Comments on: Company Blog, or Online Brochure?

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odontologos — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:12:03 +0000

A good planning is required before setting up a company blog.

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How many times have you gone to a networking event and asked someone… “what do you do?” They respond back and begin to give you the catalog of their services & products, company history, last 6 new clients, how much money they have in their pipeline, why their way is better, blah, blah, blah.

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Great article Mack. Agree with you completely!

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Funny famous love quotes — Thu, 29 May 2008 12:53:34 +0000

great point. I guess its not even a blog since its not socially involved or is it an informal letter as a blog is defined under the dictinary. Communication is extremely important, keep a social profile and any business can be successful.

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portraits art — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 07:39:34 +0000

You are right. I admit, I’m maintaining several blogs nowadays and I do the maintenance in such a way that it will appeal to the merchant site. We neglect to think however that it can also be searched by some active or potential customers. So, in order to answer the needs of any customer, what do you suggest one should do to the blog?

By: online shopping

online shopping — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 22:50:08 +0000

One thing about company blogs are they should be monitored at all times by a few people. If they are not, then they could become very biased to someone’s views. I had see a few people have company sites that were very one sided. So when people leave something like that that the public will see, there should be a set of checks and balances in place that regulates what will be going into the public eye. Some people might think that this is a given, but they would be surprised to see how many people do not think about something like this. It is the smallest things that slip through the cracks and can cause the biggest problems. So when you are going to do something that others will see, make sure that you keep this in mind before you do anything.

By: Bob

Bob — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 10:28:12 +0000

If someone will develop more effective than Blogs ……..any assumtions?

By: skybobi

skybobi — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 10:35:32 +0000

Blogging is very important in online business. Because blogs increase traffic in one or the other way. So i totally agree with you… : )

By: rosesylvia

rosesylvia — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 07:36:43 +0000

I think you are expert in marketing. Blogs are playing amajor role in marketing(online) business. Every marketer does not have his/her own blog. I agree your posting http://www.vortexmarketinggroup.com/rp/?id=241148

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By: Lars

Lars — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 19:23:22 +0000

Perhaps the company is measuring by something other than “number of comments” to determine what makes a “good” blog.
On a blog that I run for personal reasons, the number of comments is a valid metric and something that I try to encourage.
But for a blog that I run for my company, I could care less about comments. All I care about is the number of sales that can be directly attributed to the blog.
And guess what! That blog gets almost zero comments, but it brings in plenty of sales.
“Markets are conversations” is a bunch of Cluetrain Manifesto nonsense.
Markets are really for buying and selling.
And a business blog should keep that in mind if the purpose of the blog is to benefit the business and not just waste a bunch of time chatting about junk that doesn’t matter.
That said, I do agree that anything you write for an outside audience should most definitely be written with the audience in mind.
No one cares about stupid industry-speak jargon except for maybe your coworker.

By: Damon Billian

Damon Billian — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 18:56:29 +0000

If you are going to tell your audience about your products & services via your blog, my personal take is that you actively have to solicit feedback for it to become a two-way conversation platform.
Another issue, imho, is that every company may not have something that would be worthy of blogging about on a corporate level. I think there are some industries that are ill-suited to blogging & that a company really needs to take a look at if they are in an industry where people do want to converse with you (I couldn’t see a corporate banking blog as being too worthwhile, for example).

By: Mack Collier

Mack Collier — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 17:11:24 +0000

Great point Andrew, and before I started blogging, I really didn’t see what the big deal was either. Until you are in this space and using these tools, you cannot appreciate just how quickly ideas flow and are shaped by contributions from other bloggers. One post can strike the right cord with the right blogger, and it can be the hit of the blogosphere within minutes.
But at the heart of this, is using blogs as a communication tool. This is what companies, and people in general, cannot appreciate by looking in from the outside.

By: Andrew Mills

Andrew Mills — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 14:37:19 +0000

The post and all the comments both teach about the subject and then demonstrate it on a single page and speak volumes.
I think lots of businesses struggle with the concepts of using stuff like this because often people think a blog is just an extension of a website, a piece of brochure-ware. Everyone reading and commenting here is using blogs. But huge chunks of the population still think “90% of blogs are for nerds and geeks” as I overheard someone say recently. This is still a big part of the battle I think.

By: Ann Handley

Ann Handley — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 11:41:41 +0000

Great post, Mack. And the issues raised in the comments are excellent ones — many could be used as a cornerstone of a post of their own. In particular, the issue of “how personal?” is one issue discussed in board rooms when companies think of launching a blog.
You can see how the question of “to blog or not to blog” get mired and complicated pretty quickly. But I think your common sense approach offers a great roadmap.

By: Mack Collier

Mack Collier — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 15:56:00 +0000

“What if blogs aren’t the Holy Grail of 2-way communication strategies for corporations? I have no doubt that they can be more effective than they currently are. But isn’t there a possibility that someone will develop a new tool that would be more effective than blogs?
If it could be done, what would it look like?”
Cam it’s funny because I asked this same question in one of my first posts on The Viral Garden, almost a year ago.
The two big limitations I see with a company blog, is that the current and potential customers have to go to THE COMPANY’S BLOG, and the tool doesn’t give true interaction. The company controls the flow of what is discussed, via posting, and can monitor comments as well.
When we find a tool that lets companies freely communicate with customers in THEIR space on THEIR terms, then we’ll have something. I don’t see blogs as being that tool, at least not in their current form.

By: Mack Collier

Mack Collier — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 15:47:58 +0000

“What happens when that person leaves the company? What if they start their own blog?
Because we want a blogging experience to be “authentic” we all respond more to the individual and the individual’s name … but the lines between corporate position and personal preference can easily be blurred. I am interested in your thoughts.”
Great question Gavin. Bloggers respond better to individuals, so I’d much rather have each blogger posting under their own names.
I think the bigger concern for companies is what happens when these individuals go out and start commenting on OTHER blogs. You definitely don’t want to coach them on what to say, but you also want to only have bloggers that understand what your company’s message and branding is all about.
In the end, IMO you have to let people post and people comment. Not ’staffs’.

By: Stephen Denny

Stephen Denny — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 21:41:04 +0000

Gavin (& Mack & all):
What kind of naming convention should a corporate outbound blog outreach program use? I would think that for full disclosure’s sake a name and a company designation would make the most sense.
“Steve at The Fix”, or “Mack C at Viral Garden” or similar. It should be personal enough for personality to show — “Marketing Team at The Fix” doesn’t sound too inviting, and “Joe”, who turns out to be from “Acme Corp” only after a discovery process is a bit suspicious. I’d vote for being open about the corporate affiliation and personal enough to include your name.
Sound right?

By: Chris Brown

Chris Brown — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 22:33:09 +0000

A blog is written by a person and so it has the usual human failings.
How many times have you gone to a networking event and asked someone… “what do you do?” They respond back and begin to give you the catalog of their services & products, company history, last 6 new clients, how much money they have in their pipeline, why their way is better, blah, blah, blah.
When that happens to me, I begin to take tiny steps backwards, away from this talker who was vacinated with a phonograph needle.
It’s the same way with a blog. Some people can’t stop talking long enough to take a breath. Let alone long enough to smile and politely ask what you do.
As long as you have people that think blogs are for selling and that selling means one way communication, you’ll have the one way blog with no comments.
Good topic, Mack. Thanks!
Chris

By: Vahe

Vahe — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 19:13:24 +0000

Mack, great post. And great comments, all. I’ll be forwarding this to a nonprofit that’s about to start blogging. It should get them heading in the right direction.

By: Cam Beck

Cam Beck — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 16:59:19 +0000

I agree with everything you’ve written here, Mack. Let me just stir the pot a little bit.
What if blogs aren’t the Holy Grail of 2-way communication strategies for corporations? I have no doubt that they can be more effective than they currently are. But isn’t there a possibility that someone will develop a new tool that would be more effective than blogs?
If it could be done, what would it look like?

By: Gavin Heaton

Gavin Heaton — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 00:00:31 +0000

Great post, Mack. I have a question … if the “marketing department” starts commenting on other blogs, under which name should they do so? Should it be their own? Should it be a corporate pseudonym?
What happens when that person leaves the company? What if they start their own blog?
Because we want a blogging experience to be “authentic” we all respond more to the individual and the individual’s name … but the lines between corporate position and personal preference can easily be blurred. I am interested in your thoughts.

By: Maureen Rogers

Maureen Rogers — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 23:07:31 +0000

Mack- Good post (and comments) – really got me thinking (and blogging: I’ll be posting on this topic tomorrow on Opinionated Marketers). I work primarily with smaller companies, and one thing I always advise them about is, if they’re going to blog,to make sure that they take it seriously. Someone needs to be the blog-master who makes sure that the content is fresh and useful.
How many times in the good old days did we see companies starting a quarterly newsletter, only to have it run out of steam by the third quarter! With blogs, the content has to be far more frequent – it takes a real commitment.

By: Mack Collier

Mack Collier — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 22:22:17 +0000

“A company blog is most effective as a communication tool first and selling tool as a byproduct. That truly is the point. You can get feedback, help with R&D, suggestions for new products, etc. That’s how I do a lot of my product development- by asking questions of my readers. It’s been very valuable.”
Bingo. It’s about satisfying the customers’ wants and needs directly, which results in their satisfying YOUR wants and needs, indirectly.

By: Mack Collier

Mack Collier — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 22:20:12 +0000

“Nothing is ancillary. This is not the principal of “either/or,” all tools comply with the principal of “and.” They are, and to be useful, they must be multi-functional and responsibly used to fulfill each of those functions.”
Can’t agree in this case. Anything that leads to a better understanding of the wants and needs of your customers, will lead to extra sales, IMO. Because once you have a better understanding of those wants and needs, you have a better idea how to tailor your marketing to satisfy them.
I think most companies see it as being blogging—>more sales, when they should be thinking blogging—>better understanding of our customers—>more sales.
Again, I think it’s the difference between positioning a company blog from the company’s point of view, or the customers’ point of view.