Gear Shift into the FastLane: GM’s blog

As the recent scandals and controversies have surrounded the name of the General Motors company and inevitably tainted its reputation, its CEO and employees are clearly looking to re-establish its credibility.  Through promises to renovate themselves while considering their consumers first and foremost, the need for a blog is undeniable.  Their consumers’ questions and concerns should be addressed if the company has any hopes to remain relevant.  Interactivity with their consumers is crucial now more than ever.  Confidence in the company needs to be rebuilt, namely, by establishing transparency. The flawed decisions of their past should be addressed to bring legitimacy for its new claim of stability and their promises for a changed future.  The following question and answer format further elaborate on the content of GM’s blog site:

Q:  Who is managing this blog?

A: According to the contact page of the site, questions that would not be posted on the blog can be answered through contact of the director of global communications technology.  Other comments or questions that are posted on the blog are reviewed for relevancy before allowing the post by the blog editor.

Q:  What employees are posting on the blog?

A: There is no single established author for the blog.  The writers of each post differ with each new content.  The CEO, Fritz Henderson, is also involved in writing some posts and even occasionally offers scheduled webchats for users to view. According to the work of Cho & Huh in Corporate Blogs as a Form of eWom advertising, a successful corporate blog is more likely when specific features such as establishing credibility of the site and maintaining communication that encourages consumer interaction.  As the CEO of GM, Henderson, stands to be viewed more positively, more credible, and most importantly his posts will be as well. Other blog authors include vehicle engineers and various GM vice presidents, to name a few.

Q: The second important feature of a successful blog mentioned in the last answer, is stated as maintaining communication flow between bloggers and their audiences with content that invites involvement and interaction. How much interactivity is seen between General Motor’s and its blog audience:

A:  Although GM’s blog is seemingly a two-way form of communication, the interactivity seems to stop at one end early on.  After many posts from those at GM, consumers respond by commenting or asking questions.  Very rarely are these questions get answered or their comments remarked on.  This abrupt disconnection from the company’s side is a very ineffective way to establish genuine relationships with their consumers.  GM should work on keeping up with the blogs, more specifically the company should at least acknowledge most consumers that posts.  Based on the type of audience the blog is created for, internal or external,  certain procedures should be utilized for an increased chance of an effectiveness, as noted in the studies of Cox, Martinez, and Quinlan in Blogs & the Corporation.  These specified proposals for success explain the importance of useful,relevant, and transparent blog content, and the importance of blog maintenance via partial supervision, consumer acknowledgment, and frequent response.  Reader acknowledgment and feedback is essential for trust building. Without either, the relationship seems more impersonal, like a marketing ploy, and loyal readers will decline.