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Three Steps to Incorporating Blogs into Communications Programs

By Christopher Parente

Unless you have been living under a rock, you’ve heard about blogs. Simply put, a blog is an online diary or journal that provides an individual with a channel to communicate his or her views about selected topics, ideals or trends.  Bloggers typically include links or connections to other blogs or content of interest as a means of increasing readership of their own blog. Because blogs have created a buzz rapidly approaching hyperbole, it’s important to understand how this new communications medium can be leveraged from a business communication perspective.

As blogs continue to gain momentum and become a more mainstream form of communication, companies that ignore the need to implement blogging guidelines will find themselves putting out needless fires. The FCC is currently examining whether regulating the political use of blogs could ever be considered appropriate.  Several recent incidents in politics, the media and the business world have illustrated the impact that blogs have on corporations and individuals. Blogs played a key role in the 2004 election, and influenced Dan Rather’s decision to retire earlier than planned due to the controversy surrounding the alleged documentation on President Bush’s National Guard service.  No doubt Kryptonite Locks wished it had paid closer attention to the Blogosphere when a blogger posted information on how to pick its flagship product using only a Bic pen.

Although stories on blogging are popping up everywhere you look, not many are discussing exactly what companies need to know about blogs in order to gain a competitive advantage. Companies and organizations need to integrate a blog relations strategy into their overall communications and business development campaign to deal with blogging proactively and reactively. Companies can do so in three logical, straightforward steps.

Monitor the Blogosphere

One of the easiest ways to begin incorporating blog relations into your communications strategy is to start monitoring specific blogs for both mentions of your company and for topics that relate to your company’s business objectives and solutions.

The Pew Internet & American Life Project reported that blog readership increased 58 percent from February to November 2004. The estimated 32 million Internet users in the US who are now reading blogs have plenty of content to read, since the blogosphere is made up of more than 5 million blogs. According to blog search engine Technorati, 23,000 new blogs are created every day - roughly one every three seconds. 

Just as investor relations professionals regularly monitor Internet message boards for scuttlebutt being bandied about regarding their company, communications professionals need to use the latest tools such as RSS (Really Simple Syndication) aggregators to keep tabs on blog postings that mention their company or its products. The objective is to avoid any surprises and to be aware of how your company is perceived in this new communications medium. This is additionally significant because blogs are permanent entries on search engines and throughout cyberspace. In most cases, what is said on blogs stays in the Blogosphere forever. More and more blogs are appearing at the top end of search results, and the information can be easily found via a search on Google or Yahoo.

Join the Dialogue

Blogging is potentially intrusive when it comes to companies and industries. There are blogs for every industry and bloggers talk freely about specific companies and services by name. Since there is no such thing as peer review in the Blogosphere, bloggers often express strong opinions in an unfiltered manner, potentially defaming and damaging a company’s reputation. While most people know that blog entries are opinions, negative posts can potentially cause concern to a company’s clients or customers, employees, stockholders, investors and others.

Additionally, the influence of some blogs has become increasingly mainstream during the past year, as many influential reporters and respected news services use them as tools for measuring the zeitgeist in areas such as technology and politics, searching for the “next big thing” to cover in their publications. Last year’s Asian tsunami and its relief efforts boosted blog readership even higher as blogs with first-person accounts became primary news sources.

As you begin to monitor the Blogosphere, you will likely discover that you’d like to participate in some discussions that directly affect your company.  Blog search engines such as Technorati and BlogPulse will help you target your participation in the blogosphere. Start by finding out which blogs are getting traction in the media, and which of these are credible sources, such as those authored by current or former journalists who have covered your industry. Since there is no quality control for blog content, it is essential to identify the right ones to become involved in.

When you do decide to participate, it’s important that your messaging be relevant to the blog content and not overly self-serving. When you post a comment to a blog it should add value to the conversation, not simply promote your company or product. The goal is to establish your bona fides with the blogger and the community so when relevant topics do arise that could affect your company, you can serve as a resource to provide bloggers with accurate information. 

Publish Your Own Blog

Once you’ve begun participating in the Blogosphere, you might be ready to create your own blog.  Corporate blogs offer an opportunity for business communicators to discuss the virtues of their companies in an entirely new and, if executed properly, highly effective way.  They can serve as another powerful medium to the market, helping companies deepen relationships with prospects, customers, partners, investors and employees.  In fact, a number of early adopter companies, such as Microsoft, Sun Microsystems and Macromedia, are already cautiously tapping into the blogosphere to enhance their corporate interests.

During last year’s Super Bowl telecast, Internet service provider GoDaddy purchased two insertions of an advertisement spoofing the fall-out over the previous year’s Janet Jackson incident – the second of which was pulled by the Fox television network for being too explicit. In the days immediately following this, the CEO of GoDaddy Bob Parsons skillfully used his personal blog to extend the lifecycle of the story and garner immense media coverage for his company’s position on the matter. What might have been a story for one day in today’s 24/7 media environment was transformed into a much longer story through the power of blogs.

However, make no mistake – undertaking a corporate blog requires a significant time commitment from a content development perspective. You can’t simply take existing collateral such as brochures and press releases and post them onto your blog. While a public relations agency partner may be able to provide a number of services to help originate content, including recommendations on content, messaging, themes and links of interest, as well as editing services, it is essential for a designated corporate executive to provide the “voice” of the blog. The majority of bloggers are experienced Internet users and highly skeptical. They are looking for a dialogue, not a pitch.

Blogging as a phenomenon is growing and evolving rapidly. The business leaders who begin to adopt a careful, measured approach to incorporating blogs into their communications and business development strategy will reap the numerous competitive advantages from this emerging communications medium.

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Chris Parente is vice president of Strategic Communications Group, Inc, nationally recognized, award-winning public relations firm that provides integrated communications and business development services to help its clients increase sales, profitability, and corporate and product valuation.  To receive a white paper on blogging, contact him at 301-408-4500 or cparente@gotostrategic.com.