Comments on: Legitimizing the Corporate Blog (and Ghost-Blogger) http://www.prostylus.com/Blog/?p=113 The business of writing for business Sun, 18 Oct 2009 04:13:06 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 hourly 1 By: social_smart http://www.prostylus.com/Blog/?p=113&cpage=1#comment-41 social_smart Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:55:34 +0000 http://www.prostylus.com/Blog/?p=113#comment-41 At the BlogWell San Francisco Case Study Presentation - <a href="http://www.socialmedia.org/video-case-studies/" rel="nofollow">http://www.socialmedia.org/video-case-studies/</a> - Dell's Digital Media Manager Lionel Menchaca gave some important insights into the ongoing development of Dell's social communities. (<a href="http://vimeo.com/5484057" rel="nofollow">http://vimeo.com/5484057</a>). One thing he noted was that "their customers are not interested in talking to the CEO, they want to talk to the developers." The key for a company blog is that it should be focusing on the aspects that the customer is interested in, whether it be B2B or B2C, and that it should be the personnel involved with those aspects that should be doing the blogging - whether that be for a product or service based operation. That is not to say that such a blog cannot be ghost-written, but I would expect that the writer would necessarily have to physically visit the department and personnel concerned, at least once a week, to really get an understanding of the issues involved. I don't think the job can be done effectively without a high level of trust and personal interaction with the staff concerned. As such, I think it would be an expensive option but it could be done - as long as it is made clear to the audience the basis on which it is being done. At the BlogWell San Francisco Case Study Presentation – http://www.socialmedia.org/video-case-studies/ – Dell's Digital Media Manager Lionel Menchaca gave some important insights into the ongoing development of Dell's social communities. (http://vimeo.com/5484057). One thing he noted was that “their customers are not interested in talking to the CEO, they want to talk to the developers.” The key for a company blog is that it should be focusing on the aspects that the customer is interested in, whether it be B2B or B2C, and that it should be the personnel involved with those aspects that should be doing the blogging – whether that be for a product or service based operation. That is not to say that such a blog cannot be ghost-written, but I would expect that the writer would necessarily have to physically visit the department and personnel concerned, at least once a week, to really get an understanding of the issues involved. I don't think the job can be done effectively without a high level of trust and personal interaction with the staff concerned. As such, I think it would be an expensive option but it could be done – as long as it is made clear to the audience the basis on which it is being done.

]]> By: chrisbaggott http://www.prostylus.com/Blog/?p=113&cpage=1#comment-40 chrisbaggott Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:32:45 +0000 http://www.prostylus.com/Blog/?p=113#comment-40 So here is the thing. Regarding this statement: "Social media in general, and blogs in particular are about attraction, not promotion."<br><br>Exactly right. Except it overlooks that the vast majority of that attraction comes through search engines. Embracing that you recognize that you really don't have 'readers' you have 'seekers'. Seeking what? Seeking a solution to whatever they were searching for. <br><br>So how does that reality adjust your content strategy? Well it should get corporate bloggers focused on the problems of the customers and the solutions you provide. Does this sound promotional or helpful? If I'm asking a vendor for help (what I'm doing when I search) I'm going to be disappointed if they are not talking about their products or services or similar situations where they helped people like me.<br><br>And I'm going to be disappointed if there is no clear call to action. When someone is trying to solve a problem, they want to get to the solution and move on. They are not looking to subscribe or become regular readers...this is a myth. Focus on attraction and conversion. The visitor will be happy and your business will be happy.<br><br>Focus on three metrics: first time visitor %, Bounce Rates and Click Through rates. These are the three things that will tell you if you are a successful business blogger.<br><br>Chris Baggott<br>CEO<br>Compendium Blogware<br><a href="http://blogging.compendiumblog.com/blog/blogging-best-practices" rel="nofollow">http://blogging.compendiumblog.com/blog/bloggin...</a> So here is the thing. Regarding this statement: “Social media in general, and blogs in particular are about attraction, not promotion.”

Exactly right. Except it overlooks that the vast majority of that attraction comes through search engines. Embracing that you recognize that you really don't have 'readers' you have 'seekers'. Seeking what? Seeking a solution to whatever they were searching for.

So how does that reality adjust your content strategy? Well it should get corporate bloggers focused on the problems of the customers and the solutions you provide. Does this sound promotional or helpful? If I'm asking a vendor for help (what I'm doing when I search) I'm going to be disappointed if they are not talking about their products or services or similar situations where they helped people like me.

And I'm going to be disappointed if there is no clear call to action. When someone is trying to solve a problem, they want to get to the solution and move on. They are not looking to subscribe or become regular readers…this is a myth. Focus on attraction and conversion. The visitor will be happy and your business will be happy.

Focus on three metrics: first time visitor %, Bounce Rates and Click Through rates. These are the three things that will tell you if you are a successful business blogger.

Chris Baggott
CEO
Compendium Blogware
http://blogging.compendiumblog.com/blog/bloggin...

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