Bottom Up vs. Top Down Corporate Blogging

As business blogging becomes more widespread, two main approaches have emerged. There are bottom up bloggers and top-down bloggers - and then there are a scant few companies who are in between. Each approach is vastly different.

Bottom-up blogging can either start organically or with an edict or blessing of the corporation. Famous bottom-up blogging corporations include Microsoft and Sun. Basically, this is blogging at its best. It's real employees dishing out the straight dope from the bowels of a corporation. It's unfiltered, fun and, for many, incredibly risky. However, when done right, bottom-up blogging can change a corporation.

The majority of blogging companies, however, fall into the top-down camp. They devise a blogging strategy with input from execs, communicators, marketers, HR, etc. They deliberately determine who will blog for the company on what subjects at what time and in what place. Famous top-down blogging companies include most major media companies, GM and Cisco.

In the middle are the blogging equivalent of hybrid cars - companies that take a top-down approach but yet also already have or plan to encourage bottom-up blogging. The most notable example here is Yahoo! They have a terrific corporate blog that clearly is a strategic communications tool developed with guidance from Voce Communications. At the same time, however, they have a well-known bottom-up blogger in Jeremy Zawodny.

This week I have been on the road quite a bit pitching several big companies on blogging programs. As I think about what I am working on, most of it is top-down blogging. Ideally, I would love to get to a place where I am working on hybrid projects where we coach a select group of individuals to blog as part of a strategy but also figure out how to leverage individuals in the company who are already using the blogosphere to express their voice.

Given that very few companies are blogging, there probably are not that many firms who can be hybrids. Still, I do think hybrid blogging has perhaps the greatest PR potential. However, there's an art to it. Advisers need to carefully mix organic blogging with stimulated blogging into a powerful communications cocktail without over mixing the drink. Still, I think all of these strategies have a place. What's your view?

Comments

[Justin Wilden]

Where did you get the idea for 'bottom-up blogging' and 'top-down' blogging?

[Steve Rubel]

Justin, dunno - just from thinkin'.

[James Cherkoff]

When trying to create strategy in this area, I find the most influential issues to be corporate culture and specifically corporate control. As we move beyond discussing the tools themselves (RSS, blogs, podcasts etc) and enter the realm of grown-up communications we start touching upon main board agendas. At that level it's no good using tech-based language, we need to engage senior executives about questions of transparency, authenticity and co-creation. Not easy, but it's where the real brand & business opportunities lie. I heard you talking on Neville and & Shel's show about this and I think it's the 'next step'.

[Pat]

We take the Yahoo approach... even though I'm the CEO, I consider my blog to be bottom-up. I write straight from the gut and don't get let anyone alter my writing style or what I have to say. But then we've got a "company" blog - even though our author is free to write what he wants, he has a set direction on where to head. I have to admit... I'd be a bit concerned if we just gave bottom-up privileges to anyone in our company... does that make me not a bottom-up blogger? I don't think so, but who knows.

[philippe boucher]

I see the same dilemma with cities and elected officials when they try blogging. Most of the sites are still rigid traditional non interactive screens. is there hope for a cyber participatory democracy?

[andrew van hook]

A simple way to test a hybrid blog approach - add links from your top-down corporate blog to bottom-up blogs that you admire, or you think your readers might enjoy.

What do you think?

[John Keehler]

I think there's something else to consider here... The Yahoo! example needs a caveat, because the bottom-up blog you referenced is Jeremy's personal blog.

There are bottom-up "official" blogs and bottom-up "unofficial" blogs. Most companies already have bottom-up blogs and they just don't know it.

So a strategy may be: Create a top-down blog, and try to leverage the bottom-up blogs that your employees already have out there. The problem is... I certainly would not give a company any control over my personal blog.

But if they were to give an official outlet, I think a lot of employees would post on it.