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DevonInspiration Ltd. www.devoninspiration.com

Entering the Blogosphere

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I just dug up this white paper I wrote back in 2005 - back when people were using the term "blogosphere", when there were only 13.9 million blogs (explosive growth from only 100k two-and-a-half years earlier), "citizen journalism" was emerging, and only really early adopter companies had set up a blog. It's interesting to see how much is still relevant - I had a couple of misses, too!

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Page 1: Entering the Blogosphere

DevonInspiration Ltd.

www.devoninspiration.com

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The most explosive

outbreak in the

information world

since the

Internet itself.

– Business Week Online1

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Table of Contents

BACKGROUND

5 Blogs defined

7 Who’s blogging?

8 Why do people blog?

13 The blog boom

BLOGS AND BUSINESS

16 Research

18 Advertising and marketing

20 Brand building

23 Communications

26 Public Relations

27 Thought leadership

28 Search engine optimization

29 What to blog about?

RISKS AND MISTAKES

31 Risks

33 Mistakes to avoid

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY

36 What’s new in blogging?

38 How technical is it?

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS

40 Recommendations

44 Final thoughts

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Background

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Blogs defined

A blog, short for web log, has traditionally

been defined as an online diary or

chronological log of the author’s thoughts.

As blogs evolve, this definition is quickly

becoming outdated.

Increasingly, a “blog” refers to a site’s

architecture: a simple web site which is easy

to read, use and update. Blogs are

essentially content management systems

which show posts in reverse chronological

order and generally allow reader interaction

through “comments” links.

Blogs are emerging as an online medium for

everything from traditional diaries, to in-depth

product reviews, to news reporting and

analysis. Blogs are evolving down three

distinct paths:

• News blogs

• Personal blogs

• Corporate blogs

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Most major news organizations have established blogs about breaking news, blogs about specific topic areas or blogs by columnists from their print format.

Personal blogs make up the majority of

blogs. I group anything blogs where the

author is writing his/her personal opinions

and musings into this category.

Finally, corporate blogs are emerging. While some early-adopter corporations already have blogs, the next 12 months will be a defining period in the way that businesses use blogs.

Sample blog from a newspaper: http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/online/

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Who’s blogging?

• Demographics:

– 57% of blog readers are male2

– 52% of blog readers are over 30

years old2

– 42% of bloggers live in households

earning more than $50,000 (£26,106)

annually2

– 1.7% of blog readers are CEOs3

• Online behavior:

– 86% of blog readers purchase music

online3

– 70% of bloggers have broadband/

high-speed Internet access at home2

– 27% of Internet users (14 million

people) read blogs1

• 11% of Internet users are habitual

blog readers4

– 12% of Internet users have posted

comments or other material on blogs2

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Why do people blog?

Bloggers have a sense of community; they

connect with others who have a passion for

the blog’s topic. Blogs combine immediacy

with a personal approach in a way that is

unmatched by other outlets.

What are people

blogging about?

1. Personal subjects

2. Politics & Government

3. Arts & Entertainment

4. Lifestyle

5. Humor

6. Business

britblog.com, 21 Mar 2005

News blogs

Bloggers are becoming

“citizen journalists” in

increasing numbers.

Anyone can write a blog

about any topic; there

are no gatekeepers or

editors who control

content. Therefore there

has been a transference of informational

power from the few to the many.

In a recent speech to American editors,

media mogul Rupert Murdoch admitted that

he underestimated the influence of the

Internet (and bloggers), noting that people

want more control over the media, instead of

being controlled by it.5

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Evolution as a news source

During The Gulf War in the U.S., many

people for the first time turned to CNN for up-

to-the-minute reports; indeed the network’s

ratings during that period far exceeded their

previous records.

After 9/11, the use of the Internet as the

primary information source for breaking news

became mainstream.

Several events in the recent past have shown

that people are now increasingly turning to

blogs rather than or in addition to traditional

media for the latest information.

In December 2004, thousands of blog

reporters posted pictures, video footage and

first-hand reports immediately following the

Asian tsunami – before the first accredited

journalists arrived on the scene.1

After the London bombings on 7 July, blog

search engine Technorati reported a 30%

increase in blogging activity. Nine of their top

Evolution of blogs as a news source

TV Cable Internet Blogs

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ten searches were for

transport updates, eye-

witness accounts,

missing persons

information and news

updates.

As further testimony to

the movement, MSNBC

has opened a citizen

journalists web page,

complete with an

“assignment desk”.

Enabling technology

Other technological

advances have

facilitated the citizen

Technology enables

citizen journalism

→ Free, easy-to-use

blogging sites emerge

→ Camera phones

capture on-the-scene

images

→ Blogging sites

enable users to

update blogs via text

messages or e-mail

→ Compatible audio

and video technology

allows posting of clips

on blogs

→ RSS feeds on blogs

instantly update

subscribers

journalist movement. Many mobile phones

now come with built-in cameras, enabling

people at the scene to take pictures and

e-mail the post not only to news sources but

directly to their own blogs. Additionally, many

blog platforms allow users to send an e-mail

or a text or voice message which is

automatically posted to the blog.

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Political blogs

Blogs are already playing a role in politics.

Politicians, their spouses and campaign staff

are creating blogs in the run-up to elections

to build support and to help control their

message.

www.labour.org.uk/tonyblair

www.gop.com/blog

Bloggers with every political leaning bring a

new level of scrutiny to incumbent politicians

and challengers alike. Many political bloggers

have built up a community who trust their

opinion. Bloggers were even granted press

credentials to the party conventions during

the last U.S. presidential elections.

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Creative Outlet

Blogs can be used as a creative outlet. For

instance, Google’s blogging site Blogger.com

encouraged would-be authors to finish a

novel and post it during U.S. National Novel

Writing Month.

Celebrity Blogs

Celebrities as diverse as Pamela Anderson

and Barbara Streisand are also getting in on

the blogging action to promote their latest

projects, connect with fans or express their

political views. http://barbrastreisand.com/statements.html

http://pamelaanderson.blogs.friendster.com/

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The blog boom

• In 2004, Webster's made "blog" its word of the year.6

• As previously mentioned, about 27% of Internet users read blogs.1

• The number of blogs has increased from 100 thousand to 13.9 million in about two and a half years.7

• In a role reversal, traditional news media are now reporting on what the bloggers are saying; London’s The Guardian newspaper reported bloggers’ views on the UK’s general election this May.

May, 2005,

9.0

July, 2005,

13.9

Dec, 2004,

4.8

Dec, 2002,

0.10

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Blogs (in millions)

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Blogs and business

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How can businesses use blogs?

Businesses are just learning how to utilize

blogs. In the early days of the Internet, many

companies simply used their web site as an

online “brochure”. There was a recognition

that they should be involved in the medium,

but it took some time before a clear under-

standing of how to use the medium emerged.

Business blogging is in its infancy; however

blogging in general has reached a tipping

point. Customers are increasingly familiar

with blogs. Now is the time for early movers

to make their mark in the “blogosphere” not

only to gain new customers and increase

customer loyalty, but to shape the way that

businesses use blogs to interact with

customers.

On the following pages, some areas of

business blogging are explored:

• Research

• Advertising & Marketing

• Brand Building

• Communications

• Public Relations

• Thought leadership

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Research

Business should periodically monitor what is

being said about them in blogs. However,

navigating through the blogosphere to gain

insights can be a time-consuming process.

This task can be outsourced to blog-

monitoring services that use text-analysis

techniques and natural-language-analysis

What to research

Information on

competitors

Public opinion

about your brand

Find out what’s

missing from your

product offerings

Determine gaps in

consumer

understanding of

your products

Look for

misinformation

about your

company or its

products so that

you can rectify it

software to evaluate blog

and other online content.

Competitive research

Because blogs are

constantly being updated,

they are a great source for

competitive information.

Consumer-generated

media such as chat

groups, message boards

and blogs can be less

biased than focus groups.

Market research

Blogs encourage direct

and instant feedback from

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customers. Companies can ask customers

what they think about the latest product, ad

campaign, or what they would like to see in

the company’s offerings.

U.S. Cellular recently used blog research to

create a new calling plan targeted at teens.

Blogs revealed that teens were concerned

about exceeding their minutes, because their

parents would make them pay for the extra

charges. To address this concern, U.S.

Cellular offered free incoming calls to teens.8

Polaroid’s blog research alerted them to the

fact that customers are concerned with photo

longevity and archiving. They now have the

http://blogs.myrtlebeachonline.com/biker_blog

Example of a blog by a product advocate: Biker Blog

promotes Harley Davidson.

opportunity to

develop a

product which

meets these

needs.8

Blogs by and for

brand or product

advocates are

an excellent tool

for market

research.

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Advertising & marketing

Ad placement

Businesses can cost effectively reach highly-

targeted blog audiences by placing ads on

relevant sites.

Example ads from Google AdSense: www.fivewordreviews.blogspot.com

Advantages of

blog advertising

Reach highly-

targeted audiences

Only pay for

customers who

click through to

your site

Outsource the ad

placement function

to third-parties

such as Google

AdSense

Earn revenue from

ads on your own

blog site

Ads can be placed directly

or through a third party

such as Google's AdSense

which finds germane blogs

based on key words within

the blog’s content. For this

type of ad, advertisers

generally pay on a per

click-through basis.

Henry Copeland, founder

of media-buying firm

BlogAds, expects blog

authors to earn increasing

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revenue as advertisers bypass publishers

and pay bloggers directly for their

audiences.4

Product launches

Bloggers can generate a buzz for new

products. Microsoft hired 20 bloggers to

promote the next generation of its Windows

operating system.4

Example of Microsoft employee blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/embedded/

Sales

Blogs can include links to sell items online.

Because they are updated frequently, they

are more likely to drive traffic than a static

web site. In addition it is perceived as a soft-

sell approach.

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Brand building

Creating a human element:

Disney, MSN and Sun Microsystems are

among the many companies that let their

employees blog about their products.

According to Nick Barley, business and

marketing officer of Microsoft UK, blogging

allows Microsoft “to show a human face and

engage with people on a one-to-one basis.

There's immediate feedback and it

demonstrates that we listen”.9

Employees can be the best advertising

channel, according to Pete Blackshaw, CMO

at Intelliseek, because they they speak with

authority, passion and credibility.9

www.blogs.sun.com

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The new brand advocacy

Bloggers are beginning to obtain sponsorship

from products and brands. However, full

disclosure is the custom in the blogosphere,

as savvy blog readers will

quickly pick up on

marketing speak and this

may in turn have a

negative impact on

the brand.

The good news is that

customer evangelists are

already blogging about

brands for free. A

company representative

can respond to posts or

questions about their

brand directly on the

blogger’s site.

Establishing expertise

Blogs are the new White

Papers. A single expert or

a team can collaborate to

create an authoritative

report in blog form.

Building brands

with blogs

Put a human face

on your corporation

Let your employees

show their

expertise and

interact with best

customers

Hire bloggers to

promote your brand

Interact with

customer

evangelists on their

blogs

Establish your

company’s

expertise by

posting

collaborative

reports in blog form

Become an

information

resource

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Agencies and other service providers can

establish themselves as experts in their field

by posting their own articles and linking to

relevant industry-news items.

Agenda Inc. posts articles from other sources:

http://news.agendainc.com

Nike hires corporate bloggers: www.gawker.com/artofspeed

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Communications

Opt-in Communications

Blogs are the next step in opt-in

communications. Using a Really Simple

Syndication (RSS) feed, customers can be

notified every time their favourite web site

has been updated. RSS has been around for

a number of years, but it is coming into the

limelight with blogs.

Customers subscribe to an RSS aggregator

which either sends them an e-mail (through a

compatible program such as Outlook), or

compiles the posts on a web page such as

My Yahoo!. Each time a blog or other site

with RSS is updated, the customer will have

instant access to the information.

Currently 5% of Internet users (approximately

2.5 million people) use a form of RSS

aggregator.2

Example graphics for RSS feeds:

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E-mail collection

Blogs can be used as part of an e-mail collection and lead-generation strategy. Identify who is visiting your blog for research purposes (i.e. before making a buying decision) and who is visiting because they are an existing customer seeking additional information. This information can be used to send future targeted e-mail to these groups.

Viral marketing

Blog posts can be e-mailed, forwarded and linked to. “Permalinks” create a unique page for each post so that as the site is updated links to older posts won’t become outdated. “Trackbacks”, another blog feature, allow blog readers to comment on your blog within their own blog and create a direct link to your original post.

Crisis management

Even faster than sending e-mail, a blog can keep your best customers informed in the event of a crisis. Blog architecture allows for quick web updates, and RSS feeds disseminate the information immediately.

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Internal communications

Blogs can also be used for

internal communications,

either to distribute

information from one-to-

many (e.g. replacing a

company newsletter or

e-mail) or for two-way

communication.

Blogs can be used in work

groups to collaborate on a

project and share

learnings. Because of their

simple architecture, blogs

are an excellent

alternative to content

management systems and

knowledge management

software. Their flexibility

allows for postings of

Communicate

with blogs

Use Really Simple

Syndication (RSS)

feeds to inform

customers of blog

updates

Collect data from

visitors to your blog

to send future

targeted

communications

Encourage

forwarding and

linking to blog

posts

Communicate

quickly during

crises

Share information

with internal

departments

Keep partners and

suppliers updated

various lengths, with different types of

content, e.g. photos, links, audio or video

clips and text.

Finally, blogs can keep partners and

suppliers updated.

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Public Relations

Blogs can be used to communicate with the

press. Using RSS updates, companies can

regain some control in disseminating their

information. However, it is not advisable to

simply post press releases in this format.

Instead create a feed of helpful information

on your company.

Having the company CEO, senior

management or company spokesperson (e.g.

head of a new product launch) maintain a

blog can generate P.R.

To capitalize on pre-existing blogs, identify

blogs that are most likely to comment on or

report on your product. Offer them advance

or exclusive information in order to generate

good will and created positive word-of-mouth.

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Thought leadership

CEOs and other business leaders who blog

can claim their stake in thought leadership for

their industry. They can state their opinions

on current industry events as they happen,

and cut through media clutter.

Blogs allow top-level managers to have more

conversations with customers than is feasible

in person.

GM’s Vice Chairman interacts with consumers on his blog: http://fastlane.gmblogs.com

Creating a buzz through blogs can also lead

to speaker opportunities for small- to

medium-sized business owners.

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Search engine optimization

“Blog” is becoming an acronym for “Better

Listing on Google”. Because of the way

search engine spider technology works, blogs

with many pages and links will benefit from

higher listings in search engine results. This

translates to higher click-through rates than

static web sites.

Frequently updated blogs, with lots of

content, pages, comments and links generally

receive the highest rankings.

Each time a blogger posts a new entry, a new

web page is created, which is an opportunity

to increase the frequency of key words –

again resulting in higher search engine

rankings.

As the medium evolves, customer demand

for less cluttered search results may well

precede a change to the way that search

engines operate. In fact, Google is already

beta testing “Google Scholar” to help

academics achieve more relevant results.

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What to blog about?

• Company news

• Behind the scenes information on how the company is run

• Case studies about previous work

• Comments on your industry

• Create a resource for industry issues

• Ask customers what they think about new products or product ideas and other innovations

• Have employees blog about the product or service, e.g. have the product manager or technical expert provide additional insights

• Most importantly, create a forum for open dialogue with customers and address issues raised by readers.

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Risks and mistakes

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Risks

Negative feedback

Blogs foster open communication, so there is

the opportunity for negative customer

feedback. However, the format allows

companies to respond back to customers

directly.

The medium encourages full transparency

and customers respond to a company that is

honest about its pros and cons.

Competitive interference

While negative feedback generated by

competitors is a risk, IP addresses are

tracked, so it is possible to find out if your

competition is responsible for any negative

feedback.

Spam

Trackbacks allow other users to link to your

blog within their own blog. This can lead to

spam with some bloggers trying to increase

their search engine results by linking to as

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many sites as possible. Anti-spam tools can

help combat this.

Risk assessment

Are you able to

respond to

negative feedback?

Are you equipped

to handle

comments from

competitors?

Can you implement

spam filters if

necessary?

Do you have a

clear plan for your

blog?

Do employees

know what they

can and can’t

disclose on a blog?

Lack of direction

Be sure to have a clear

aim and direction for the

blog. Have a plan to

create awareness and

drive traffic.

In addition, have

guidelines for employees

who blog. It would be

wise to make this clear

even if your company

does not have an

officially-sanctioned blog,

so that employees know

what information can be

shared publicly.

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Mistakes to avoid

Stagnating

Blogs need to be updated frequently to

establish and maintain an ongoing dialogue

with best customers. In addition, be prepared

to be responsive to reader comments, or the

one-to-one connection will be lost.

Fiction

Blog readers are savvy and will not spend

time reading a blog that looks like pure

advertising. At this time in the development of

blogs, customers are not responding to blogs

created by fictional characters such as a

company’s mascot.

Copy

Just as copy needs to be adapted from the

written page to an e-mail, blog copy has a

unique tone and style and should not be a

repurposing of already-written content. Copy

must be honest and authentic. Avoid P.R.-

speak and over selling.

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Excessive linking

Bloggers have become

very savvy at achieving

high search engine

rankings by including

many links on their blog.

However, the tactics they

use are not all advisable

for businesses. Too

many links within text

hinders readability.

Potential mistakes

× Not updating the

blog often enough

× Creating a fictional

blogger

× Repurposing other

copy

× Too many links

Another blogging term “blogroll” refers to the

list of external links on a blog’s home page.

These links are often traded (i.e. I’ll link to

your site if you link to mine) to benefit both

bloggers. Businesses should limit their

external links to sites that provide helpful and

complementary information and resources –

ideally ones that do not link to competitor

sites.

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Emerging technology

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What’s new in blogging?

Mobile blogging

Depending on the provider’s capabilities, a

blog can be updated online, via e-mail or now

by simply sending a text message.

The Guardian recently sent a reporter to New

York City to visit sites reviewed by bloggers,

and to post reports exclusively via mobile

blogging.10

The San Francisco Chronicle offers podcasts on

its blog: http://www.sfgate.com/blogs/podcasts

Podcasting and blogging

Bloggers can post MP3 files which can be

downloaded by the reader and played on a

computer, iPod or other MP3 device. This

phenomenon got a recent boost when

Apple’s iTunes included free podcasts in their

music store.

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Video blogging (vlogging)

Citizen Journalists are taking blogging one

step further by having a video entry

accompanying their report.

Would-be talk show presenters are also

posting their own content using video

blogging software.

PlayStation’s latest marketing campaign has

become the UK’s first major consumer brand

to incorporate video blogging.

playstationfreedom.co.uk

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How technical is it?

• Publishing blogs

– Using a standard template from a free

or low-cost provider, setting up a blog

is very simple and can be done in a

few hours.

– Any customization of a template will

require some tinkering with HTML

code, using the site provider’s help

menu as a guide.

– Add-on features such as a web site

counter, photos and password

protection may require customization.

Certain features will require bespoke

blog design.

– Adding an RSS feed to let users know

when your sight is updated can be

done by cutting and pasting code into

your blog’s template.

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• Updating blogs

– Once a blog is set up, it takes only

minutes to post a new entry.

– Blogs with a lot of content will take

slightly longer for the post to be

published.

• Reading blogs

– This is just as simple as reading other

web pages, i.e. generally no password

or sign in is required.

• Interacting with existing blogs

– Some sites will let anybody post a

comment to them, i.e. you don’t need

to be registered with the site.

– Others require registration with the

site’s provider or the blog owner. This

generally involves simply setting up a

user name and password.

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Additional thoughts

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Recommendations

Business blogs versus other blogs

Below I have illustrated where I think

corporate blogs should fit into several

categories, as compared with news and

personal blogs.

While corporate blogs should be updated

consistently, they should not be updated as

frequently as news or personal blogs which

may be updated several times per day.

News Blogs Personal BlogsCorporate

Blogs

Updates Frequent, timely Frequent Less frequent

Number of

blogs each1-6 1-3

1 for most

businesses;

1-3 for technical

businesses

Links Many, relevantMany, relevant

and irrelevant

Few, relevant,

selective

Longevity of

blogOngoing

Ongoing or event

specific (e.g.

wedding, travel)

Ongoing or event

specific (e.g.

product launch)

Ads Fewer Most Least

Adopting new

technologiesSecond to market Early adopters Wait and see

Podcasts on

blogsYes Yes Rarely

Video

bloggingNo Yes

Rarely and with

caution

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Businesses should avoid blog overload from

having too many blogs. This can confuse,

rather than reinforce, brand messaging as the

company will have several “voices”.

As previously mentioned, businesses should

avoid the temptation to include an excessive

number of links in order to increase search

engine rankings.

Ads on business blogs should be specific and

strategically placed. Finally, new technologies

should be used with caution.

Customer interaction

Before launching a blog, businesses should

know what level of interaction they desire from

their customers. On the next page, I have

ranked various blog-related activities by

customer interest and level of interaction with

the blog.

Businesses should focus on attracting their

best customers to become “active”, or more

specifically, getting customers to subscribe to

their blog. Blogs are the next step in opt-in

communications. Forward-thinking companies

should formulate a plan (similar to an e-mail

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address collection strategy) to build a

subscriber base now, in order to secure space

in customers’ news aggregators. As these

aggregators, such as My Yahoo!, become

more widely used, businesses will be

competing for space.

Bear in mind that customers who aren’t

technologically savvy may need to be

educated as to how to use the medium. This

should be done with both online and offline

communications.

A secondary strategy should focus on

converting “passive” and “interested”

customers to “engaged” customers.

Passive Interested Engaged Active Passionate

Find blog

through

search

engine,

e.g. Google

Find blog

through blog-

specific

search

engine, e.g.

Technorati

Read a

blog

Leave

comment on

a blog

Regularly

read multiple

blogs

Leave

many

comments

on blog(s)

Subscribe to

blog(s)

Write a

related blog

Level of

inte

raction

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Final thoughts • While there are millions of blogs, no one has

quantified the number of active blogs or the

number of unique blog writers; many bloggers

maintain more than one site. So while there

has been an explosion in the number of blogs,

the increase in the actual number of people

creating blogs is probably much less.

• Blogs are an emerging technology that will

continue to evolve. News blogs will lead the

way in increasing consumer awareness of

blogs and comfort level with blogs.

• Blogs are cheap and easy to implement, but

it is important to have a strategy in place

before embarking into “the blogosphere”.

Although there are many excellent blogs in

existence, the majority of blogs today are

poorly executed personal blogs with a narrow

appeal. This leaves the door wide open for

industry leaders to make their mark in the

blogosphere.

• At some point the increase in blogs will level

off, but blogs are here to stay: as long as

there is an Internet, there will be blogs.

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Footnotes

1 Business Week Online, 2 May 2005

2 Pew Internet & American Life Project,

Brand Strategy, 10 May 2005

3 Blogads.com, 12 Mar 2005

4 Business Week Online, 13 Dec 2004

5 The Guardian, 15 April 2005

6 Financial Times, 4 Jan 2005

7 Technorati.com, 25 July 2005

8 The Wall Street Journal Online, 23 June 2005

9 Brand Strategy, 10 May 2005

10 The Guardian, 7 May 2005

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