A Blog About Blogging.

The brand that Exxon Mobil emulates is often perceived as a big-name oil conglomerate out to make money.. oh and there was that big oil spill in the 70's. You could say the first half is true, with the company being one of if not the top companies in the business, but as for its reputation when it comes to safety and maintaining the environment, Exxon Mobile doesn't get near enough credit.

While many companies invest greatly into marketing and advertising campaigns as their business strategy, according to Matt Gobush, ironically the democratic corporate communications manager for the company, claims this strategy isn't worth it. Regardless of who has the flashiest ad, people will buy gas at the most convenience or cheapest station - or in my case, whichever one looks like it has the cleanest bathroom.

So what is a company to do? Their communications strategies focus on environmental safety mechanisms and contributing to communities in which they operate. The company also works to develop chemicals and products that can prevent or lessen the impact of an oil disaster such as the BP oil spill - whose clean up crews utilized many of Exxon Mobil's developments. Clearly, Gobush and his team need to establish a conversation with consumers in attempt to make these efforts known, the challenge being, how does a large, corporate company like Exxon Mobil create a blog or social media site without diminishing its professionalism?

The point of a blog is to engage your audience while enhancing your company's image, not damage it. The trick to having a successful company blog is balance. There are blogs such as the National Geographic blog called Inside NGC that is informational but doesn't offer viewers any personality or proof that there are actual humans running the show there. Blogs need more than fuzzy animals and informational paragraphs to boost ratings. And then there's the Best Western blog titled, You Must Be Trippin'. This blog's most recent post covers highlights that readers can expect to see in the upcoming NASCAR season... I'm sorry, how does this relate to family-friendly hotel rooms? There may exist some 6th degree that links these two unlikely subjects, but it would be beneficial if the authors at Best Western pointed it out.

At least we know Exxon Mobil's site is sensitive to its environment, quickly changing the proposed title from "Platforms" to "Perspectives" once BP's oil platform caught fire and sunk into the Gulf. As for the blog's content, they balance the professional aspect of displaying copy in a formal layout but gear the information toward topics that are interesting to their audiences such as energy policies and establishing more AP classes in schools - one of the company's biggest philanthropic efforts.

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