No Experience Needed to be a Social Media Expert?!

A recent article appeared at Marketing Sherpa with the provocative finding  - at least, provocative to us who are in this business – stating in sum: 

“Two-thirds of marketers who work for organizations that have not used any form of social media marketing or PR consider themselves ‘very knowledgeable’ or ’somewhat knowledgeable’ about this emerging strategy. Their overconfidence in unproven ability can doom social media initiatives to failure.”  

Ouch!

This research doesn’t surprise me, though.  Even when companies engage an agency, they find it hard to commit because they don’t know enough to evaluate the proposal.   ”Lack of knowledgeable staff,” says the study, is “the most significant barrier to social media adoption.”  We know.  We spend a lot of time educating clients and prospects on why and how to integrate social media into their business practices. 

If it were only so simple as creating a Facebook page or having a Twitter account or commenting on the occasional blog or bookmarking something of relevance or interest…  Many of us do these activities regularly on a personal basis, not connected with any marketing strategy for a company.  However, to do it for a company requires more planning and execution, and also a deeper knowledge of how it all fits together to make the strategy successful as a marketing tool.

Of course, social media goes well beyond just a marketing tool, if fully embraced.  It can play a major role in customer service, new product development, corporate responsibility, and many other areas besides marketing.  But to use social media in this way requires a shift in corporate culture, which many are unwilling or unable to take on, in part because they don’t understand enough about it to do so.   

But now that’s changing.   A new study done in March by WhitePaperSource, published by Michael Stelzner, surveys 900 respondents and finds that 88% say they are using social media, but 72% only  just in the last few months.  This was surprising to me – surprising that so many were jumping in so recently.  Wonder if the downturn in the economy and tight budgets are causing people to look more seriously at social media as a cost effective alternative?  Or, given the tight job market, are more people starting up their own businesses and trying to get traction?  The study did find that smaller businesses are more active in social media.

The white paper goes on to say that most (81%) indicated that the main benefit they saw was increased exposure for their business.  Well and good.  That is a good place to start.  But what kind of time commitment will it take to do this, we often get asked.  This survey also looks at this question and finds that those who are experienced spend upwards of 20 hours/week on it, while those just starting out spend only 2 hours/week on average.  

Now link that thought to the Marketing Sherpa finding that people don’t think experience is necessary. Dabbling in social media with limited understanding of what can and should be done and without spending the time to do it well is not a recipe for success. Experienced social media marketers know that if you are not spending time and you don’t have experienced staff or a social media agency to work with, you won’t be successful.  Using it for personal purposes is very different from the disciplined approach it takes to plan and execute an effective social media strategy against business objectives.

Invest for success.  Don’t dabble!

 

Will the Twitter Phenomenon die when everybody goes back to work?

Yesterday, our CEO, Scott, showed me this cartoon from the web series “SuperNews!” that pokes fun at the sudden onslaught of Twitter popularity and how ridiculous a trend it is. It got me thinking about the whole debate surrounding Twitter and whether it is actually a productive use of time or a hindrance to productivity. A while back I posted “My Case for Twitter,” in which I explained the benefits of Twitter for corporate marketing purposes. I still very much believe that argument holds true and that there is value in the tool for marketers. Still, from a personal standpoint, I struggle with how I really want to use Twitter. To talk to friends? Not the most effective. To promote my company? Well, BoldMouth has its own Twitter account . To share things I find interesting? I already have a bigger network on Facebook where I can share the same things. To build my personal brand? Maybe… but again, that’s a reason to use Twitter; it doesn’t help me figure out what’s worth Tweeting. And let’s face it: Twitter takes a lot of time out of the day, especially to do it well.

So, I have to wonder… is all this hype and flutter of activity on Twitter simply because people aren’t very busy in this downturned economy?

Think about it. More people are out of work. Employees aren’t as busy. There’s a lot more leisure time on the whole. Why not Tweet? After all, you can network on Twitter and look for new job opportunities! But once people land those jobs, start going back to work, and the economy picks up, will everyone still have all that time to Tweet? My guess would be probably not.

I did a little research to see if anybody else had made this connection and I found, to my surprise, the inverse argument—that the Twitter boom actually caused the downturn in the economy! See below, a graph of the relationship between the Dow average and twitter.com visitors in 2008, from Prof. Martin Schmeldon of Harvard Business School:

I’m curious if Schmeldon ever switched the variables in his regression analysis to see if perhaps the drop in the Dow had a stronger causal effect on Twitter usage as opposed to vice versa? Or, if by substituting unemployment levels for the Dow Average, one could support my argument. I guess I could reach back into the depths of my brain and try to dig up what I remember from my college Stats class and actually prove my theory… but for now, I’ll just leave it at hypothesis.

Nevertheless, the success of the Twitter model lies in constant use and updates on the network. If people set up Twitter profiles and don’t Tweet, then what’s the purpose of following them? There is none. This is very unlike other social networking sites, like Facebook or MySpace or LinkedIn, where you friend people once, and whether they are active updaters or not, you’re still likely to remain their friend. So while activity on all social networking sites might decrease as employment rates increase, I think there’s a much bigger risk for Twitter to flounder.

What do you think? Is Twitter a fleeting fad or is it here to stay like the other social media moguls?

TAGS: Twitter, economy, social media, unemployment, leisure time, Dow Jones Industrial Average, Dow, Huffington Post, productivity, Martin Schmeldon, Harvard Business School, SuperNews, Scott Hildebrand, Katie Hollar, BoldMouth

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

Don’t Just Jump on the Social Media Bandwagon- Create your own path

On Monday, a study released by the Aberdeen Group showed that more and more marketers are directing money towards social media advertising for 2009.  Phew!  It’s refreshing to know that companies actually are still spending money on marketing, period.  (Kidding).  But in tough economic times, it’s no wonder that marketers are still a little hesitant to jump into these unchartered waters with little by way of solid measurement, which the eMarketer article notes “in particular, is a sticking point.”  Nevertheless, companies are waking up to the inherent value in social media—measurable or not.  For one, it’s where their customers are congregating; for two, it’s cheap; and three, social media is hip (all the cool kids are doing it!).

But this raises the question of, is this money well spent?  I’m not asking, “Can companies measure their success?” but rather, “Are they doing it right?”  Yes folks… while social media might be cheap and easy to get into, there is a right way to do it.  And there’s certainly a wrong way to do it.  Just generating conversation or “buzz” doesn’t necessarily equate to increased sales.  Launching a YouTube video doesn’t mean you’ve gone viral.

I absolutely loved this post on Adrants, “Gen Y: Marketers Still Getting It Wrong.”  She really highlights the fact that many self-proclaimed “social media experts” have essentially been throwing spaghetti against a wall hoping something sticks.  What happened to all that strategic planning we used to have to do to advertise?  Surveys and focus groups and behavioral research…remember all that?  It seems many marketers have forgotten this step altogether when it comes to social media and focused solely on creativity.  Creativity is absolutely important, but it really doesn’t matter if you’re the funniest, coolest, most-shocking, most-intelligent brand on the web if that’s not helping you meet your marketing goals. Or worse… if you don’t even have marketing goals!

Social media, like any other marketing channel, needs to be approached with a firm understanding of your target and your objectives (sorry if I’m starting to sound like a broken record).  And… bonus!… it will make the measurement problem seem a lot more cut and dry.  If you launch a social media campaign in which you effectively reach your target and subsequently accomplish that marketing goal, then pat yourself on the back for money well spent!  It’s certainly a lot more rewarding to see a spike in your sales or membership than it is knowing the number of followers you have on Twitter or the number of people who read your blog.

So do you want to know how to strategically approach your marketing objectives via social media?  Well then give BoldMouth a call!  (434) 220-4638.

Have examples of companies who are already doing a good job of using social media strategically?  Leave a comment to let us know!  We always love a good success story.

TAGS: social media, strategy, BoldMouth, marketing, budget, campaign, objectives, eMarketer, AdRants, Katie Hollar

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

The New Door-to-Door Marketing: Would You Like to be My Facebook Fan?

As I discussed in my previous post, “The Facebook Generational Divide,” different age demographics use social media (namely, Facebook) in extremely different ways, which inarguably has implications on how they consume advertising messages. So, what do these varying behaviors mean for companies looking to interact with their consumers via Facebook?

Firstly, if you didn’t already know, the game is about to change. Facebook has already begun to roll out their new Fan Pages, which will allow companies to appear more like personal profiles. Also, Facebook is redesigning their homepage so that companies’ updates will appear in your News Feed. This means, from a consumer standpoint, we’re going to be hearing a lot more about our favorite brands because their communications will be mixed in with the updates we receive from our friends. From a corporate standpoint, this change means higher consumer engagement (at least among your Facebook fans) because more people are likely to click-through to your Fan Page. A seeming win-win.

But…and here’s the catch, how do you get people to fan their favorite brands on Facebook in the first place?

Again, I think it varies by demographic. One model we often refer to at BoldMouth is Charlene Li’s Social Technographics Ladder. If you click on the data tool, you will see that different demographics’ behaviors vary significantly. For a marketer looking to get into social media, it is crucial to understand how your target behaves online. Often times we get the question, what social networks does my company need to be on? And the answer is, well that depends on, one, your target audience, and two, your marketing objectives. For example, if you find that your target is a large percentage of “Joiners,” or those who actively engage on social networks, then Facebook is probably a good place for you to be. But if your marketing goal is to generate awareness for a new product, just setting up a Fan Page isn’t going to cut it. You might consider creating an application or free gift to draw attention to the product by generating pass-along within the network. In other words, the brand would be pushed out virally through Facebook instead of waiting for Facebook users to discover the brand on their own.

Back to my original question though; If you find that a Facebook Fan Page fits in with your target audience and your goals, then what motivates members to become your Fan?

For my age demographic (18-24), the “What does this say about me?” question seems to be a big factor. I just did a quick cruise through my college/recently graduated friends and it seems the average range of Fan Pages is about 0-10 per profile… mostly musicians, TV shows, politicians, and real-life groups (sororities, their job, etc.). Typically they don’t fan their favorite “brands” but rather, the pages are a reflection of who they are and their interests. By pasting a brand to your page, it’s almost like you are pro-actively pushing a product to your friends which might have a big stigma attached to it. So, at least for my peers, it’s far safer to say “I support President Obama” than it is to say, “I like to shop at the Gap;” or “I listen to Jason Mraz” is easier than “I like to eat at Taco Bell.” The judgments placed on material consumption are much higher than other categories, like music, sports, and television.

Then take for comparison the under 18 crowd. I only have a few friends still in high school, but what a huge difference in the number of Fan Pages! One friend had 12 fan pages, another had 72, and another had 110! And by comparison, they were filled with well-known brands (Disney World, iPods, Subway, Cold Stone, AT&T, Snapple, Verizon, Juicy Fruit, Five Guys, Starbucks, Herbal Essences, to name a few). The question here is, what doesn’t motivate them to become a fan? It’s not exactly a sign of tremendous brand loyalty, but even so, if your target is primarily in the under-18 demographic, or if you’ve got a posh brand that resonates with younger generations, definitely set up a page. My only concern for these brands is that once the fans start getting updates from all of these pages in their News Feeds, they might start to drop out to avoid all of the clutter. It will be interesting to observe if this behavior changes in the coming weeks.

Finally, with the older generations (40+), the number of Fan Pages was more hit or miss. Many had no Fan Pages on their profile at all, while those who did had an average of 45-60. The biggest differentiator in this segment seemed to be whether they were using Facebook for business or to reconnect with personal acquaintances. Those who used it primarily for business had a significantly higher number of product-endorsements (while they were for very different products and services than the under 18 crowd… Keurig, Volvo, Blue Moon, Wall Street Journal, etc.) When marketing to this segment, Facebook Fan Pages work best when someone actively invites their network to join the page (for instance, by sending a personal message to support a cause). Many won’t hesitate to support a product or service that a friend takes the time to recommend, especially if it is also something they personally enjoy.

I’m very curious to see what the changes to Facebook will mean for corporate Fan Pages and the company’s interaction with fans. What do you think will happen? Is it going to mean more people will become fans or more people will de-fan?

And if you’re interested in staying in touch with us, become a BoldMouth Facebook fan at http://www.facebook.com/pages/BoldMouth-Inc/51871521540?ref=ts!

TAGS: Facebook, BoldMouth, social media marketing, fan, Fan Page, redesign, age, demographics, Charlene Li, Social Technographics, Katie Hollar

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

The Facebook Generational Divide

Today’s post on the Inside Facebook blog got me thinking about how Facebook users’ behaviors vary based on what age demographic they fall into. It’s no surprise that the numbers reflect that typical Facebook users don’t interact with a large percentage of their friends directly (only about 5-10%). And it’s not surprising because the static “yearbook” nature of Facebook when it was initially released made its real benefit the ability to peek into the lives of your friends (or broadcast our own spectacles out to the world), without anyone ever having to directly interact. This dynamic was something we often discussed in my Promotions class at UVA—a coexistence of exhibitionism and voyeurism that made Facebook a phenomenon. Now that Facebook has integrated tools for real-time communication such as Chat and Newsfeeds, it is still unlikely for users to break out of their initial habits of indirect communication. At least, some segments of users…

Having been part of the Facebook “Test Generation,” I remember people buzzing around my dorm my 1st year in college discussing how cool Facebook was, and how you could suddenly keep track of what all your high school friends were up to in their transition to college life. This was back in the days when you still had to belong to a college network in order to join Facebook, and only a handful of schools were even allowed access. We occasionally posted on others’ walls, a “Happy Birthday!” or “Hope we can catch up at Thanksgiving!,” but beyond that, there was little by way of direct communication. Still, I find that my peers will comment on others’ pictures, status, Wall, etc… usually to post an inside joke or passing thought, but seldom do we carry out full-on conversations in this manner. If you’re “really friends,” you’ll just pick up the phone and call them (or maybe send a text… which is obviously SO MUCH more direct than Facebook ).

This phase in Facebook history quickly ended though when the company finally allowed high schools to have their own networks. Then came the onslaught of my younger sister’s generation. They used the tool in a completely different manner. Within hours, high schoolers had added every application to their profiles that they could fit. They would comment on photos and Walls in real time with one another, often leaving messages like “brb… I have to go eat dinner,” or “ugh, my mom wants me to do my homework now.” It baffled me that they would broadcast private conversations with one another for everyone to see. How unnatural is it to have everybody you know listening in on what you’re talking about with your best friend? It would be my guess that because of this later introduction to Facebook, how these users continue to use Facebook today is with a much higher level of direct communication and with a larger percentage of their total friends.

But then take for comparison my parents’ generation. One by one in the past year or two they’ve all joined Facebook, interested to see what it’s all about (or usually just to spy on their kids). They hesitate to jump right in though because they’ve been raised to keep certain things private. What you share with your business colleagues is completely different than what you would share with your old college roommate, so how does one craft a Facebook page that can appeal to both? It’s a problem I’ve discussed with many of my Baby Boomer acquaintances. At first, many would limit personal information to a minimum, and hope that their children would unknowingly accept their friend request so the real reason they joined Facebook was satisfied (this was usually met with a prompt friend decline from the child). But now, the behavior has changed significantly… maybe because they’ve been watching how their high-school kids use Facebook. I began getting more and more application invitations from friends of my parents and noticed that they’d update their status several times a day. They rejoiced whenever they found an old friend and would always leave comments on each other’s wall such as, “Can you believe after all these years we reconnect on Facebook of all places!” While they reveled in the opportunity to make up for lost time, many still hesitated to share the kind of content that gets people talking. Why would I post up pictures of my family for the world to see? That’s just creepy. So my educated guess would be that these users are not as averse to direct communication, but many of their friends either still aren’t on Facebook to communicate with, or they don’t really have anything worth talking about on their page besides an occasional status update. While they interact directly with several of their friends, the scope of their network is much smaller than younger generations.

Of course, these observations come from within my personal sphere of experience and exclude a large portion of the overall Facebook population.

What would you say your experiences are with Facebook use as it relates to age? I’m interested to hear how others’ observations confirm or deny my postulations.

And another topic, which I’ll probably attack in another post for sake of length, is what implications do these varying behaviors have for social media marketers?

TAGS: Facebook, age, generational divide, Inside Facebook, BoldMouth, social network, social media, Katie Hollar, UVA, high school, college, Baby Boomers

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

Friending Up Your Customers: Borrowing the language of social networking to be a better marketer

Jason Falls has a blog post that went up yesterday in which he starts out with the statement: “The American, and even world, consumer got tired of being talked at and has demanded to be spoken with.”

His blog is long but worth glancing through. At the end he poses the question: “How can your marketing efforts become more human today?” He has some suggestions that center around thinking of customers not as targets, but as friends, being (therefore) responsive and including them in your efforts.

Good construct. We, as marketers, too often think of our target as dots in a segmentation bucket. If there are enough dots, we target that bucket. They (the dots) exist to buy our products and boost our sales and profits, if we can just persuade them to open their wallets for us. All our focus is on how to dupe them into doing that.

Well – duping isn’t really where it’s at any more. (Arguably never was, but that’s for another blog.)

The real question is, how would it change how we think and communicate if we were to borrow the language of the social nets and talk about “friending up” our consumers? In Facebook when you find someone you want to connect to, you invite them to friend up. They then have the option to accept or refuse your invitation. So, think about that as a marketer.  (Not talking about making corporate pages on Facebook here, just about applying the concept of Facebook interactions to how you think about marketing.)

What would make it attractive for someone to be your friend (i.e. your customer, and – importantly – an advocate for you)? Here are a few thoughts from us at BoldMouth:

• Have a conversation – yes, a conversation, not a monologue. Don’t be the stereotypical pain who won’t shut up.
• Listen to what they have to say – the old aphorism is true, if you want someone to think you are interesting, show an interest in them. And you might just learn something useful along the way.
• Explore your common interests – why would they care to be friends with someone with whom they have nothing in common
• Be there for them – who wants a friend who lets them down when they need them.
• Share your plans and experiences – like the Facebook status update, tell your friends what you are up to. Invite them along. Involve them.
• Ask them for their stories – spend time in their shoes looking at your product or service from their side.
• Take their advice – after all, the objective is to suit your offering to their needs so they buy it and recommend it to others.

Not rocket science. But sometimes a new way to consider something can make all the difference in how successful you are.

Wanna be friends? Make it a two way street.

Tags: social media, viral marketing, marketing strategy, brand, social networks, web, word of mouth, buzz marketing, BoldMouth, Polly Black, Jason Falls

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

My Case for Twitter (Tweet me!)

Twitter. Tweets. Tweeps. Hashtags. RT’s, D’s, and @’s.  Can somebody please decode this for me?

Well, actually, with almost 6 million visits to Twitter.com in January, 2009, this lexicon is becoming quite commonplace.  The popular micro-blogging site that allows users to update their status in 140 characters or less has evolved significantly over the last several months.  While once thought to be a site where users would be inundated with constant away messages like, “Going to see a movie” or “Out to lunch with an old friend,” today, Twitter has become an invaluable resource for passing useful information across the web.  As our CMO, Polly Black, once said jokingly, “How incredibly arrogant we all are to think anyone would really care!  But, surprisingly, people do care.”  Don’t get me wrong… you can absolutely still use the tool just to keep tabs on all your friends, but you’d be missing the biggest opportunity that Twitter provides…an audience that has self-selected itself to hear what YOU have to say.  So you better have something to say that’s worth hearing.

There are countless advice columns out there about how to effectively Tweet.  Follow everyone who follows you, always respond to your @’s, provide useful links, be a resource for your followers, search keywords regularly… the list goes on.  The point is, if you’re not already Tweeting, you need to start.  The benefit of Twitter only reveals itself once you’ve experienced it yourself.  And don’t be too overwhelmed.  Just baby-step your way into it – something is always better than nothing in social media.

From a business standpoint, BoldMouth constantly gets the question, what is the return on investment in social media tools like Twitter?  Sure, I can send 200 tweets a day and be an authority on a topic, but what does that mean for my bottom line?  And the truth is, I can’t tell you.  But that’s definitely not because there’s not value associated.  The question I would pose in return to these skeptics is, “What is the value of someone recommending your product or service to somebody else?”  If you can attach a number to that question, then you’ve got your answer.  Look at how many recommendations you’re preventing by not providing your consumers with the tools to do so! There might be several hundred (or thousand) people Tweeting about your company every day, but wouldn’t you like to know?  And wouldn’t you like to be able to communicate directly with those individuals to amplify the conversations?

Another metric Twitter provides that you can take right to the bank is traffic to your corporate website.  With such frequent updates in content, Google indexes Twitter high on its search engine results pages.  Take BoldMouth for example.  Admittedly, we were late to the game in the Twittersphere, (or Twitterverse- take your pick), focusing on our clients’ social media first and foremost.  But after Tweeting for only 5 days (@boldmouth), our Twitter profile shows up second when you Google “BoldMouth,”  and it has become one of the leading sources of traffic to boldmouth.com.  More eyes on your site inevitably means more business, especially if you have any sort of e-commerce feature.  After all, that’s why you built your website in the first place, right? More business.

So there ya go.  My case for Twitter.  The proof is in the pudding.  There is, in fact, value in social media (not that we ever doubted there was).

TAGS: BoldMouth, Twitter, Tweet, Google, social media, Polly Black, Katie Hollar, micro-blogging, ROI, value

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

For-Profit Schools Feel the Burn

I’ve been spending time looking at a new category lately: for-profit colleges.  There are two kinds; career colleges (technical trade schools) and on-line colleges.  These schools are growing rapidly – a recession provides time and incentive for people to prepare themselves for a new position as the recovery begins.  However, these organizations have some challenging dynamics.

They incur sizable marketing expenses to recruit students. Acquisition marketing costs of a new student are estimated at about $3000 each.  Then there is the flip side; attrition.  Approximately 50% of students leave after one year, before finishing their program.  So if a school recruits 500 new students at a cost of $1.5mm, half of that investment walks out the door before the school has extracted the full value of those students.  That rapidly burns a lot of valuable marketing dollars.  Of course, by shorting their education the students have not realized the return on their investment either.

Lastly, because of the diverse nature of their student bodies, these schools don’t build much of a sense of community. The students are often commuting, frequently work full-time or take their classes on-line to manage within their schedules.  The sense of belonging that a traditional college experience provides is lacking.  There is no psychological stickiness to the relationship with the school.

This is where social media comes in.  Social media can provide a glue to hold together a diverse student body.  Promoting interaction among students who don’t congregate physically can generate a connection to others, reinforcing the choice to pursue an education and peer encouragement to stick it out when times get tough.  This is not rocket science, but a simple process that can go a long way toward increasing retention – which provides a huge boost to the school’s bottom line.  Not to mention the fact that more of our citizens end up with advanced educations – a major factor in propelling individuals forward in the economy.  Here’s an example of someone doing it well:  the University of Phoenix

http://www.phoenix.edu/community/online_communities.aspx

Tags: For-profit colleges, online education, college communities, student retention, social media

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

BoldMouth CMO, Polly Black, to the rescue @ Charlottesville’s Quadruplicity

Nowadays, everywhere you turn people are talking about social media.  Did you see that new YouTube video?  Can I friend you on LinkedIn?  Do you have a Facebook page?  How many people are following your Tweets?

With so much talk about these tools, it’s hard to figure out your own place in the social media world and navigate yourself through all the technology.  But fear not!  Polly Black, BoldMouth’s CMO and a Charlottesville businesswoman, will be speaking on February 12th at Quadruplicity- a biannual event run by the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce Business Women’s Roundtable.

Quadruplicity’s main focuses are on balancing career, life, money and health. On Thursday, Polly will discuss how to build your personal brand by using social media.  And in these tough economic times, couldn’t we all use a few tips?  For instance, how do you find work, leverage contacts, and build a business in a Web 2.0 world?  Which tools are right for what goals?

The conference will be held from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm on the 12th at the Doubletree hotel in Charlottesville (990 Hilton Heights Road). I encourage you to check out the website at http://www.quadruplicity.com to register and learn more!  Also, RSVP and post questions on the Facebook event page, http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=58621633081.

TAGS: social media, BoldMouth, CMO, Polly Black, Quadruplicity, Charlottesville, Charlottesville Regional Champer of Commerce, Business Women’s Roundtable, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Doubletree, personal brand

To blog or not to blog, that is the question

Christ Brogan, one of the best bloggers I read regularly, has compiled some great advice about just about every blogging question you might have.  This isn’t a new post of his, but it is a timeless one that I think is worth browsing through for anyone thinking about blogging.   It has lots of advice that I have to admit I should be following and I’m not.  Hmmmm.

But here’s the thing:  There’s plenty of advice out there to individuals about blogging and how to go about it.  And some of that advice has a few comments also about doing it for business reasons.  But here Chris has links to posts he has written that offer specific advice to businesses about whether and how to use a blog, how to develop a blogging policy and what to expect if you engage.

Let me give you – briefly – 10 quick things to consider if you are thinking about starting a business/corporate blog – and then go read some of what Chris says at the link above.  Here goes:

1.    Know how it fits with your strategy – why are you considering starting a blog?  Make sure you can answer this question because it drives all others about how, what, where, when etc.

2.    Know your target audience – what would they be interested in? 

3.    Be human – people want to relate to people, not to a corporate entity.  And relationship is what this is all about.

4.    Be authentic – authenticity is the fabric of the web.  Don’t think you can “game” the web.  It won’t work and it will backfire.

5.    Be thoughtful – people read blogs to stimulate their thinking or to find useful information.

6.    Keep the tone conversational – blog how you talk.  This isn’t a dissertation.  A conversational tone makes it easier to read.

7.    Don’t sell – be passionate and interesting and you will find it sells without trying.

8.    Broaden your horizons – don’t just talk about your company or products.  Include a broader range of topics that relate to the industry or business philosophy and practice.

9.    Post regularly – but post when you something to say, not just for the sake of getting a post up there.

10.Invite response – blogging is a dialog not a lecture.  People may not respond but leave them the option.

What say you?  To leave a comment, click here and see below.