Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt, Pille, juhendajaVisnapuu, TriinTartu Ülikool. SotsiaalteaduskondTartu Ülikool. Ajakirjanduse ja kommunikatsiooni instituut2010-10-212010-10-212008http://hdl.handle.net/10062/15729World’s most influential companies are starting to use blogs as communication channels when communicating with their target groups. 12% companies in the Forbes 500 list own blogs (Anderson & Cass 2007-2008). The present study researched the methods, target groups and reasons for blogging of Estonian corporate blogs. The main research areas were: How are Estonian corporate blogs written? Who are the main target groups of Estonian corporate blogs? Why do Estonian businesses blog? What do the bloggers recommend to businesses who are considering blogging? The aim of this study was to find out why companies should blog and which aspects they would have to take into account while adopting it. Although the number of blogs in the blogosphere is growing and there are statements about their importance, there are only a few empirical studies that would prove the benefits of corporate blogging. The theoretical background of this study covered two aspects – the role of blogs in internal and in external communication. Blog as an external communications channel is based on marketing communication strategies, which I divided into three categories – informing the consumer, motivating the consumer and the consumer’s image of the company. Different authors claim, that blogs cover all marketing communications strategies, except for that blogs should not be written for sales (Merken 2006). Blogs are rather used to influence and educate the consumers and to affirm the company’s image. Internally blogs work as information management tools (Röll 2003), which enable to share the information and avoid the loss of it, when employees leave the company. Methodologically I used 11 semi-structured informant interviews with Estonian corporate bloggers. The selection was based on whether the blog was active and had been opened for more than one year (by January 2008 when I started present research). Interviews were conducted in March and April, 2008. Involved businesses were: Mobi Solutions OÜ, Sevenline OÜ, OÜ Altex Marketing, OÜ Developers Team, OÜ Tr.ee (brand: Blog.tr.ee), Nagi OÜ, Baltika AS (brand: Monton), OÜ Karukoske and OÜ Vanderlin (brand: Soomaa.com), Eesti Ekspressi Kirjastuse AS, Presshouse OÜ ([digi] magazine) and AS Elion. The methods of corporate blogging in Estonia vary and there is no universal model for it. Each company used the solution that was most suitable for them. The amount of bloggers was from one to many, they worked internally in the company or were hired externally, some blogs had posts five times per week, whereas sometimes only monthly posts occurred. Themes covered a wide range of areas, but there were more blogs that concentrated on one or two subject fields. There were blogs that confirmed dialogue with their readers – there were several bloggers who said that thanks to the blog they have got feedback and suggestions both through online and offline channels. Target groups were mostly not specified, but there were also some exceptions as Monton, Elion and Sevenline had defined their target groups. Based on subject fields target groups could be defined, but often they were too general. Employees of the company were targeted only by Altex Marketing. The reasons for blogging fall into three categories: format based, beneficial for the company and the bloggers’ personal interests. A blog is a simple channel, where it is possible to write about everything the bloggers want, in the way they want it, depending on how they can write it. By helping optimize the search engines, blogs make the company more visible online, and the number of visitors to the company’s website can thereby be increased. Estonian businesses used blogs as a marketing tool and a way to enhance the brand image, which can be used to find new customers and to inform and communicate with existing ones. Bloggers personal interests vary, but mostly bloggers want to educate themselves, test the possibilities of Web 2.0 and document important information. So there were many reasons, why business should start a blog. Nevertheless, bloggers claimed that blogging does not suit to every business. They suggested to first understand what a blog is, to determine reasons why the company should blog, who are the target groups and which topics would be covered, and then consider blogging. It was also advised to practice blogging before going public, to make sure there is a person who is responsible for maintaining the blog and decide on the blogging frequency. Furthermore, corporate bloggers said that they can make many suggestions, but those who want to start a blog should keep the planning period short and start right now. Corporate blogs and their use as a marketing or public relations tool are subjects that should definitely be researched further. In Estonia, and around the world in general, there has been too little empirical research on corporate blogs to make elaborated conclusions. It is possible to research the links between blogs and search engines. And it should also be studied, what readers' interest in blogs depend on.application/pdfH Social Sciences (General)infoühiskondInternetmajandusettevõttedkommunikatsioonblogidbakalaureusetöödThesis