Blogging is NOT a direct response medium. It's a relationship medium.

October 28, 2004

It's no secret that a successful blog can be one of your most important tools in your marketing mix. There are several examples of companies doing it right and many companies the blogosphere has called out as doing it incorrectly. I've provided a quick-start guide to help you incorporate blogs into your marketing strategy. Most companies that failed have ignored these simple steps or refused to understand the basic of the new medium

There are three key points to understand about the new medium.

1. Transparency - Tell consumers exactly what you are doing. Be honest.
2. Organic Growth - It is clear how important it is to reach the influencer's, trend setter, and early adopters in the market. When your message or product is adopted by this group, it will spread with a far greater loyalty than mass marketing can buy. This is a not a medium where a message can be forced. Organic growth is a proven way to gain acceptance among trend setters and thought leaders in the blogosphere.
3. Humanize your Brand - In today's consumer controlled marketing, it is extremely important to reach out and break down the corporate walls. You need to put a face on your company that consumers can relate to.

According to Morgan-Stanley user-generated content is the fastest-growing application on the Web today. The viral nature of blogs and the emerging acceptance by consumers of content syndication (RSS/ATOM) will drive deeper usage of your product. Blogs create an opportunity for increased user-engagement, network effects and viral growth. Blogging is just another part of the communications and marketing mix.

Blogging Best Practices
It takes time and attention to effectively reach out and build relationships. Blogging is not a direct response medium. It is a relationship medium. These points where summarized by Charlene Li from Forrester from an email I shared with her on how Pheedo grew its blog.

1. Focus on your core interest area to establish yourself as an expert.
2. Create at least 15-20 meaningful posts BEFORE you open your blog to the public. When people visit for the first time, you'll have more then one post to share with them. If your blog is rich with information, most likely people will continue to read it.
3. Figure out who the a-list bloggers are in your niche and participate on their blog using comments and trackbacks. Links to your blog, outside your blog and within in your blog are all important to search engines.
4. Continue to write on target content

Repeat after me:
1. This is a NOT a medium where a message can be forced.
2. It takes time and attention to effectively reach out and build relationships.
3. Blogging is NOT a direct response medium. It's a relationship medium.
4. Blogging ROI is NOT measured as a cost-per-lead but as a cost-per-influence.

Posted by Bill Flitter on October 28, 2004 9:13 PM
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