A Blog About Blogging

Perhaps it’s a bit elementary to blog about blogging but for those of us in the advertising and marketing industry it has become such a powerful viral tool we simply cannot ignore the benefits of entering the blogosphere.

I was inspired by a recent Webinar I attended on this subject, presented by Second Wind. (www.secondwindonline.com). I’ve never had so many notes from a session like this, so here are some of my favorite highlights on blogging and interactive media, mixed in with some notions of my own.

With a constantly changing marketplace, consumers aren’t looking for slap-in-the-face advertising anymore- that has simply run its course and it’s not enough to truly capture audiences anymore. People don’t want obvious ads; they’re looking for more obscure marketing tactics that give them the power to choose to be associated with something. Interactive mediums, such as blogs, are our portal into the consumer generated content world and allow us to make valuable connections and establish irreplaceable relationships with consumers.

Blogs cater perfectly to the ever-changing desires of savvy consumers. They’re simple and easy to find via online searches, and if you use them properly they can be a powerful tool for you. Obviously blogs are a forum for truth and discussion, rather than sales pitches and ad messages, so if your motives are simply to jam your ad copy into another vehicle stick to the traditional stuff. Because it’s useless to be present in the blog scene if you’re not presenting relevant and worthwhile content. However, if you truly have something to add you can create valuable relationships with the people that matter most to your brand. Given the viral nature of blogs, those relationships often spread quickly, and then you’ve created a serious buzz factor simply by introducing your brand into the blog world.

For marketers, allowing consumers to see inside your company and identify with you creates transparency that forges a bond of trust with consumers, leading to brand engagement. And getting consumers to interact with the brand is ultimately what we’re after.

So if you’re only reading this and you don’t have a blog of your own, go start one!

But when it comes to interactive media, utilizing the power of blogging is only the beginning. There’s a lot out there beyond blogs. Podcasting, webcasting, streaming video, wikis, social networks to name a few, but the list goes on. The point is- if you’re not taking advantage of these interactive opportunities you’re not capturing your full marketing potential.