Grand Rapids Blogs for Businesses
Over the past month, two folks offered me this challenge statement:
“Name a Grand Rapids business that has an active and thriving blog!”
Of course, I brightly answer, “Me! And I know a ton of local Realtors with blogs…”
But this is dismissed. I’m a writer and a sole proprietor. Realtors, too, are dismissed.
“No, no. Not individuals. Major, brand-name companies.”
Ah.
At that moment, we hear the crickets chirp.
Grand Rapids Business Blogs, Where Art Thou? Never mind the slight that I’m not a “real” business. The silence comes because at present, there just aren’t that many major Grand Rapids businesses that have committed to blogging.
For the moment.
This, of course, is going to change. Because it has to.
A brief search of companies revealed that other people are blogging about these major businesses.
But the major companies themselves?
Well, we’re back to hearing those crickets chirp!
Here are two of the main reasons I hear crickets in Grand Rapids when it comes to major business blogs:
1. Big Ships Turn Slow. As Twitter friend and local social media guru Kevin Dean says, “Big ships turn slow!” And big, conservative ships can turn even slower! Getting a blog and social media policy in place for a large corporation usually doesn’t happen overnight. Heck, those of use who put up the first websites for large companies back in the early 1990’s knew that upper management viewed us as wild-eyed upstarts, babbling foolishness about the world wide audiences on computers. If websites seemed strange to CEOs in the 1990s, social media adaptations seem every bit as goofy to a pragmatic, show-me-the-money CEO.
2. Loss of Control. Many large companies are very accustomed to controlling their messages through advertising and traditional, big media PR plays. I’ve even had a MarCom VP tell me that their company will never participate in social media, and risk losing control of their brand message! However, a brief search at Google reveals that thousands of bloggers are publicly talking about these brands — and yet the companies remain mute — aloof and out of touch with their publics. These companies have already lost control — they just don’t know it yet!
That said, I performed a fast and furious search for major Grand Rapids business blogs. I left out the local media outlets, and focused on major, nationally known names that are based in the Grand Rapids area. I wanted to make sure that the blogs are active — meaning that they have substantially more than the first “Hello World!” post.
That said, here is my top 3 list of Grand Rapids Business blogs from recognizable brand names.
1. Steelcase. Senior VP Mark Greiner keeps a lively, thought-provoking blog for “people who care about workspaces — whether you design spaces, manage them or work in them.” The Steelcase folks seem to intrinsically understand that blogs (and markets!) are about conversations and thought leadership.
2. Quixtar. Don’t know Quixtar? Not a familiar brand name? Well, think “Amway”, a major MLM company. Amway’s online name is Quixtar. The audience for their numerous corporate blogs appear to be people who sell Amway stuff (aka Quixtar and Alticor stuff).
3. Zondervan is an evangelical Christian media and publishing company. It is now a wing of the vast Rupert Murdoch News Corp. Zondervan keeps a plethora of Typepad-hosted blogs, which often feature guest posts from their large stable of published authors. Otherwise, the blogs appear to be written or edited by nameless, faceless entities that work for the News Corporation.
Well, that’s about it. Three companies. There may be more — and if there are, I’d love to hear about them. Please feel free to comment — and let me know about the companies I missed.
Now — is it just me, or does it seem downright odd and out-of-touch that many huge consumer brands that are based out of Grand Rapids don’t have a blog presence? That’s not to say that many individuals who work at these companies don’t participate in social media — many are very active at LinkedIn, FaceBook, and Twitter. And many maintain personal blogs.
But Grand Rapids Business Blogs? Where are you? What’s your plan? Your public wants to know!
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Comments
Laura–
Based on my experiences in mid-Michigan and in the Detroit-area, I would have to say that your assessment of businesses and blogging in our state is right on.
Most CEOs I talk to panic at the mere mention of losing control of their message. I think many of them see the social media train coming, but they don’t know how to react. Their heart tells them one thing, while their head says another.
Because of our state’s very serious economic transitions, you’d think, big and small businesses would be more open to web 2.0 and the social media.
Meanwhile, there’s a real need for web 2.0 and social media evangelists to keep this new communications channel in front of the business community.
Great post.
WES
AJ —
I followed both Meijer + Comcast for a time at Twitter.
You’re right — @Comcastcares is extremely helpful — a Johnny-on-the-spot when it came to an outage situation. It’s a very good sign when customer service actively participates in a public setting. It shows that they are where their audience is — and that they care.
This is more than good customer service — it’s excellent social media PR. I feel better about them as a company for responding to me quickly, publicly, and professionally.
The @Meijer can be helpful, too. A stream of specials, mostly. A little overwhelming for me, so I opted out after a while. But when I want to know what’s on sale, I know where to go!
Thanks for posting!
They may not blog but I know that bother Meijer and Comcast are both on twitter. @comcastcares rocks because they listen and are very helpful.