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Why You Can't Ignore Blogs

© Dianna Huff

Respected marketing/PR strategist and blogger B.L. Ochman wrote in her blog about trying to get a price quote from a B&B in New Orleans via e-mail. The B&B took three days to get back to her - only to tell her they had a four-day minimum stay. Ms. Ochman writes, "Thanks guys, I made my plans without your lousy customer service or your outdated website."

This kind of negative response is why companies can no longer ignore blogs - something lock-maker Kryptonite learned the hard way.

I've been doing quite a bit of reading about blogs, and while I understand their value, I remained skeptical about their use for B-to-B companies.

That is, until I talked to two blogging experts: Bob Cargill, Senior Creative Director, Yellowfin Direct Marketing and publisher of the blog, "A Fine Kettle of Fish," and Debbie Weil. Debbie publishes the newsletter, "Wordbiz Report" along with two blogs.

My questions to Bob and Debbie were, "What role do blogs play for your typical B-to-B company? And why does a company manufacturing metal parts for power tools need a blog?"

According to Bob, "Blogs break down the barriers between companies, clients and customers because they put a face on a company's products and services. A good example is Microsoft's Robert Scoble. His blog, in which he speaks honestly and openly about Microsoft, for better or worse, and has generated tremendous goodwill for the company."

Debbie concurs. "Blogging done right is an incredibly useful tool because it allows you speak honestly and directly to your audience." She points out that a number of CEOs are getting on the blog-wagon, notably Jonathan Schwartz, President and CEO of Sun Microsystems, and Matt Bloomberg of Return Path.

I realize not every company can go out and start a blog tomorrow - and quite frankly, you shouldn't. However, as a marketing or communications professional, you should be aware of blogs and how they work. Not sure how to get started? Debbie offers the following tips for becoming comfortable with blogs:

• Begin by monitoring the "blogosphere" to see what others are saying about your company. You do this by typing your company name and/or product names into blog search engines such as Feedster.com or Technorati.com.
• Start an internal blog on your corporate Intranet. (Or, do what one of my clients did and start your own personal blog.)
• Use a host service such as Typepad that allows you to keep your blog private until you feel comfortable going public.