Marketing with Blogs - Influence Marketing
New technologies like blogs and podcasting are changing how companies evaluate new markets, launch new products, communicate to their installed base, find new customers, execute marketing communications campaigns, manage public relations, and sell products and services.
Yahoo, Microsoft, and other leading companies are hiring blog marketers and executing blog-centric marketing campaigns to interact and influence their target customers within Internet community.
Additionally these innovative corporate marketers are deploying infrastructure like RSS (Real Simple Syndication) to enable and establish more effective communications and interactions with their prospects and customers.
Understanding Marketing with Blogs – Two Views Emerge
Over the past year I've spoken with or consulted for executives and companies about the paradigm of “real time marketing” using blogs and podcasts. Most top marketers agree that the role of creating and distributing content to their prospects and customers are important. “How to do it with blogs?” is the biggest question on their minds.
In looking at blogs two major views emerge: 1) the publishing view – getting content published and 2) the platform view – getting the content distributed to the right people.
Today blogs are confusing to most corporate marketers. This is due to the fact that it is difficult to understand how to execute both views at the same time. However if executed correctly the resulting benefit creates a long lasting direct communication relationship with prospects and customers.
It’s safe to compare blogging to email. On the surface they may seem similar but they couldn’t be more different. Blogging is simply just another form of intimate communication. Yet blogs are more robust and dynamic than email. Similarities to email include the ease of publishing and distribution. Blogs are different is in their impact and utility. The validity in blogging is in the inherent “chain link reaction” between interested parties. Blogs provide authentic information distribution within interested and targeted environments.
A Simplistic View – Controlling the Watercooler Conversation
Think of blog marketing like bringing marketing messages and information to the “virtual watercooler”. By bringing authentic product, support, company information and marketing messages to a collection of individuals, blogging creates an instant “real time collaboration” effect. What happens with that information is the power of blog marketing. It is where individuals unite and form opinion(s) and credibility. The resulting bloggers form action oriented groups that react and shared the result to a mass “always on” and listening community. This is influence marketing in action.
How to Get Started
For corporate marketers I recommend a five point plan.
1. Understand what blogging is and how others are using blogs in their marketing mix.
2. Understand the trends, know the demographics and psychographics of bloggers and their readers, and know the underlying benefits and risks involved.
3. Know in advance what relationship you want to create with your prospect or customer (e.g. is the goal information distribution, branding, sales literature, corporate messaging, ..etc).
4. Outline a marketing and IT deployment plan – understand the nuts and bolts of what is involved to execute blog and Influence Marketing campaigns.
5. Experiment and test run a handful campaigns. Gathering data is key to future planning and budgeting.
The above five point corporate Influence Marketing plan is the best starting point in order to get a feel for the benefits that blogging and Influence Marketing provide. Afterwards companies will be in a better position to integrate Influence Marketing with blogs into their overall marketing mix.
Influence Marketing – A Strategic Imperative
Companies deploying online marketing with email marketing and electronic newsletters campaigns must develop a strategic imperative to evaluate and execute Influence Marketing with blogs into their marketing plans. Developing plans now will prepare marketing executives to more immediately drive higher sales and edge out the competition.
About the Author
John Furrier is the founder and CEO of BroadDev.com, management consulting firms specializing in helping marketers understand and execute marketing and business plans using blogs.
More information can be found on John’s blog at at his firm’s website at www.BroadDev.com
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