Robert Scoble has got some great thoughts out on the issue of branding and the adoption of blogs by corporate executives and established businesses.

While he tries to pull out specific points relating to how effective blogging can be for major brands, including Microsoft which pays him to be its key online evangelist through his blog, his principles apply as much to the small and medium businesses, if not to non-profits and educational organizations.

Blogs do represent an effective, inexpensive approach to make your company voice be heard, while allowing a growing audience to learn about what your true character and company spirit really is.

Here is a summary of Robert Scoble key points, largely edited to a very synthetic format. The essence is there. (Robert had written his article in response to those like me, Doc Searls and Hugh MacLeod who, in very different ways have been arguing that branding is effectively dead.)

Robert Scoble:

"What is being missed here is what really is going on.

Branding is about starting, keeping, and capitalizing on, word of mouth.

The success of your brand is simply a few things, roughly in this order:

1) Can you get other people to notice what you're doing?

2) Can you get other people to talk about what you're doing?

3) Can you get those people to buy your next product?

4) Once you have a relationship with the company, will you recommend it to others?

So, why does blogging matter in the branding game?

One, watching blogs gives you an indication of what the greater society is doing and talking about.

Two, blogs can feed the conversation and amplify it.

Three, blogs can reduce negatives.

One example: At the MSN Search Champs meeting the MSN team proposed something that everyone in the room told them would be a fatal mistake if they did it. If the MSN team hadn't pulled a bunch of users into the organization, they might have released software with a fatal flaw.

Five, the word-of-mouth networks are becoming more and more efficient.

Six, blogging is inexpensive.

Seven, blogs build much stronger relationships between customers and the company."

Read Robert Scoble full arguments and supporting examples here.

Excerpted from Robert Scoble "Hey, Doc, branding isn't dead, it's just conversational now"

Suggested reading:

Apple's Chuq Von Rospach "Branding isn't dead".