Blogs As Effective PR Tools · Oct 20, 04:06 AM
I first began writing my private blog because I wanted to test the waters. I have always had a lot to say, but wondered whether anyone completely unrelated to me would really be interested in what I had to say. I have to admit I was very skeptical. But I was wrong. It seems that a lot of people really DO enjoy what I write, and how I convey my life.
During my MBA studies I wanted to see whether “blogging” (Social Networking) was a valid marketing tool. In a nutshell, I do believe it is, IF it is done right.
The wrong way to do this is to write as a means of PR, or one way marketing. Everyone will see you as a “mouth” to the industry and dismiss anything you have to say. Also showing off your virtues, or spouting names of everyone you know is, to me, not a valid way of communicating through blogs.
Nobody cares about that. What they DO care about is you, and what they care about even more is that YOU CARE ABOUT THEIR OPINIONS.
This is the critical key point in my opinion.
And it takes a lot of time and effort to show people, who have come to be so disillusioned with and untrustworthy of society and people in general, that you are genuine, and that you really care what they think. After all, nobody else cares about anything but themselves it seems these days (the “me, fuck you!” mentality is rampant in western society and becoming much more in the minds of the Japanese as well, unfortunately). But that’s because of all the untrustworthy things corporations have been doing these past several years (and finally getting caught for).
Lack of confidence in society and even a greater lack in the corporate world by the consumer is to be expected in this day and age.
So how do we get around that? We need to convince our market segment that we really DO care about them.Flyerss, pamphlets, TV ads, radio infomercials, free papers, billboard, banners, etc. cannot do that. They are a one-way plug for the product or service in question. Nobody can respond to those marketing ads other than to pay money for the product through ordering it.
But how does that personalize anything? It doesn’t. It can’t.
This is where theblogg comes in. When a company involves individuals or specialists in their organization to reach out to the general public segment they are targeting, give them special info that cannot be conveyed through traditional marketing means, and listen to their thoughts and feelings, it makes the consumer feel important.
But you HAVE to spend the time to do this. And you MUST respond to the people’s comments, thoughts and questions. If you don’t, you will lose them because they will once again think you were just providing glossy lip service and trying to kiss ass by employing the “hottest marketing tools for the now generation”. It won’t work.
I have seen a lot of people write very interesting things on theirblogss. I read the comments. I comment (in detail). But in many cases the author never comes back! What happens? I figure they really don’t care what anyone things about what they wrote. And when I think that, I lose interest and go away. Why? Because I believe that if I am going to spend my time, invest my precious time (which is just as precious as “yours”) then YOU should also invest your time to get back to me. If you don’t, it proves to me that you really don’t care.
It is a LOT of work. I know this. Anyone who visits my personalblogss knows how much time and effort I put into being there for every single one of my guests. I really do care about them. I really really do. And to show that, I give deep thoughtful replies to almost every comment I get (it is difficult to reply meaningfully and in depth to the fluffy, “coolblogg dude” comments I must admit).
So,bloggingg, I believe is an excellent tool for improving your public relations, and your image.
I could go on in depth about this, but this morning when I was helping my friend Robin by giving he some suggestions about PR campaigns, I came across a very good article that explains the benefits of theblogg as a PR tool.
It is somewhat long, but not that long. And besides, if you are serious about using this kind of thing, you really DO need to invest the time it takes to LEARN. Just taking 30 seconds to whip through an article, skim it and expect to turn that into a success is a good formula for failure.
DUE DILIGENCE is the key to increased chances of success in any campaign. And that goes for life as well as business.
[Blogs as Excellent Public Relations Tools|http://www.seochat.com/c/a/Website-Promotion-Help/Blogs-as-Excellent-Public-Relations-Tools/|en]
You can access the article there.
Good luck blogging and remember to have a blast! After all, it is all about human interaction, not how much money you can make by exploiting some “technique”. I thumb my nose in that direction regularly.
I love you!
Cam
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Cam, you are so fucking brilliant, sometimes you just blow me away! Thanks for this amazing post! I really appreciate it and everything you write!
— Cam · Oct 20, 02:16 PM · #