Official & Small Biz Blogs

Sarah, who's working on her dissertation, posts passionately about the end of winter's dreariness in the UK, asked a few good questions in her comments to our first chapter.

One is regarding the authenticity of "corporate blogs." Actually, this book we does not advocate official blogsites, spewing a company's party line. In fact, we will argue against them, because they would be no more effective than websites with comment sections. Instead, we hope to make the case for companies to encourage individual employees on all levels to blog and to set guidelines and policies so that employees can do so with spontanaity, in unfiltered form, allowing visitors to see real people doing real jobs inside a company. This is an entirely different.

Second, Sarah suggested that blogging was not appropriate to small businesses and Robert and I disagree with some passion of our own. We are strong advocates that blogging presents a huge opportunity for small businesses to become closer with community constituencies who have very few options open to them for marketing—a Yellow Pages ad, perhaps being the best of them. But Yellow Pages are very limited. You can see who has the larger ad or more compelling logo, but you learn nothing about the texture of a company or its reputation. But suppose, a local plumber, started a blog that revealed his knowledge and passion for his profession. Suppose he posted, tips on how to avoid having to call in a plumber—tips for keeping those pipes clean, examples of problems he has seen that could be avoided. First off, in reading his or her posting—you'd know this person infinitely better than you would someone from the Yellow Pages. Second, when you typed in "Plumbers, in Hometown" guess whose name would come up first and foremost? Oh yeah, the blog is cheaper than the Yellow Pages insertion, as well. We have few examples of these sort of companies--fewer than we would like, but the list is getting fatter every day. We think small businesses, as always will be late to adopt in droves, but those who do so earlier, will find very gratifying results.

Comments

[Steve Shu]

"Second, Sarah suggested that blogging was not appropriate to small businesses and Robert and I disagree with some passion of our own."

I agree with Robert and Shel on this one. Can't find the exact refernce by Sarah so that I could get more context on what constitutes "small businesses". Even so, the fact that many small businesses need to be intimate or niche with customers to stay in business (regardless of the industry structure) would lead me down Robert and Shel's path.

[Steve Shu]

My prior comment said, I have known small businesses that have practically dumped their websites mine included) because blogs do better in many ways to keep the level of interaction high.

Which then begs the question about how Shel is using the term "corporate". I have seen some small businesses move away from websites and to blogs as substitutes. Perhaps the term "corporate" is being used to refer loosely to Fortune 1000/5000 companies?

[Matt]

I agree with you guys wholeheartedly. In fact, I'd say blogging is *more* important for small business. What better way to have universal reach and an extended engagement with potential prospects for next to nothing?

A no-brainer for small business. Or it should be!

[Steven Streight aka Vaspers the Grate]

Not only small businesses, but some very surprising people are starting blogs, individuals that the "blogs are for big companies" crowd would never dream of.

An example? Local tailors. Police chiefs. City planners. Many more even weirder examples.

People who just read the popular blogs, or just blogs in their career field have no idea how blogging is spreading in very odd areas.

Many many bizarre areas. Nuff said. Heh.

[Brett Nordquist]

The president of our small company (100 or so employees) asked me to come to his office yesterday and explain to him what a blog is and what it could do for our company. Our company creates e-learning/training for Microsoft and Cisco products. Our president saw the value of the blog as a mechanism for gathering feedback and buzz around our products.

My thoughts on the subject have changed a bit since having this conversation because I don't feel entirely comfortable mentioning "corporate" and "blog" in the same sentence. It feels like a contradiction in terms if the blog is mandated or even "suggested" by a manager. My manager encourages a lot of things and I don't believe a blog should be one of those things. Shouldn't blogs be organic in nature which grow from passion and the desire to share ideas and opinions? Maybe the company can create a blogging policy which doesn't scare everyone away and states that a blog is fine if it's something you'd like to do. Is Scoble graded on his blog come MS review time? That just feels strange to me if he is although it sounds like his ability to write and connect with customers was a large part of the reason to hire him.

[Nicole Simon]

ESPECIALLY small businesses have a chance of gaining visibility on the net with blogs.

The newest addition to the German Blogosphere (if we have one) is a blog of a supermarket in northern Germany.

The shop owner blogs about everyday things and it is fun to read. Several bloggers have suggested to travel to Bremen and visit this shop.

Several copywriters have blogs and blog about business and working as a one-person business, making contact and money through it.

Some people from the marketing sector do the same.

How about a flower shop which shows of with photos their arrangement on different occassions (and gets all the keyword combinations with city in it ...)?

The bigger a company is, the more complicated it is to get a blog going. If you are a self owned business, blogging is just a great way to improve your search results.

btw I don't need a plumber but another service, my washing machine does not suck water anymore.

My first thought was "Damit. You have to get service. Why can't you just record the sound and send it to someone who then tells you via phone 'error 18, service will come in two days and have the parts available'"

I am sure somebody will just know by hearing it, what the problem is.

[Robert Scoble]

Brett: I do my blog on my own time. Although it's slowly getting more of an official thing.

I totally agree with you. That's why I'd rather someone become a reader. You SHOULD mandate THAT!

But, blogging is a skill not everyone will have. Just like speaking in front of people is a skill not everyone will have (and the best ones just do it and don't ask permission or wait for a mandate).

But listening to customers? Highly recommended that everyone in a business do that even occassionally.

[Jozef Imrich]

Hello again Robert

We all love the underdog and now business bloggers can czech (sic) out the virtual underbloggers. In my humble opinion the website listed below has a thoughtful idea! This is exactly what blogging is all about - there is nothing new under the sun, yet deep inside we feel that we do not want to keep recreating a world were winners take it all ... be it out of touch kings, spoilt superstars, or PR spinners.

Another good avenue to explore by a small business - be it a skillful sole trader, a lateral thinking partner, or a savvy company filled with trailblazing tradesmen - in many ways a blogging world prides itself with a fairer level playing field than any other sphere of the corporate world (without any doubt there is less likelihood of cartel, monopoly, duopoly, or corrupt-pollitician-want-a-cracker-poly)... Let us unearth more great giving blogs ;-)

VIVA Underbloggers!

[sh]

"Sarah, whose working on her dissertation..."

what kind of english is this?

[shel israel]

"what kind of english is this?"

What kind of capitalization is that?

[/pd]

I belive what Sarah has not realized is that blog and bloggers ia about "edgecrafting" - moving from the center of whatever you are, wherever you are and extending oneselve to the edge of whatever. This is the nature of the beast.

No one can mandate you to take my rss feeds or for that matter of fact the TRC feed. Thats my choice.. likewise whoever enters blogsphere will understand-- thats the essense of the converstation.. If I wish, I can drop RSS feeds this site and then there is one lost customer for TRC..

Its not a matter of big companies or little companies .. its a paradigm of being oneselve--An entity nobody else can copy.. !!

[Jozef Imrich]

Ach, I could not stop my urge to send you this light-hearted reference Shel and Robert:

Robert at The National Debate whose surname in a naughty way seems to go with the title of his blog entry, Why "Blogging" Sucks, makes a number of valid observations and even points ...

Why "Blogging" Sucks

PS: Note his subtle reference the a firehose ;-) all in the name of the spirit of blogging!

[Steven Streight aka Vaspers the Grate]

I read the lame article by a nobody.

He knows very little about blogs. He actually perpetuates the common myth: "Blogs began as online diaries."

Wrong.

Blogs began as "logs" (a word he hates and ascribes to "Trekkies") or "lists" of interesting, relevant URLs with a brief comment on the URL, not on what the blogger had for lunch today and his favorite music group.

He's wrong about many things.

I do agree that "blogger" is a word that covers many disparate style of online writing.

I also agree that all a blogger is can be stated as "online writer".

I agree that there is nothing special about a blogger.

A blog is merely a slightly different media. Some are conversational, some are technical, some are personal, some are impersonal. Some are funny, some are serious. Some are sophisticated, some are vulgar. Like all other media and forms of communication.

[Jozef Imrich]

There is another devil's advocate swimming in the infinite digital waters ...

Can Corporates Blog? The blunt answer is in the title of Shel 'n Scobe's book-in-progress, Blog or Die.

Bradley Smith says that the freewheeling days of political blogging and online punditry are over The coming crackdown on blogging

PS: You have a knack of putting things in a nutshell Steven. Straight shooter you are - thanks ;-)

[Jeffrey Hill]

I've been interviewing small business bloggers for my MBA dissertation project and have put some edited versions of the interviews on The Voice of the Blog. What seems clear to me at this early stage is that different businesses are using blogs for different purposes. These include SEO, establishing online credibility, creating dialogue with customers and PR. I don't think these are mutually exclusive and it's up to each company to find the mix which suits it best. It's also obvious that blogs can be a great marketing tool for small businesses, as the 50 or so examples listed on my blog demonstrate.

[Dave Briggs]

Blogging is *more* important for small businesses. But they approach it in different ways to large corporates. In the large company, the blog shows a more human face from the higher eschalons of management, and helps keep the public up to date on issues and products through RSS. This could be information they would have got anyway, only they get it sooner and in a format that is more useful to them.

For the small business, blogging gives an oppotunity to get your name 'out there'. It's more of a proactive thing. I am trying to persuade some friends who have a business that is one year old to start maintaining one. They import and sell cars in the UK. On a blog they could immediately list cars they have coming in, or ones where they know they are going to have them soon, so customers can get information as soon as it's available. They regularly go to Europe to source new vehicles, and details of these trips could provide some human interest. By using a blog in this way, they will increase traffic to their site, via the search engines, but will also make people keep coming back. Ideal for the small business.

I'm working on them... They *will* come round!

[Tim Verpoorten]

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