Home » Blog Talk, Marketing, PR, Public Relations

Blogs As Placebos vs. Panacea

8 August 2005 4 views 3 Comments

Took a little time away from the blog to think about things. One of my continuing concerns is the “blogs are not a panacea” theme. As usual, I have more questions than answers.

placebo n. Something of no intrinsic remedial value that is used to appease or reassure another.

panacea n. A remedy for all diseases, evils, or difficulties; a cure-all.

I am fearful that, more and more, blogs will become placebos prescribed by PR firms and consultants. I fear the firms/consultants will do this, knowing they (blogs) don’t fit the client and won’t have any positive effect. All of this just to say to the client, “Hey, it is the latest thing. You need it.”

UPDATE:Here is an example of how this might happen. See the iFulfill.com debacle. This example could fit this scenario in some ways.

But the blog will have no positive impact on the client’s brand. In fact, it may be proposed realizing that the effect could cause problems (while ignoring unaddressed ills that are harming the company). The key word here is “billable” and the unfortunate reality that some firms and consultants will propose whatever they can bill.

Is there evangelism for the sole sake of adoption, without specificity as to where the tactic fits, actually occurring? I think it may be happening.

Another concern is: “Who should blog?”

Two examples. I have former students who are working in motor sports and personal fitness coaching. Both of those businesses, I believe, are great fits for blogging. In motor sports, you have the drivers and crews. Those fans would love to hear what these people are thinking and engage in conversations via the blog. You could also have the team owner blogging. That would be the CEO version that has worked for some corporate blogs. A personal athletic trainer would also benefit from a blog. This particular trainer could focus on an upscale audience – much like English Cut, the blog of Thomas Mahon, Bespoke Savile Row Tailor, London. Or, the trainer could have a private blog (members only) for his/her clients.

The Usual Suspects – Where are the new examples?

Certainly there are the usual good examples of corporate blogs:

Admittedly, there are many others. But not enough. At least for me.

And, aren’t the ‘results’ still just qualitative? What is the quantitative evidence of success? Do those blogs do a good job of expressing their results? If so, please steer me to them. Yes. I feel a need for numbers.

There is also the question of, “Is that appropriate content for their blogs?”

Who is blogging now in business? Are there enough examples to draw reasonable conclusions?

Referring back to my concerns about the dearth of business blogs (compared to the hype), I am still skeptical about a sufficient number of business blogs in existence today for us to draw truly rational conclusions about their practical application in business. The adoption by business is still slow. The use of blogs is still new.

Visit the Biz Blog Consultant list at Blogdigger. Compare it to the Biz Blogs (sans consultants) list.

There are other lists, too. The NewPR/Wiki has the CEO Blogs List, CEO Intranet Blogs List, Corporate Blogs List and Business Podcasts list.

The only list of any significant length (numerous examples to learn from) is that of the CEO bloggers. Well, isn’t that the obvious choice? Sure, have the CEO blog. For a publicly traded company or startup seeking VC, that can make sense. But where is the customer service representative or the small Mom & Pop blog from a small business? Not many of those out there. Well, there is the French company – Cafe CRM, at least. But, still another consultancy, really.

Finally, look closely at the CEO Intranet Blogs List. Almost all are tech oriented. The others are communication or VC/Financial, with a few exceptions.

We still don’t have wide adoption of blogging in business – particularly small business. At least, not that I can find. What would be a good number? How about 1,000 or 10,000. Then we will have a pool of examples to examine and gain more than the existing qualitative results that exist today. Worldwide, there may be 1,000 or more. I don’t know. More resources, and better search options to find them, are needed.

I’m not saying that quantitative research is the ultimate factor, but it will certainly help. Most of the examples and best practices (case studies) are personal observations cited as evidence. I find few few quantifiable examples of the increase in sales, inquiries, improved customer loyalty and other aspects that will further adoption by other business.

Who would be the best person to blog for your company? Is there any particular training / background that might fit the role best?

And, finally, what makes a good blogger for your company? Too long a discussion for this post, but certainly you want someone that has a broad understanding of your products, clients, customers and market(s). Also, you want someone that has a fine conversational writing style.

Jeremy Pepper wrote about one example of a good blogger for a corporation. Of Robert Scoble, Jeremy writes:

. . . having have met the man in person, I understand the cult of Scoble. He’s a truly genuine person, a great choice for an evangelist.

Robert Scoble has a journalism degree. If you followed the link, Scoble doesn’t think much of his education. Still, I bet it helps him in his writing every day.

3 Comments »

  • Paul Woodhouse UNITED STATES Windows XP Internet Explorer 6.0 said:

    I’m with you on the usual suspects bit. Funnily enough I was saying the exact same thing last week. You’ve obviously done it a bit more justice. ;-)

    Is it a case of there being fewer blogs than we expected or have people stopped noticing?

    Or, are those who are doing the consulting more inclined to focus on the likes of Bob Lutz and GM?

    The MSM is now screaming for everyone to get on board whilst your average A-lister seems to be struggling with some form of burnout.

    I’ll be more than happy to provide a case study/statistical Tinbasher breakdown to mark its first year. We need facts and figures as well as anecdotal evidence.

    I think there are numbers, and they’re numbers I wouldn’t mind conjuring with, but there’s also the minor problem of most business blogs being complete tosh.

    Never trust anybody claiming that PR is dead – long live blogs. And, that blogs are the new PR.

    Especially when they’re a PR guy.

    For me it’s the ethics and values behind blogging as opposed to the tool itself that marks you as a successful blogger.

    Because you can sign up for Typepad doesn’t mean anything.

    # 9 August 2005 at 12:49 pm
  • Anita Campbell UNITED STATES Windows XP Internet Explorer 6.0 said:

    Hi Robert, interesting discussion….

    In my view there are many many more business blogs out there than appear on any of the lists mentioned. The lists don’t even begin to scratch the surface.

    At the same time, I think our perception of this issue has a lot to do with how we define a “business.”

    If what we really mean is how many of the Fortune 500 are blogging, remember that the number of companies on that list that blog will always be small, because the number of companies on the total F500 list is limited to 500 (always has been, always will be). So if 10% of the F500 companies started a blog, that’s just 50 companies. Even if we one day get to 20% of the F500 blogging, that’s still only going to be 100 companies.

    However, my estimate is that there are thousands of business blogs out there, just in the United States alone. But because most blogs are set up by small businesses, they don’t hit the radar screens. Remember, the Fortune 500 is a miniscule fraction of the total number of businesses just in the U.S. The SBA puts the total business community at 23 million+ businesses. All but 16,000 of these are defined as “small businesses.” The small business community is where I’ve seen the largest raw numbers by far of business blogs. Of course, that stands to reason given that the pool of small businesses vastly outweighs the number of larger businesses.

    So why don’t people perceive that there are thousands of business blogs out there?

    I expect that we run into small business blogs all the time but don’t recognize them as such. The vast majority of businesses in the United States are (1) service businesses, and (2) no-employee businesses. I bump into these business owners blogging everyday, but I’ve come to realize that people tend to not only NOT recognize their blogs as business blogs, but for that matter they don’t even perceive the businesses as “real.”

    Somehow the concept of a business employing 7 people doing software development or a 3-person engineering consultancy or a solo court reporter or a personal fitness trainer doesn’t fit our industrial-revolution notions of what a business is. (Of course, I’m sure the business owner’s response would be “great, go convince the IRS this isn’t a real business — I didn’t want to pay taxes anyways.”)

    My point is that the definition of business blog really rides on top of people’s perceptions of “what is a business.”

    I could write a treatise on this… but since this little window is merely designed for a blog comment I should stop. Now. Right now.

    :)

    Best,

    Anita

    # 15 August 2005 at 12:16 am
  • Robert UNITED STATES Windows XP Mozilla Firefox 1.0.6 (author) said:

    Thank you, Anita. So many good points. I don’t know where to start. This has also sent me off on more tangents … with more questions.

    I agree that small businesses should not be ignored – nor should I fail to recognize that they are indeed businesses. I recognize they are.

    A business person blogging about what they do and their personal interests, is good. There are many examples of that type of business blog. It can add to the company’s marketing plan.

    I think they are the obvious ones, though.

    I am interested in those blogs. I’ve seen them and have at least a simple understanding of how they should blog, why they should blog and what they are doing with blogs. Yes, I have a lot more to learn about each. Still, if we want examples of those types of blogs there are hundreds, if not thousands, to visit and read.

    The F100 companies are also interesting, but – again – those are already adopting in small numbers and many will not likely take it up for a long time – if ever.

    Beyond the examples listed above, I want to find the others – if they exist.

    A local bookstore. Should they, could they, effectively incorporate a blog into their marketing plan? In some cities, maybe so. A NYC or San Francisco blog from a bookstore might develop a fine following. But, would it work in … um, Auburn – for example.

    A restaurant. Horsefeathers does a great job for a local restaurant and resort destination. How about all Chili’s or Applebee’s restaurants? Could they have a nationwide network of blogs from each shop? Is there value in that? I don’t know.

    Movie Theaters. Could a chain do blogs for each city/theater they operate? Are there blogs for any of the NYC theatre businesses (plays)? I know there are actors blogging (or aspiring actors, at least). They are business people, too.

    Hotels? Should they, could they, blog?

    Of the businesses I can think of, off the top of my head … these kinds of businesses are blogging.

    Construction, restaurant, consultant, ice cream, holistic foods, lawyer, trader, real estate, land developer, business coach, tech/developer, PR practitioner, sign maker, yarn/cloth sales, fashion designer, tailor, artist, IT/ISP/Hosting provider, sheet metal shop, teachers/trainers, videographers … OK, I’ll stop. I could go on. The point is – I want to find more. In some of the ones mentioned – I only know of one or two of each.

    That list makes me think of car repair? Would it work? Could it help change the stigma we have about car mechanics? Develop trust?

    Used car sales? Could that help their persona? Lost cause?

    Turkey farmer? I’m not kidding. Poultry farmers are interesting people. Their businesses would probably amaze you. A former student’s family runs a chicken farm. They have 500,000 chickens. Just imagine all that goes into that.

    Like you, Anita. I’ll stop, too.

    Your point about some (many) blogs not showing up on the radar is good. The idea that we only have to be known to our target audience comes into play. If you only need to be reaching 100 or 1,000 people – that’s enough. The number could be lower.

    A personal trainer might only need 25 clients in order to stay busy all the time. A camp might only need to reach 500 families and 1,000 churches to keep running year round (summers and off-season). Could a blog make sense for them?

    I just want to find them. All of them. I admit it. I’m greedy. :) I think I feel a class project coming on. I think of a WordPress blog with pages – lots of them. Each page has a business type and the links to those blogs are presented on each page. The blog part would be open for people to post comments with new links. It would be easy to set up (technically speaking). But, the ‘finding’ of all those blogs would take some time – and I’m just talking about blogs in the USA. What about overseas? I’m getting dizzy now.

    Off to Sourceforge.net to see if there is any kind of PHP/MySQL link directory software avaiable for download.

    # 15 August 2005 at 1:20 am