Company blogs for businesses big and small are a pretty instant way to combat tough criticism while talking directly to your audience. From Kodak to Martha Stewart, we’ve seen blogs help reinvent brands that had previously been through the wringer.
So the ultimate endorsement for company blogging came this week when the White House released a 6,200 word blog defending their response to the April 20th explosion and subsequent oil spill in the Gulf Coast. The blog, posted by White House Homeland Security Adviser Heidi Avery, details every move and plan of action the Obama Administration has made since the event took place. Taking readers through a daily detailed account of how the White House responded, the blog covers everything from search and rescue to deployment times of officials. The purpose is to clearly avoid any Katrina-esque misgivings that Americans might have about how this disaster was handled. Is it a compelling read? Uh no. Its bone dry and kind of vague in a government android sort of way (see it for yourself here). But it does deliver the intended goal -“so the American people can have a clear understanding of what their government has been and is doing to respond to the massive and potentially unprecedented environmental disaster.” Besides, the author works in Homeland Security, not a writer for Funny or Die.
Its a wise move from a PR viewpoint to employ blogs to cut naysayers off at the pass. The Obama Administration thus far has done a great job communicating with citizens. Within days of the disaster, President Obama was in the Gulf Coast and the images were beamed around the world. Does it mean the absolute perfect thing was done to help prevent the disaster from getting worse? Who knows? Not my department. But what this White House does better than no other using television, blogging, and social media is communicate with the people.
Leave a Reply