BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

Each week, Bulletproof Blog features exclusive interviews with thought leaders on issues of critical importance to companies and countries. This week, as a follow-up to our conversation with Paul Levy on CEO blogging, we interview the woman behind what may be the best-known corporate blog on the Web - Southwest Airlines' Linda Rutherford.

As Vice President for Communications and Strategic Outreach at Southwest, Ms. Rutherford was one of the creative forces behind "Nuts About Southwest" - which is now the gold standard for how companies can use social media to connect with the broadest array of stakeholders. A corporate communications expert who knows the ins and outs of the blogosphere backwards and forwards, she shared her insights with Bulletproofâ„¢:

How did the idea for a corporate blog first materialize at Southwest Airlines?

Linda Rutherford: By 2005, it was becoming clear that much of the talk about the Southwest brand was taking place online -either on blogs, in chat rooms, or other forms of social media. Naturally, this presented us with a philosophical question: Do we to continue to sit on the sidelines of the conversations that affect brand loyalty and credibility; or do we want a say in how our story is being told in a rapidly developing media environment?

Given that direct-to-customer communication and a commitment to total transparency have been hallmarks at Southwest since the company' s founding in 1971, the answer was easy to come by. Southwest has always had a reputation for telling it like it is. We' re known as a brand that zigs when the industry zags. So we launched "Nuts About Southwest" in 2006 not only for a bit of control in how our story was being told; but as a way to embrace the characteristics that make Southwest a global leader in customer service as well.

Are there specific examples of how your blog has enhanced customer service?

Linda Rutherford: About seven months after we launched the blog, we were contemplating whether or not we needed to make a move to assigned seating. Our CEO published a blog post aimed our customers that said, "Hey, we' re looking at this, what do you think?

We received more than 700 comments almost instantly - and the overwhelming message, which significantly guided our research and development, was "I choose you because I can choose my seat. I feel like I' m in control of something. Please don' t change that. And by the way, what I really want you to change is the boarding process - because it' s a scrum at the gate and surely you can do better than that."

The great insight we got from the blog was an inexpensive way to validate what we were hearing from passengers at the airport, which was "Don' t assign seats; come up with a new way to board the aircraft."

That' s precisely what we did.

What' s next for corporate blogging? Are there issues emerging on the horizon that companies need to be aware of?

Linda Rutherford: Now that blogging is a bit more mainstream, people have made it clear that they don' t turn to social media to be sold products and services. So our primary goal with Southwest' s blog has evolved. Now, we try to tell a story in such a way that we' re in the consideration set the next time a potential customer travels or buys an airline ticket.

We want to be subtle; not in your face. We don' t want "sales" to be what the blog is about. We' re not there to market services and low fares, as our customers should already know that about us. We' re trying to round out the other pieces of the story that remind people of what flying with Southwest is really all about.

Larry Smith is Senior Vice President of Levick Strategic Communications and a contributing author to Bulletproof Blog.