Posted by Frances Laing on Tuesday 12 May 2009
To blog or not to blog
I have over the last few years made various recommendations to clients and prospects alike that they should look at blogging as one of the options for interacting with their audience.
Whilst some are happy to embrace the concept, and get stuck in, others are much more reticent, concerned perhaps at sharing their soul with the world. A sorry few, which is more of a sin in my world, start off with good intentions, post one or two blogs, and then, often through general lack of commitment (and dare I say inspiration?) leave their blog/blogger to a darkened corner, never to be seen again.
Without question, blogs are not right for everyone - better to assess your culture and objectives to decide on the right course of action before you start blogging. It is important to have buy-in from the top down as well - a good blog may well find itself addressing some negative issues as well as chatting away on the positive side of life. And even more importantly, you need to recognise the right method of measuring success. Blogging is not necessarily all about the numbers. The key here is about good quality blogging - who should you be interacting with?
And what about the people who are blogging about you? Have you thought about interacting with them? Do you know who they are? How to find them? There are a number of tools available to help you find who the people chatting about you, but also to understand their relative influence. The key then is to treat bloggers in the same way that you might treat journalists - try and engage with them, but don't put them under any obligation to write about you. And most importantly, get involved in those negative conversations that you might find happening, and try to put them right.
To provide a little inspiration, here are a couple of good examples of companies working alongside the blogosphere. Mercedes allowed a mother that blogged to trial its GLK model ahead of its launch, and Nokia gave 50 of the most influential techie bloggers the N95 handset to review. Closer to home, Remington distributed samples of its soon-to-be-launched haircare products to some of the most influential hard and beauty bloggers. In terms of companies managing their own blogs, there are lots of great examples, with Dell being one I have previously cited. However, Absolute Radio has been highly praised and recognised for its blog, posting everything from Ofcom Complaints to resignation letters. How brave do you feel??
If you would like any helping in your blogging strategy, then by all means get in touch. We can help you find the right contacts in your field of activity, and work with you to ensure you take advantage of your blogging opportunities, be they outbound or inbound!