Good Question.
My answer. The art of conversation.
"But how do you explain the lack of control for the message"? Hmmm....
THE OLD WAY - Let's call this the press release
Here you have a music company putting out the "message" via a traditional route (tv, print, radio). Maybe they reach a musician or someone interested in music, maybe they don't. Once the message is out maybe it's understood, maybe it's not. These "consumers" (maybe they are maybe they aren't) then converse on the topic. Does the music company care to know what they're saying? Can they hear them? If mud gets slung around, how long will it take to repair?
This is controlled?
The two-way conversation - Blogging
Here we have a progressive music company who blogs. They have a constant following of interested musicians and music lovers who network with each other via their site. The company can then put out messages and news to a captive interested audience at any given time. The message is then spread through the audience, while the company has the chance to not only hear the feedback but quickly respond if need be.
All is well on the farm here.
Funny how tradition is comfortable even when it doesn't make sense.
The key to making it work is paying attention to your audience. It may be via your blog it may not. Don't you want to control the message? You'll have to find it first.
Be pro-active, involved, and responsive.
3 comments:
Great, concise explanation and rationale for corp blogging. I especially like:
"Funny how tradition is comfortable even when it doesn't make sense."
Oh, by the way, I found myself here courtest of SHIFT/Todd Defren via Twitter (http://twitter.com/TDefren/statuses/299107902)
-- Mike
But is there a happy-medium between "the old way" and the two-way conversation through blogging??
Tory are you asking for another medium, other then blogging? Or, a mid-point between "the old way" and the use of blogging for a two-way conversation?
For the first - I find it best to consult with the company to find a useful medium for them. Their are multiple ways to create a conversation, some more comfortable then others, some have less time on the training wheels, and some may fit better with the product and/or type of results desired. To list a few....Blogging (of course), Forums, Podcasting, Flickr, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, Orkut (especially popular in the Brazilian community), Second Life, There, Kaneva, etc. etc. Each of these platforms offer a way to develop branding and community unlike the conventional methods used in "the old way". The trick is to find the most comfortable fit which will in turn promote a smooth transition.
Second, if you're asking a mid-point in blogging specifically I'd say this is where many companies go wrong. They start a blog - post a few words (nothing truly meaningful) - and no one cares. This fits under what I call the "build it and they will come" theory. Nope. Doesn't work. Social Networking = Social Networking It's that simple. You must create a conversation. How do you do that? Ask questions. Demand a response. Now the tricky part. The response may not be on the blog you created. So you have to go out and look for it. Know your consumer. Go to where they are. Draw them to you.
I hope this helps. Free feel to e-mail anytime. carlie.flossberg@gmail.com
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