• Nike’s is about selling the Nike image and products and is focused on basketball.

While companies may lack corporate blogs, there is certainly no shortage of bloggers out there posting entries that often put these very companies in an unflattering light. It was sometimes difficult to determine which were official corporate blogs and which ones were user-generated. That confusion is an added incentive for companies to be clear about what their blog stands for and where it should be placed. Being accessible allows companies to play a positive, proactive role in facilitating user interaction.

Of course, I understand the value of real estate on the homepage and the need to move customers through the sales stream. Giving a blog prominent placement doesn’t quicken the purchase decision, but there is something to be said for simple engagement without the hard sell.

Granted blogs may not suit every corporate culture. And even more challenging is striking the right balance between a corporate voice and customer lifestyle – especially if you have a brand that appeals to numerous demographics. If social media has taught us anything, one size does not fit all. And for some companies, it may be advantageous to disassociate the blog from the corporate website to appear anti-corporate or counter cultural.

In the end, I believe that companies should have blogs regardless of the diversity of the customer base and the particular set of products and services. Where that blog resides on a company's website is determined by its purpose. But that blog should be easily found through the site map on the website. That's the best way to maximize your investment and shape the online conversation.

Let me get back you.

Technorati Tags: Challenger Brands; Corporate Blogging; Social Media;

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