Wells Fargo has become the first US bank to launch a corporate blog, Micro Persuasion has learned. The blog is called “Guided by History.” It is devoted exclusively to earthquake and disaster preparedness. The launch is timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the San Francisco earthquake and fire, which took place on April 18, 1906. Wells Fargo has a direct link with this historical event. They are one of the few financial institutions which helped rebuild the city after the quake and fire destroyed 490 city blocks in San Francisco.
The Wells Fargo blog includes contributions from John Stumpf, Wells Fargo's President and Chief Operating Officer. Comments are turned on with some basic ground rules. It also has some nice features such as a Technorati graph showing the number of daily blog posts that mention earthquakes plus lots of links to resources.
Wells Fargo has scored a home run with this blog in my book. They found a way to connect their history to a Higher Holy Calling (HHC) - the importance of preparing for a major disaster. Using the HHC they found a way to have a blog even though they are in a regulated industry. They are engaging in dialogue around an important issue. It's a terrific way to convey that they care about the community they serve because they also lived through one of its worst moments in history.
My only nit with the blog is that it has a short lifespan. It's only going to be up through mid-May. While the anniversary will have come and gone, disaster preparedness is an evergreen topic that Wells Fargo could continue to participate in the blogosphere. It might even help them sell more insurance. Take that to the bank.
(In the interest of full disclosure... the information for this blog post was supplied in advance of the March 14 launch by Ed Terpening, Wells Fargo's Blogging/RSS Project Manager. He sent me an early look at the press release and blog site. Wells Fargo is not an Edelman client.)
Technorati Tags: Corporate, Wells Fargo, Weblogs
