Niall Cook writes about a new report called How are corporate weblogs affecting public relations practice?
that examines corporate blogging from a PR perspective, focusing on three questions:
1. What are the benefits and risks of corporate blogging?
2. What are the underlying theories that can increase understanding of corporate blogging?
3. What are the best practices PR practitioners should follow in the blogosphere?
Niall quotes the report’s conclusion:
The findings of this research strongly suggest that corporate blogging can make a substantial positive contribution to the practice of external corporate communications. The companies that are blogging successfully are reaping the rewards of better relationships with their stakeholders and enhanced corporate reputation. Controlling the risks of such unfiltered dialogue between employees and the outside world using a combination of trust, policies and guidelines is an enlightened act of management. This is a significant change from the command-and-control approach to corporate communications that was widespread in the past. However, these companies will not be closing down all other methods of corporate communication to concentrate solely on blogging, since blogs are additive to existing media, not replacements for it.
I haven’t seen the report (6,973 words, Niall says) but if that conclusion is any indicator, it sounds like it would be worth getting hold of as the first UK-focused report of its type.
The report is not openly available; if you want to contact Tim Jackson, the author, leave a comment in Niall’s post.
Neville Hobson is the author of the popular NevilleHobson.com blog which focuses on business communication and technology.
Neville is currentlly the VP of New Marketing at Crayon. Visit Neville Hobson’s blog: NevilleHobson.com.
