Ignore The Blogs At Your Client's Peril...
That's my new favorite motto, something that I thought of during my presentation at the NewComm Forum.
It spoke volumes on the larger firms that did attend the Blog University, and it spoke just as loudly about the firms that did not attend.
My hat's off to Ketchum, Bite, Fleishman-Hillard, and Edelman for sending people from all around the country to attend the NewComm Forum.
After talking to these attendees, it was obvious that they already knew the blogosphere, already knew how to work within its confines. But, they wanted to learn more and be better informed on how to track and pitch for the benefit of their clients. Hence, my thoughts on ignoring the blogosphere to your clients' peril - the agencies that weren't there missed alot.
As for the Bite folks, they get the blogosphere. Five people from their office attended - including the GM NA. To me, that shows a commitment and understanding that public relations is changing.
Tomorrow, Bite launches Become.com - Become is a search engine for shopping, but not a shopping search engine. It's not a price comparison site, but it's a site that aggregates product info and reviews to help find the right product to buy. Or, that's what I got from Bambi's piece at Marketwatch.
From my talks with Bite - case study to come out in March - I was told how they used a grassroots effort to get the word out, including targetting influencers and blogs. It worked well enough, with results that weren't too shabby ... and did lead to live with Bambi.
Beyond Become and the blog campaign to launch the site, there's another reason to pay attention to the blogosphere, and well, the Internet as a whole. Actually, it's more than just the Internet - it's all about amorphous communications, and how consumers are getting information from IMs, TMs, blogs ... .
I was IM'ed this little gem yesterday. How does a company combat such a Website - the woman brings up issues about the mortgage company, and the first two results on a Google search on the name are anti-sites. Does the company even realize that such a Website exists, or know how to combat it? Are they tracking the Internet and the blogosphere to make sure they aren't being attacked ... or ignoring the blog at their own peril?
One of the presentations that was great - and that I wish I could see again - was Shel Holtz's presentation on Crisis Communications and Blogs. Here's a perfect example - the company should set up a blog, refute each point, and have an open dialogue with the public. Will they? Likely not ... Arizona companies have not fully embraced blogs yet.
A few sidenotes: Postings from this blog are now being republished by WebProNews, Happy Birthday to Dr. Dre, who turned 40 on February 18 - who knew that he did the 1988 song "Turn off the Lights", and let's all celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice - I do believe in miracles.
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About the Author:
Jeremy Pepper is the CEO and founder of POP! Public Relations, a public relations firm based in Arizona, USA.
He authors the popular Musings from POP! Public Relations blog which offers Jeremy's opinions and views - on public relations, publicity and other things.
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