Corporate Social Media Case Study: Lenovo
When blogging about a new product launch, it’s helpful to have any important partners available and ready to contribute to the conversation. When Lenovo recently launched a new system diagnostic product, Matt Kohut blogged about it and posted a video interview with the product manager and the third-party that developed the tool (PC Doctor). But Matt didn’t stop there. Look at the comment thread, and you’ll see that Paul Fallon of PC Doctor was brought in to address customer questions and concerns as well.
Learn More:
Inside the Box: Lenovo System Toolbox
It’s worth remembering that blogs are not just viewable by the people in the country where they are written. Rather, they are global platforms that transcend borders. Bill Stevenson, who manages Corporate Social Investments for Lenovo, recently shared a guest post from a sales manager working for the company’s Australian division.
While traveling in India recently, he took some amazing photos and wrote: A debate rages in the car: we are arguing about the source of happiness of these women. Eventually we decide that it comes from their sense of place. They are not aspiring to great wealth, they are content with small improvements to ease the burden of their lives. It makes me think about how lucky I have been in the lottery, born into a middle class Western family with access to high levels of education and high paying employment.
This is not PR. This is not even about a product or service. This is authentic honesty from one man working for a giant global corporation, sharing his feelings about the world. Does your blog allow such honesty? If not, why not?
Read more of Bill’s travel blog post…
Here is a roundup of some of the other interesting items about corporate blogging and social media that came across our desks this week.
Do you have a tip or an interesting link to share? Send it to Michael E. Rubin, Blog Council VP, Community. michael@blogcouncil.org
- Debbie Davenport, Dell *
“Chat with Tech Support when your system is feeling under the weather!”
Everyone knows that obtaining tech support from a big company can be a challenge at times. Debbie Davenport uses the Direct2Dell blog as a platform to write from the tech support operator’s perspective and help customers navigate through all the options available. (link)
- Phil Mooney, Coca-Cola *
“Coke as a true refreshment”
Coca-Cola historian/archivist Phil Mooney shares a heartwarming story sent in by a customer about how Coke affected her life. Personal stories are at the core of what keeps the blogosphere linked together. Non-controversial posts like this don’t get a ton of traffic, but they should. (link)
- Brandon Hoe, Lenovo *
“Rockin’ Good Times”
For gadget geeks, this is just too cool! Brandon Hoe, a product manager at Lenovo, takes customers behind the scenes about the thinking that went into designing audio features on the the new ThinkPad SL laptop. Check out the comments, where customers interact and talk back about it to provide instant feedback for the designers. (link)
- Lori MacVittie, Two Different Socks
“Corporate Blogging: The Fallacy of Quantity vs. Quality”
The classic question now writ large for the world of corporate blogging. Lori MacVittie explores this conundrum on DevCentral with a plethora of links and examples. (link)
- Lindsay Lebresco, Graco *
VIDEO: “Parenting Superpowers”
Corporate blog don’t have to always be serious. Here’s the first of a fun series of videos that the team at Graco Children’s Products posted about “parenting superpowers.” (link)
* Disclosure: This post that we’re linking to was produced by a member of the Blog Council. But we would have linked to them anyway because we think they’re great. Read our disclosure policy.
Marion Arathoon at Live Mint writes “Olympics 2008 will be the first Games that truly celebrate social media.” Several Blog Council members are involved in Olympic social media campaigns. Coca-Cola is taking advantage of consumer generated media with it’s Design the World a Coke campaign . As we reported in July Lenovo, recruited 100 athletes from 25 countries and 30 sports to blog their experiences at the Olympic games. You can learn more at The Voices of the Olympic Games or by following @lenovo2008 on Twitter. You can also get more Olympic action by following The Home Depot on Twitter (@thehomedepot).
Clorox: Using gaming strategies to grow community
BlogWell: How big brands use social media