Phil H
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Joined: 23 May 2007
Posts: 34
Location: Greenwich, London, UK
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 Posted: 24th May, 2007 8:27 am UTC Post subject: Toolkit: Blogging |
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Marketing & PR. Getting customers and keeping them without breaking the bank. (2007) Philip R Holden and Nick Wilde. London, A&C Black.
Toolkit: Blogging*
What is blogging?
A blog (a contraction of ‘weblog’ – web + log) is a relatively new communication tool that enables the sharing and receiving of written conversation with people online.
Originally blogs were used for diaries and journals, but more recently they have been used in the enterprise environment to collaborate, perform market research, provide customer support or public relations and much more. Blogs continue to expand, exploiting new methods of communication such as podcasting , mob-blogging and vlogging. [See some definitions below]
What do blogs do?
Blogs turn press releases into conversations and customers into advocates, and best of all, they’re free. Learning to blog requires little if any training and you can learn the basics by experimentation. Go to www.typepad.com, www.blogger.com or www.tripod.com as examples or see if your web host or favourite search site offers a blogging product.
Due to blogging’s conversational style, early adopters will have a significant (perhaps disproportionate) advantage over those who embrace the technology at a slower rate. Why? Think of a conversation: if you join it late, how much strength does your message carry when you’re competing with someone who was there at the beginning.
For example, if you are offering a service like plumbing or building it’s easy to blog about your profession. Although people might be able to learn all about plumbing from your blog, most would still far rather pay someone else to do – a bit like changing the oil in their cars.
As a plumber –
1. You can emphasise all the dirty jobs you have done and earn the respect of your readership, especially if you rise to these challenges in a professional way. Video would be a great tool for such tales.
2. You can discuss best practice, organisations a plumber should belong to, questions to ask a plumber, tips on telling a good plumber from a bad one, success stories of different clients etc. and gain your readers’ trust that way.
It’s possible you may lose some small jobs to people who read your tips and then apply them, but trust and positive public relations gained will far outweigh any business lost. Of course, it all depends on your ambitions for your business.
What can blogging not do?
• Blogging can’t replace your website completely, but it’s a valuable addition to it and part of a complete web presence.
• Blogging won’t magically make your products or services sell and it won’t make poor companies better.
It is also important to check whether time spent in the ‘blogosphere’ is time well spent, for you and your business. If enough of your customers can be found in the online then, yes, you will need a blog.
How to get started
1. Write a blog policy, bearing in mind your business and marketing objectives. This provides a framework you can rely on to know whether they are speaking out effectively and constructively or, alternatively, what comments might be perceived as negative or unconstructive.
2. Decide which software or service will host your blog.
3. Test your blog before you publicise it. You can learn how the software works and how mistakes can be made and if other staff are involved they can see the immediate impact – how ideas can be quickly developed and flow from particular teams to the broader company.
Maintaining your blog.
Don’t move or rename your blog. If you do, you will lose many of your regular readers. Once you are confident of your ability to maintain your blog keep it in a location that is permanent, such as www.businessname.com/blog.
You should investigate using feedburner.com for your RSS (Really Simple Syndication) which is a way of automatically sending updates to those who register with your site. Feedburner is free and provides very good statistical information. As you grow, the service can be upgraded to give you even more great information about your users.
Don’t fuss over the look of your blog. People go there because they want to read what you have to say, not because it looks pretty. That said, looks are always a contributor to value and having a balanced approach is probably the best answer.
Websites for further information
Technorati (www.technorati.com) – The de facto number one provider of up-to-date, relevant blog search results. It is the Google of blog search.
Wordpress (www.wordpress.org) – Free open source software, or www.wordpress.com – a free hosted service based on the same software.
SixApart – Commercial software provider and owner of Typepad (hosted blogging service) and MovableType (self-hosted blogging software).
Blogger – Purchased by Google and released to the world as a free hosted blogging service. It is being upgraded with new features so may be worth a look.
MySpace – This is a full service software that is more of a website/blog. MySpace is a good choice if you are specifically targeting the MySpace user base, but if you want to attract everyone, not just MySpace subscribers, then it’s probably best to look elsewhere.
YouTube – The original home of video blogging or videocasting.
*Thanks to Roger Kondrat for his invaluable insights into the world of blogging. Catch up with him at prof.rogerkondrat.com
Podcasting (born from the word iPod) is a new form of content delivery that involves the creation of a sound file, usually in MP3 format, for a listener to download to their MP3 player and listen to at their leisure.
Mob-blogging (aka mobile blogging) is the newest feature, as mobile phones make up more and more of web-connected technologies. Young adults are using them to send multimedia messages to their websites as events occur. For example, as someone staggers across the finish line of the London Marathon, the great moment is captured in video on a mobile and transmitted to the user’s blog, with accompanying text, for instant publication.
Vlogging (aka video blogging) is a highly desirable feature of blogging that has until recently been underused due to the prohibitive costs involved in hosting large video files. As costs decline, look for this to be the über-blogger’s communication method of choice. YouTube is the most popular.
Now, please post your comments and experience. Are you thinking of using a blog? What is your plan? What tools or sites have you found useful and why?
(c) 2007 Philip R Holden & Nick Wilde |
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