The Power of Business Blogging

What do you do when your company's reputation is attacked by a major newspaper? You set the record straight through your blog. That's just what GM did when New York Times columnist, James Friedman, described the major automotive manufacturer as a "crack dealer" feeding Americans' addictions to SUVs and accused it of being "more dangerous to America's future" than any other company.

According to BtoB, GM's responses totaled more than 2,800 words - more than three times the length of the original Friedman column and 14 times the space GM says the Times offered for a rebuttal. By utilizing it's Fastlane blog, the company has generated more buzz and awareness for its fuel-economy efforts than it ever would have created in print, and has done so with reaching targeted audiences.

As a result, hundreds of people have posted comments on GM's corporate blog, and BlogPulse and Technorati count approximately 100 posts from bloggers on their own sites.

GM's case should be a wake-up call to businesses that are not taking advantage of the blogosphere. Blogging and social networking are experiencing tremendous growth and, as demonstrated in the case of GM, provide much word of mouth power.

Filed In: GM Blog New York Times PR Marketing Technorati BlogPulse