Effective blogging

I have a personal interest in the return to service for Carnival’s ship, the Splendor. We are planning to sail over the winter holidays.

So, it was not merely a voyeuristic interest that I took when searching for stories last week about the state of the ship and how the cruiseline wasĀ taking care of its customers.

I think there are lessons to be found in Carnival’s response and outreach, helpful for all companies involved in the delivery of services to consumers.

From the beginning, Carnival has kept their current and future passengers informed and they have been proactive in making generous offers to compensate those who have had their vacation plans altered. Part of the communications strategy has been to talk through the blog maintained by Carnival’s Senior Cruise Director, John Heald.

It is important to note that he has been blogging for more than 3 and a half years – cautioning readers that

The views and opinions expressed here represent my own (and some of the commentators that I have included) and not those of Carnival Corporation.

His writing style is entertaining, a little off-colourĀ and most importantly, with 7 million hits, he has built a readership from Carnival’s core client base. It happens that he was the cruise director on board the Splendor for last week’s sailing.

As such, the blog has provided a platform for Carnival to get its version of the story out.Ā Regular updates were being provided and now that the ship is safely in port and the passengers have returned home, he has taken time to record his thoughts.

I have been most captivated by the series of posts irreverantly titled “Smoke on the Water”, explaining what happened from the perspective of the guy charged with getting information to the people on board the stricken ship. I encourage you to start from Part 1 and work your way through the whole series.

The credibility of the posts was earned by the investment ofĀ more than 43 months of writing tales of good times and building a readership.

John Heald’s Blog provides a case study for communications professionals.

I am moderating a session tomorrow looking at Social Networking and its impact withinĀ financial institutions. The panel is taking place at the “Banking on Israel IT” eventĀ in Toronto. Registration is free, but please register in advance with Sharon.

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