Because of the nature of our work, I get to see lots of curriculum for training sessions as well as partake in many conversations about social media communications best practices. Unfortunately, blog first, then engaging in social networks remains one of the most prevalent trends one finds. This ironically is probably the worst thing a company can do (Image: Walk of Fame by Mot the Barber).
If you do not participate in a community, if you are not engaged, pushing one way content at people will more than likely fail. It also flies in the face of what many of the best bloggers teach. Great social media begins with research and listening, then participation. Only then do you determine how to create content (see open source social media content process on Now Is Gone).
Look, starting a corporate blog was a big deal three or four years ago, but now it’s anything but a big deal. In fact, what most people are interested companies that can participate in the community and provide meaningful interactions that impact their lives. Not publish canned BS on a “new” platform called a weblog.
If anything, what last week’s blog discussion showed is that many, many companies are failing at blogging. And there are some very tangible reasons why: The marketplace has become inundated with social media content, and most of it is lousy. Regardless of what Blog Council PR Rep Michael Rubin says, 86 percent fail because they cannot dedicate themselves to the effort and produce meaningful content regularly.
Like David Armano said, blogging requires a ton of hard work:
If you’re scratching your head wondering why your social media initiatives aren’t the bright and shiny object you were sold—it’s time to realize that there is a truth here that goes beyond social media all together. The fact is that it’s hard work to produce something of value. It’s really tough to do something that gets people talking (in a good way), and no amount of strategy can produce trust. Trust comes with time, interactions and has to be proven.
Unlike most agencies and consultants, I don’t think it’s a good idea for people to start with a blog. This was something that Rohit Bhargarva also said when we interviewed him for the Network Solutions Solutions Stars video conference. And an 86 percent failure rate means a company really needs to understand the time and valuable thought leadership commitments blogging takes before engaging. I’ve seen several clients really struggle with these commitments over the past couple of years.
So in my mind, blog last! It’s a recession and many companies needs successful pilot programs to show social media will work. To do that first figure out where you can play, participate, maybe guest blog or provide some other valuable contribution, and learn your community. After a few months a company will know whether blogging can really offer a meaningful way to regularly participate.
Strong Criticism for the Blog Council
When the Blog Council launched, I voiced my reticence. One year later, I see very little value in this organization’s efforts.
My feeling on the Blog Council is that it’s an overpriced, exclusive networking group for big companies. These guys pay tens of thousands of dollars to talk in private about, umm, blogging and social media best practices. Right.
Every time I talk to a member, they say the find value in it. I ask them what’s the value. They say access to other corporate social media types in big companies. OK, so other than providing high dollar networking, what does the Council actually do? Publish basic guidelines and flack on behalf of big blogs?
Last week, when the Forrester report came out Blog Council Staffer Michael Rubin proceeded to comment on my One Dimensional Corporate Social Media Sucks post in a rather interesting fashion, and of course, we had a nice back and forth (starting here). His primary argument is that people won’t trust corporations no matter what they do.
I disagree. Like Armano I think their communications stink, and there is no reason to trust them until they do a much better job of engaging stakeholders on a consistent basis. Since then, I’ve been told by several folks that the Rubin-cited Rubbermaid case study is in actuality a good one (see Josh Bernoff write up).
Sorry, as someone who makes recommendations to people on how to spend their marketing budgets, I see 10, 20 or even 30K for participation in this group as a waste. I’ve told several folks who were considering the Blog Council this, too. Anyone can network with these accessible social media types (I do and so can you). I want to see much more public value from the Blog Council before it merits anything but a thumbs down from me.
Interesting idea — the corporate blog as the final piece in a strategy.
Only AFTER you’ve engaged and built credibility elsewhere – and using a blog as a vehicle to aggregate and expound on the conversations happening elsewhere.
Nice work, Geoff.
One of the Buzz Bin’s Best…
Geoff, you’re dead-on here. Blogging has never been a strategy – it’s a tactic – but you’d never know by so many organizations’/companies’ primal scream of “get me a blog!” The truth is this: “really, who cares about your blog?”
Blogging should only be recommended if the larger goal is that it’s a component of a true participation plan – not “traffic.” A monologue is not participation, and it’s not an online conversation, nor is it “presence.”
These people aren’t Kevin Costner and this isn’t the Field of Dreams. “Build it and they will come” just doesn’t happen in this world, at least not anymore.
Excellent!
A truth we’ve been telling our clients since inception. Listening first, then engaging elsewhere is so vital before blogging.
I think this is a really great insight. I think a problem with a lot of business and individuals take a “field of dreams” approach to social media / blogging.
I can imagine a business owner / CEO saying telling someone to “Start a blog”, and assume that their public image and sales will go up. Incorporating the blog as the last piece is a really smart idea. Can’t wait to read more from you.
Your post reminds me of the chain of communication, from most to least personal. Blogs would probably range somewhere in the middle as they aren’t exactly real-time, long-form (take time to craft), and the discussion happens over a longer period of time in comments (and thats IF comments are approved & the poster interacts in them).
First and foremost initiatives should start face-to-face, in real-time with warm bodies. After that is in place, the conversation should continue online as an outreach of the real programs you have instituted offline. With social media changing the game in how we interact with each other, people are beginning to crave that instant feedback from their favorite companies. “I have a problem! I want it fixed now!” is becoming more and more of a mantra everyday. At this point it can be detrimental to your company in the consumers’ eyes if they can’t reach you right away.
The main thing to remember is this: are you asking your consumers what works for them? are they telling you what they want or will want in not so many words? are you listening?
Great post Geoff. It really got me thinking about how companies are communicating.
Liked this piece. Also hearing “we’ll start a blog” from folks who haven’t given deep thought to how it fits into overall strategy. Seems that presence requires a more organic growth.. Can’t just grab a hammer & look for nails.
Meryl, I like that word, “organic.”
http://nowisgone.com/2007/11/27/social-media-is-organic/
Blogging is hard work. I can attest to that as my first effort was a total bust. I took it down, spent three months reading other’s blogs and began commenting when I found posts of interest. My next effort has been up three years because of the ground work I put in to learn what my readers want.
Today, I struggle, like most, to be fresh and compelling. Recently, I implemented guest posting, which has given my readers insights beyond my thinking, and it has worked based on growth in readership.
As always, Geoff, you are on top of this stuff and are welcome to guest post anytime you want.
I disagreed with the ‘just go out and blog’ philosophy I was hearing at conferences three or four years ago. You’re absolutely right – you have to listen and develop a strategy first. Perhaps blogging is not a part of that strategy at all. Technology and tools comes way after listen, find out what resonates and what you can add that is valuable.
Yup–I couldn’t agree more, great post. The key issue here is that building a thriving community that you can leverage for good is HARD WORK. I think “Blogs,” once someone inside the big co “gets it” is pretty easy to grok, so they go for it. What someone isn’t telling them is that constant gardening is an absolute requirement, and that as you aptly point out: mapping out and understanding your ENTIRE media strategy is a fundamental must. Thanks for the great post!
This is why companies say ‘we need to start blogging’, when they have absolutely no idea if they should be or not. Companies should ABSOLUTELY familiarize themselves not only with the space they wish to enter, but with the existing online conversation happening around them.
Great post, going to tweet this now, companies need to know what they are jumping into before they take the plunge.
Very well articulated post, Geoff, and I’m in complete agreement with your stance. If a company starts with a blog, colored purely by their own rhetoric, they will merely be using a social medium like an old medium, talking one way AT customers, without a clear understanding of their community, and how best — and relevantly — to communicate WITH them.
But even before they start engaging them via social networks and the like, they need to LISTEN, monitoring the conversations and assessing their community’s wants, needs, and opinions. Only then can they begin to engage, asking pertinent questions, and tailoring their communications for maximum value, making a welcome contribution instead of a forced advertisement.
And in the end, a blog may not be the best communication vehicle. The beauty of social media is that it allows you to interact in non-traditional ways, and one of the benefits of an unwritten rule book, is that you can create a participatory network that is unique to your business — and accessible, relevant, and valuable for your customers.
Good stuff Geoff.
I agree that companies shouldn’t just jump headfirst into blogging. That would be like someone getting in a car and starting to drive around before ever even riding in one.
However, as far as a platform for presenting ideas goes, I think blogging is one of the best mediums out there. Yes I understand that it’s more “push” than “pull”, but so is this post, and look at all the conversation going on here. Blogging is tough, but so is developing relationships, showcasing personality, and providing value without one.
I think the watch and learn method is absolutely crucial, but at the same time, if you never take off the training wheels, you’ll never learn to ride right.
Boy am I glad you wrote this.
I think many companies leap to blogging because it’s the most prevalent, widely accepted and familiar “tool”. And they’re going to do what’s seemingly easy. There’s lots of misconception about how blogs can be used – and the Forrester study is proof that businesses are doing this before they understand the commitment it takes, and the new lens through which it requires them to look.
Blogging is hard work and requires not just the writing commitment, but the commitment to be part of the (gasp) blogging community as well. Reading is as important as writing, and it’s a step that’s too often missed. Truthfully, in the landscape of a solid social media approach, participating is far down the list after listening, immersion, planning, understanding, and education…
Thanks, as always, for bringing a voice of reason to the discussion.
Good thoughts but I don’t think the blog has to be the last part of the strategy. How about lining things up concurrently, as part of an overall communication strategy. The blog has its place and when used right, can augment other channels and online conversations. I’m not saying don’t listen first..it has more to do with having the right pieces in place to engage in real-time. To do that, you can’t always say “we’re gonna do this part last” What metric are using that prompts you to tell companies to start blogging?
Matt and George: Nice, but like many thinkers today, you can blog first or blog as part of an integrated plan, and waste a lot of time and resources as well as incur a substantial failure. Social media requires two way conversation to be successful. Until companies figure out how to converse with their marketplace — As In Talking With People — blogs will fail as a tactic.
Thus my suggestions are to get companies into that mindset. I stand by my advice. This is basic Cluetrain 101. Sorry, fellas. People want conversations not messages.
Matt: This blog post is a result of listening to and talking with the market online and off for months. It would not have had the response it did unless I had done that first. Personality has nothing to do with it.
Geoff,
I’m not going to argue that you should just go off blogging with no idea how or why, like you said, it’s has to be part of a plan.
And I know that this post is not a lightning strike, conversation and community don’t happen by magic. But my point is that as a platform for conversation, blogs are not a bad idea. Would this idea/post have had the same response if it was a Facebook message or a series of Tweets? Maybe, but having it as a blog post gives it a central location, and a place to focus the conversation.
thanks for the feedback..the issue I have is with singling out blogs as a “tactic”..a blog is just a tool to facilitate communication. Isolating a blog as a failed tactic screams of a bad strategy to begin with. All these failed blog discussions just show that a lot of companies just don’t do the leg work to understand how to interact online. Why do blogs have to take the fall? It’s the people behind the blogs and the bad strategies (or lack thereof) they create.
George: Semantics.
SO many times I’ve heard a company CEO say, “I think we should start a blog.” When I ask what they would say, they look me as if I’m a nimrod and say, “what companies always say in blogs – you know, stuff about what we do and who we are.” I press, “and why would someone want to read that?” They look at me like they are going to stop paying me soon and say, “Why does anyone read blogs?”
I think what I’ll do is just take this piece with me when I’m going to a meeting I suspect is going to end up like this. Great work
Geoff: Great post. Was linked here by my friend Frank Martin.
I think the points you raise here are spot-on. But maybe the way to put it to CEO’s or whoever is, “What do you get out of participating in [whatever tactic]?” They understand the idea of the P&L on a line item. But they don’t understand how (or why) to quantify many “marketing” activities. If the value of the blog is as an ad that generates sales/leads, then… well… we know where that goes. If the value of a blog is to find the one or two people who are willing to give you candid feedback about your market… then, gold!
When our clients want to get involved with new, shiny stuff, it’s hard to really say, “Hey, is this really the *best* use of your time/money?” We like shiny stuff too — and it makes us feel cool. Drilling down to what the company in question needs right now can sometimes help them understand why their original concept of the tool (MySpace/Facebook/blogging/chat/whatever) may need to be rethought in order to make success more likely.
Great post. Thanks!
Awesome post, Geoff.
Along with the sentiments of others who have commented, it’s definitely the way to go – to understand your community, where they are and what they’re doing. Communities come in different shapes n forms for all companies, as do their activities.
Better to learn, understand and NOT get into blogging than getting your name out there (for the wrong reasons) with an attempted but failed blog.
Geoff this is a good discussion here. Strangely enough it was at the Blog Council BlogWell event that I actually heard a company that really did it well with the folks at Graco. They ironically began their blog 9 months (birthing a blog) after they decided to get into the space. They first spent a lot of time listening. I think that they have a good model for companies looking to get into the space.
Good post, Geoff. What it makes me think of: journalism. Some of the best-superjournalists today (Friedman, Hitchens) make a ton of noise with their books, but they learned their chops as reporters for periodicals. Being a reporter means a *lot* of listening and a lot of short-form writing (let’s compare it to Twitter, if writing a book = writing a blog in this metaphor) that responds to events as they unfold. Only later on, after a modicum of credibility and expertise have been achieved, does the journalist turn to writing books.
Even though I own a company that specializes in business blogging, I agree completely with this article. Far too many companies jump in to blogging not understanding the impact it has with customers, the community and inside their company. Also, when other social media is ignored, there’s no real natural audience for the blog – so it’s shouting in an empty room. The bandwagon jumpers just don’t understand that with blogs and social media, that the conversation you create is personal. You can’t just rehash corporate marketing copy and try to salt some comments. That doesn’t play.
Interesting advice. Yes, many people often blog just because its all that they’ve ever heard that they should do, whether or not it is truly the best thing for the businesses and websites. It is a good strategy to branch out and develop and identity in other ways before blogging…
I have to disagree with you that it should be the last ‘bullet’ in your online marketing arsenal.
A blog is a communication tool and shouldn’t be quickly engaged in just for the sake of blogging. I understand your points about this, but you’re not recognizing the SEO benefits that a blog can have for providing much-needed, search engine optimized content for a site. Beyond being a tool for communicating to your target audience(s), a blog can be a terrific way to increase keyword density, cultivate valuable links to your blog/site.
I recognize your reasoning for saying ‘blog last’ but I since you’re a communications company and not involved in any SEO, I would humbly disagree. Blogging is a great way to start getting search engines to index content that is keyword-rich, focused, and hopefully informative to your prospective readers.
I would say that blogging should not be the last thing you do, it should be part of your overall strategy and be implemented in due time with your online marketing efforts. Specifically for SEO purposes, the sooner you begin, the more content you have for search engines and the better your chances are of having at least something that you can drive people to with the credibility that you’re trying to establish in social networks.
I would say that we’re most certainly not carpetbaggers, and I would definitely advise getting a blog started sooner than later- but for different motives than a PR or communications company might. That doesn’t make us any less effective at what we do- we just have different goals and different ways to get there. Either way- blogging has to be a responsibly used part of your strategy or it is bound to hurt you in the long run- which I think may be part of your point.
Can’t say I agree with “everything” in your post, but it was interesting (and certainly provocative.) IMHO blogging is hardly “pushing.” People still have to seek you out and actually find you — it’s not interuptive and a lot of the great blogs out there qualify as interactive, and effective carry on conversations with their readers.
I would submit that good marketing (no matter the media) can be effective, and bad marketing is still bad marketing (also, no matter the media.) There are terrific Television commercials and there are terrible Twitter users. There are pathetic Print ads and fantastic Facebook groups.
I think the bar a company must measure itself against is whether or not they are being perceived by the public in the way they prefer, and if their marketing actions are delivering the results they desire.
Great post Geoff.But I am still not convinced that blogging should come last, a couple of reasons(correct me if I am wrong) that I could think against this are
1) Having an existent and regularly updated blog can help build stronger connections with new people since your blog speaks a lot about you or your company. For ex: I connected with someone whose quite new on Twitter, then I read their blog, liked few posts,left comments and had a couple interesting conversations.All in 2 days, It might have taken longer had I just talked to them on twitter(which I can still do)
2) SEO: good seo needs time and more content amongst other things, so why wait for 3 months and loose on that advantage ?
Hmmm… I did nothing but blog for 2 years before doing any “social networking” (and Twitter is the extent of that).
Boy… I guess I really screwed up. :-)
Blogging is not a mere tactic. It *is* a strategy. The truth is, most bloggers don’t have a strategy. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t qualify if done correctly.
I’d have to say Brian that you had timing on your side. I’d like to see someone do what you did now in this environment. The market has changed, so while you may think it is a strategy, I’m sticking to my guns. It’s a tactic.
Very interesting discussion. I like your thinking about blogging being (usually) too much a one-way conversation. Reading all the comments made me think about when my husband used to sit the kids down for “family time” so he could share some interesting news articles with them….. Talk about one-sided communication! It would have been so much better if we had all taken turns sharing things we thought were interesting, and the parents had LISTENED to the kids express their thoughts, concerns, hopes, dreams, neat ideas, and so forth. So it’s the same principle. Great article… and it got us thinking, didn’t it?
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