GM: The Leader in PR Innovation April 5, 2009
Posted by Blair Garka in Corporate blogs.Tags: corporate blog, GM, Robert Lutz, Kristen Hammond
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Robert Lutz, Vice Chairman at General Motors, views his FastLane blog as a portal for two-way communication. He wants to hear from consumers, even if they are sharing negative comments. Lutz is the author of his blog, and he writes posts about GM’s products.
Lutz is a respected part of auto groups everywhere. He has a genuine passion for cars, and this is why is so well known. He was one of the first to start a corporate blog, and because of the way he used new media, GM is the leader in PR innovation.
GM is working with hundreds of bloggers so they will post about GM vehicles to targeted consumers. It is getting harder to reach an audience through print advertising, so GM has turned to reach people online. GM invites bloggers to auto shows and on press trips, in hopes of getting them to blog about the company. The bloggers test drive new GM cars and trucks, and are put into an experience they can positively blog about.
Kristen Hammond is an ordinary mother who writes about her sons on her blog Mommy Needs a Cocktail. GM invited Hammond to Memphis, Tennessee so she could test drive one of their cars. GM wanted to give her an experience that she would blog about, in hopes of reaching other mothers just like her.
This example shows how companies can reach out to people using a whole new medium. More and more people are online for the majority of the day. I think it would be wise if other companies followed GM’s example, and used blogs as a way to reach their publics. I think it was smart of GM to contact Kristen Hammond, because the majority of her followers are mothers, and if Hammond favors GM, the other mothers will too.
GM’s Robert Lutz has discovered why corporate blogging is so crucial to a company’s business. I am impressed with Lutz’s dedication and persistence in keeping the up and running. He truly was the best man for the job because it does take certain skills to be able to keep a corporate blog going. He has realized that it is important for him to keep up with all the comment he receives through his blog. After learning about the positive aspects of negative feedback Veronica’s post “The Positives of Negative Feedback”, it is apparent that Lutz also sees the importance of negative comments. http://nalbanvx.wordpress.com/2009/03/01/the-positives-of-negative-feedback/
Other company executives should take a look at Lutz’s blog and how he has been able to reach so many of GM’s stakeholders. He understands that many of GM’s stakeholders are online and that is where he needs to bring news about the company and discuss GM issues. I think its great that GM has opened their auto shows and press trips to bloggers. This helps GM get its name and its message out in the public mind.
I think that it is especially important for companies, especially car companies, to keep up with their corporate blogs in this economic crisis we are currently facing. Car companies are facing many problems right now, and it is especially important for them to maintain their relationships with constituent groups. Blogs are great ways of keeping people informed with the most up to date information about your company and it reaches several different groups quickly. I was also very interested in seeing that companies such as GM are taking the initiative to get customers involved by having them, in this case, test drive cars and then blog about their experience. I think that is viral marketing at its best. I took a look at Kristen Hammond’s blog, Mommy needs a cocktail, and saw that several companies have followed in GM’s footsteps and send her products so that she can review them. I am very happy to see that companies are taking that extra step to make interactions a more two-way street.
You mention that the blogger Kristen Hammond was flown out to the car show. I think there is an important difference between rallying people who will speak passionately about your brand and paying them to do so. If GM provides them a free trip to the car shows is their car review any less believable? I guess it is at least wise on their part that they admit compensating her.
It raises the question of credibility. Hammond would be more inclined to write positively about GM if she knew it meant more free vacations. If GM customers see a relationship like this between the bloggers and the corporation, they will become less trusting of the blogger’s recommendations. Why would she be any more credible than an advertisement straight from the company’s mouth?
[...] such as Microsoft and Nike have followed this corporate trend and have set up company blogs. My previous post showed how GM used blogs to advertise automobiles and reach their audience online. Blogs [...]