A personal look at blogging

When social media first became classified as social media I set up some accounts to explore what they could do and more importantly what they could achieve.

I started with blogging (using Blogger) in August 2006 - 8 years ago! The Blogger account was followed by Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook. Pinterest and Instagram have followed since.  We expected clients to expect us to know about these new communication channels and advise accordingly. Some enthused. Some didn't. As social media matures it is timely to review them and where they fit in what is now commonly called a digital marketing strategy. With 7 different channels to feed with content, the experiment could easily absorb most of the day.

The next few blogs will take a personal view of these 7 social media channel starting here with blogging..

Blog - what is it?
The term is an abbreviation of 'weblog' and its name suggests it is a personal log or diary on the web. It is in essence a personal web site. More recently digital marketers are referring to web site news modules as a 'blog'. From its personal origins, a blog tends to be less formal in content style than company web news rooms such as a Virtual News Office.

How do I use it?
For Technical Marketing this blog is a series of articles about marketing, encompassing simple pieces on marketing theory and comments on marketing issues of the day. I limit myself to writing one article a week because finding something pertinent to say, not  to mention the time to write more is too big a commitment. Each week the Technical Marketing blog is syndicated with ET Express which comes out every Friday.

What does it do?
Generally it is used as vehicle for news and comment and because of its relative simplicity of use is quick and easy for anyone to use. But clients tend not to use a blog in any real way; those who do can offer an interesting insight to the company.

Does it work?
Unlike Facebook or Twitter this is set up as open to read, so there is no real need to sign up. So signed up followers are few. However there are significant page views each month and even some comments. It is more a broadcast medium in my case and not a 'conversation'.

My view on blogs
A useful free platform for broadcasting messages, views and comments to a target audience, so include in the PR Plan.

Next time - Twitter

Is most news we receive just disposable chatter?

The Internet and social media in particular has made feeding news to customers and prospects easy. But is this news overload welcome?

The ability for everyone to be their own publisher has bypassed the editorial review of traditional publications with the result that 'news' is published in volume, but really very little of it is actually news.

Consider why businesses want to keep in touch with their customers in the first place. Essentially it is that when it is time to buy a new product they are well disposed towards the brand and also there may be accessories or related products they can also sell them.  So you need to keep in touch, both to keep the customer/prospect database informed of new products and to make them feel good about the brand.

Question. Is a daily bombardment of so called news going to make them feel positive about the brand? Well - probably not. The risk is they will simply switch off by unsubscribing or more typically just directing your communications to trash. And the problem with that is the really important news gets missed in amongst all of the chatter.

Then there is another consideration, some news channels are trusted more than others. For an example a favourable product review in the leading industry magazine is more likely to have greater credibility than the same news on Facebook. But here is yet another dilemma. What platform do your customers turn to for news? It is traditional media - for B-2-B printed magazines - or desk top computers, or mobile devices?

And given this matrix of news v chatter, trusted sources v trivial and traditional publication platform v  mobile or other connected devices is anyone researching what their customers actually prefer and trust.

Market leaders turn to apps to address mobile device users

Apps are emerging as a new frontier for market leadership.

Demonstrating market sector credibility is  important in gaining thought leadership.  A company that demonstrates its expertise in their market opens the route to sales. Customers figure if they are that knowledgable, then buying their products is a safe bet. Traditionally there have been several routes to make this land grab for the moral high ground of the sector. For example through presenting conference papers, publishing white papers, guide books and giving lectures. Or by having an industry guru who is expert in the state of play, of say the technology deployed , the current thinking and best practice. Now into the marketing communication mix comes the company app for mobile devices.

As momentum shifts from desk top to mobile devices like iPhones and iPads, so customers want access to company information through an app, not necessarily through a mobile version of the company web site either. Research conducted by Forbes Insights - The Connected Marketer:How Apps are engaging Customers, Partners and Employees - suggests that "A compelling mobile strategy requires that marketers design, develop and deploy apps that are capable of delivering a range of online services, from product communications to fresh content, unique specials and even gaming."

Forbes Insights survey identifies a number of trends:-

• Customer-facing apps are on the rise - 78% report increases in their mobile app audiences.
• Internal apps are driving efficiency.
• Marketers are not all relying on IT departments to develop apps.
• User experience is the greatest challenge for marketers - the ability to design user-friendly interfaces, to keep users interested and returning to their apps.
• Many marketers are not measuring app usage, but those that do look at number of downloads or content views rather than metrics measuring navigation, pathing and time spent.

B-2-B marketers should be figuring out how to design apps that have value to their customers and prospects, value that will translate into sales.

Advertising - the big concept idea

With software and apps providing creativity tools available to everyone, is the creative concept for a campaign the last frontier?

Digital and video cameras,  publishing apps and a whole host of productivity tools give affordable access to pretty much anyone to create their own web sites, sales brochures, videos, advertisements - in fact most marketing communication collateral. And yet even if well executed, which many are not, to stand out and succeed need that extra spark of creativity. The creative concept.

Because we are exposed to messages everywhere we look - television, radio, newspapers, billboards, transport and on our mobile devices - we become oblivious to them. Many free apps can be upgraded to have an advertisement free version, plus usually additional features. But those I  use occasionally I can live with the ads. In fact after a while I  don't notice them, or more worryingly for the advertiser, even recall what they are for. And that is the problem. How to create a message that is noticed and recalled.

This is where the creative concept makes the difference, encapsulating the core proposition into a distinctive idea that stands out and is memorable.