Not many companies have very successful blogs, and for one reason or another most corporations fail at trying to reach their consumers in the blogosphere. Last summer when I interned in the digital communications group at The Coca-Cola Company, I was lucky enough to get a first hand look at what Coca-Cola is trying to accomplish through blogging. More specifically, I was able to see how they used Coke Conversations to start a dialogue with an important group of their consumers.
Here is how they did it:
1. Target Audience/ Topic Selection- With 1.5 billion customers served every day, it would be very easy for Coca-Cola to try and create a blog that speaks to everyone. But lets be honest, that would be IMPOSSIBLE! What blog do you know of that could possible speak with even half that many consumers? Instead, Coca-Cola decided to only talk to Coca-Cola product collectors. Coca-Cola beverages date back to 1886, so not only are there A LOT of collectibles but also a lot of collectors. By choosing a small target audience and a very specific topic Coca-Cola was able to have a very meaningful and targeted conversation with an interested group of people.
2. Best blogger- Phil Mooney is the lead blogger for Coke Conversations,and while you may not know who he is, Phil has a huge following among Coca-Cola collectors all over the world. Phil has been the head archivist at Coca-Cola for 30 years and knows pretty much everything there is to know about collectibles. Collectors love to talk to Phil because they believe that he is the most knowledgeable source to finding the information they need. Phil is the best person to lead the blog, and because of this people want to discuss different topics with him.
3. Dynamic content- Video, video and more video! Coca-Cola Conversations is full of interviews and archive video, including an interview with “mean” Joe Greene. Video is interesting and people enjoy it!
4. Fan participation- Every Friday Phil holds a caption contest where he takes an archived ad and asks the audience to create a caption for the piece. It is an easy way to get comments and engages his readers, thus enhancing the user experience.
The Coca-Cola Conversations blog just celebrated its first birthday to the tune of many successes, including more than 200 blog posts and over 2,000 conversations in the comments section. Coca-Cola knows the secret to corporate blogging, and now you do too!
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