Learning from Successful Corporate Blogging

In the consumer world, we look for innovation wherever it might be. It doesn’t matter that the latest mobile phone is only released and available in the US market – there will be Australians who bring one back, “crack” it for use here in Australia and then begin showing their friends.

We do the same thing for other consumer devices such as TiVos, video cameras (how many of those cool Flips have you seen?) and so on. We do the same with fashion (eg clothes or footwear).

But when it comes to business innovation, we seem to be much more conservative. As a result, despite the mainstreaming of social media, very few Australian corporations have yet to establish blogs – and even fewer have ventured into the social media wilderness beyond the blogosphere.

Yet, there are great examples and case studies emerging from overseas that demonstrate how social media can be applied to achieve business outcomes. One such example is Ford (whose efforts are being led by Scott Monty) – another is SAP (where I work).

Recently, the German American Business Association brought together a panel of business people who are using blogging and social media very successfully as part of their business strategy, including:

• Jennifer McClure –  founder and board president of the Society for New Communications Research
• Mario Sundar – the social media evangelist at LinkedIn
• Mark Finnern – chief community evangelist at SAP
• Vassil Mladjov – founder of Blogtronix
• Chris Carfi – CEO of Cerado
• Mark Simmons – VP of marketing at Six Apart

And in the best interests of the industry, the panel is sharing their insights and learnings. Enjoy!