Embed Doc
Copy Link
Readcast
Collections

CommentGo Back

Download

SASR 1Group: Silvia Angerbauer, Angelika Sipos,Silke Schröckmair, Rene HörwertnerInstructor: Mark A.M. KramerCourse of IT23 Information TechnologyDate: November, 2009Blogs in BusinessA diary in its original form is a very private and intimate collection ofexperiences and thoughts that are listed chronologically. Nobody would ever thinkabout publishing this journal.Differently perceived are attitudes towards online-diaries, the so called blogs.Thereby, experiences on a specific topic are published on internet with the intentionto be made available to the whole world and allow the exchange of information ofthose experiences.Blog operators are not only private persons but meanwhile also organizationsare present on internet by blogs. Consequently, the following questions have to beposed: What are blogs? Who are their users and who is the target group?This paper shall discuss these questions and furthermore, argues aboutcharacteristics of blogs especially those of Corporate Blogs. There are various typesof Corporate Blogs existing. Their differentiating aspects are documented and effectson organizational communication discussed. Success factors are evaluated basedon researching existing corporate blogs. The use of blogs as a communication tool inthe marketing mix shall demonstrate the possibility of gaining competitive advantage.Finally, the relevance of corporate blogs on the example of the Federal ArmedForces will be discussed and conclusions are drawn.

SASR 2

1 Abstract

Up to 98% of information in media is disregarded! Possible solutions areoriented towards the following aspects: independent and unique content, balance ofcommunication means and product performance, waiving inefficient and notcontrollable media, targeting understanding and bi-directional communication toconsumer and customer, unconditional orientation towards immaterial values of anorganization for both internal and external communication (Horx et al.).This statement dates back to the year 2004 but is still true. Communicationwith the customer in the modern era is difficult to remain focused and is additionallyhampered by the diversity of available communication channels.Necessary promotion and communication methods for the achievement ofcompany goals are no longer easy thoughts of a communication mix. Because of theglobal integration by internet, wider perspectives and increased transparency ofoffers are available customers. The necessity to contact customers directly andunderstand their requirements is predominant. Controlling the efficiency ofcommunication with customers is of increasing importance caused by cost pressure.Organizations can use additional possibilities for external communication tocustomer based on the fast spreading internet. Weblogs are a bi-directionalcommunication form which exists for a few years already. By making use of weblogsin organizations, the correct expression is Corporate Blogs. Because of the onlineavailable statistics and evaluation tools – similar to those of websites – weblogs canbe controlled by respective indicators.

2 User and the Target group of Blogs

As blogs are internet based media, user and target group are stronglyoriented towards the user group of internet in general. As per Statistik Austria,

SASR 3already 69.8 % of households have internet access. Austrians between 16 and 24years are using the internet by almost 100 %. Surprisingly, this rate is below 50 %only at the group of Austrians above 64 years. Usually, Austrians of all ages useinternet to collect information, use online services and communicate.Table 1: Types of media consumption (Kaumanns et al. 20)a. Note: Weblogs belong here to the

Content Type

“text & pictures” and areplaced in the category of

Participation

among “contributing”. However, it is notalways obvious where to set the boundaries as wikis or blogs often contain videos oraudio data.As per the independent blog “b24”, approx. 3 % of all Austrians write blogsand approx. 6 % read blogs (boerse-express). Zerfaß reported that approx. 87,3 %of interviewed Germans know and 80 % use blogs. Similar to Austrians, there aremore blog readers than posters.