Robert Scoble and Shel Israel sing the praises of blogging for business in their book Naked Conversations. There are some drawbacks to blogging however that I would like to address.
The authors believe the blog is more effective than many forms of marketing currently in place. Often mailings, phone calls and commercials annoy potential customers more than attract them to a product. However, these marketing methods search out the customer. For a blog to work, the customer has to search out the blog. The customer must be interested in the topic and make time to find and read a blog. This does not seem like it would reach a very wide or diverse range of people. Many people who are on the computer often understand how quickly hours can be lost in the blogoshpere as one link leads to another; before you know if you have lost half a day. This is especially common with social media like Facebook and blogs.
Alternatively, many businesses who blog do not post often. If I check a blog a few times and it has not been updated, I come to the conclusion that the information is not important enough to be kept up to date and it is not worth my time to return. The blog becomes something a business thinks it should have, but they do not necessarily invest enough time to make it worth anyone's time.
Blogs assume a certain audience which is somewhat exclusive. The elderly and children are out of the equation for information sharing through blogging. As we have seen in a previous post, blogging is perceived differently in other cultures. In our global economy a blog may reach a certain kind of individual, but it can exclude others. The blog cannot be a stand in for really important information.
Blogging for a business can be a dangerous thing. Many people are not good writers and they can damage a companies reputation. Even small things like spelling and grammatical errors can decrease the professionalism a company is trying to maintain. Once words are out it is impossible to retract them. The written word has power and it should be used carefully. It can be difficult to know if comments made on a blog are reliable. Often the people who comment are people who blow issues out of proportion, and lets face it, have too much time on their hands anyway. While it is important to have a good dialogue between business and consumer, the blog may not be the most reliable way to foster that relationship.
Finally, a blog writer is still a person who is creating a persona and showing the side they want people to see. There is still a perspective being advocated and a person creating an image. The authors discuss transparent communication, being honest and up-front, these are all important, but the blog is still going to advance a certain view and only show what a company wants you to see. The authors would argue that the readers will uncover any problem areas and expose a company who is not doing things correctly. Again, this takes people who are very interested in the topic and take time to make it happen.
I do feel like a blog can be a great thing for a business. It gives a personal tilt to a company and often gives good information. However, it is time consuming and must be done well or it should not be done at all. It can be one of many ways to promote a business since it targets only a certain demographic. It must be understood that it is still a way of marketing and showing a potential customer the way the company desires to be perceived. Blogging is definitely something for businesses to consider "blogging is impacting businesses of all sizes in most parts of the developed world. It has made the world a smaller, faster place" (232).
The authors believe the blog is more effective than many forms of marketing currently in place. Often mailings, phone calls and commercials annoy potential customers more than attract them to a product. However, these marketing methods search out the customer. For a blog to work, the customer has to search out the blog. The customer must be interested in the topic and make time to find and read a blog. This does not seem like it would reach a very wide or diverse range of people. Many people who are on the computer often understand how quickly hours can be lost in the blogoshpere as one link leads to another; before you know if you have lost half a day. This is especially common with social media like Facebook and blogs.
Alternatively, many businesses who blog do not post often. If I check a blog a few times and it has not been updated, I come to the conclusion that the information is not important enough to be kept up to date and it is not worth my time to return. The blog becomes something a business thinks it should have, but they do not necessarily invest enough time to make it worth anyone's time.
Blogs assume a certain audience which is somewhat exclusive. The elderly and children are out of the equation for information sharing through blogging. As we have seen in a previous post, blogging is perceived differently in other cultures. In our global economy a blog may reach a certain kind of individual, but it can exclude others. The blog cannot be a stand in for really important information.
Blogging for a business can be a dangerous thing. Many people are not good writers and they can damage a companies reputation. Even small things like spelling and grammatical errors can decrease the professionalism a company is trying to maintain. Once words are out it is impossible to retract them. The written word has power and it should be used carefully. It can be difficult to know if comments made on a blog are reliable. Often the people who comment are people who blow issues out of proportion, and lets face it, have too much time on their hands anyway. While it is important to have a good dialogue between business and consumer, the blog may not be the most reliable way to foster that relationship.
Finally, a blog writer is still a person who is creating a persona and showing the side they want people to see. There is still a perspective being advocated and a person creating an image. The authors discuss transparent communication, being honest and up-front, these are all important, but the blog is still going to advance a certain view and only show what a company wants you to see. The authors would argue that the readers will uncover any problem areas and expose a company who is not doing things correctly. Again, this takes people who are very interested in the topic and take time to make it happen.
I do feel like a blog can be a great thing for a business. It gives a personal tilt to a company and often gives good information. However, it is time consuming and must be done well or it should not be done at all. It can be one of many ways to promote a business since it targets only a certain demographic. It must be understood that it is still a way of marketing and showing a potential customer the way the company desires to be perceived. Blogging is definitely something for businesses to consider "blogging is impacting businesses of all sizes in most parts of the developed world. It has made the world a smaller, faster place" (232).
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