Social Media Starts With Blogging
Now that I actually have some clients to work and experiment with, I have some real world experiences to share that I think will be applicable to all of us. As I go about working with clients to negotiate the currents of the social media landscape, one of the things I am most excited about is sharing the various successes and difficulties of my work.
It should be no surprise that businesses and brands just getting going with their social media strategies opt for the easy way out. So that instead of blogging, which requires a bit more time investment and even technical knowledge, clients are choosing to focus their energies on Twitter. Now Twitter is great, and an important instrument in the social media constellation. In fact, I believe Twitter, for the time being, is an essential place for clients to engage their constituents, attract new customers and develop their brand depth.
But Twitter is still short. It’s short on characters, and its short on love. Blogging is deep. Blogging gives you a chance to really get to know someone. The bloggers that I have read for months, or more, are ones that I feel particularly close to. Seeing them on Twitter is like seeing an old friend walk into a bar.
So What’s The Problem With Blogging?
With any strategy that I have devised so far, blogging is always at the top of the list. This shouldn’t surprise anyone. Blogging is the most essential aspect of social media engagement. It is the place where we invite people into our world, where we tell them who and what we are, what we do, why we do it. A blog is a place for brands and businesses, as well as individuals, to begin the trek towards becoming a successful social media brand.
But I’ve detected a certain reluctance towards blogging by several clients. I have heard every excuse in the book at this point. We don’t have the time, we don’t have the money, we don’t know what to write about.
I respect these issues but remain firm that blogging is by far the thing WE have to get right. Without a blog, all the twittering, newsletters, facebook fans, etc…it’s all worthless.
Blogging 101
I think the hardest thing for brands, businesses and individuals to overcome is the trouble with being earnest. For people with some experience in social media, we’ve grown accustomed to sharing our lives, our specialized information, our ups and downs. Like any art form, the more we blog the better we get. After several months, after some success in attracting traffic, an audience, even some comments, we get more comfortable. We realize that we are starting to find our constituency. The people at the other end of the modem who are actually interested in what we have to say. We often cannot say that about our friends and family. But with social media we have the ways to connect with our soul mates, those who are moved and motivated by the very same things we are.
In many ways, brands and businesses with something to hock have it easier than we do. Every client I have, and the clients I want, are those that have something truly special to offer. Highly specialized and interesting information, experience and expertise. I would have loved to have had these assets when I first started blogging.
I think we need to recognize that it is a major switch to inculcate keywords like authenticity, honesty, transparency even humor, into one’s work. That doesn’t meant that its not important. In fact, its extremely important.
People want brands who give them what they haven’t gotten in the past. We want the true stories, we want the secrets and the passions. This is what will make me want to read and participate in your story. This is what will make you feel like a friend to me. And this, ultimately, is what will make me spend my dollars on your services.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Transparency to me is absolutely essential. When someone is blogging about a particular subject I’d like to know up front what his vested interests are.
I will use wine as an example simply because that is the business I am in (and I have to say the wine bloggers I read are VERY transparent.) I don’t want to follow a blog that consistently extolls the virtues of Zinfandels from Lodi, only to find out that the blogger has conveniently left out of “About Me” the fact that he owns a Zinfandel vineyard in Lodi.
When I read a blog, I investigate the author if he’s addressing subjects that are important to me. Recently I encountered a blog entry on an “eco-friendly” site. The blogger listed his academic credentials, which were impressive. A quick search revealed the fact that he is very closely associated with several agro-chemical/biotech companies. I became inordinately angry, because I felt “I was had!”
As you so accurately put is, “It is the place where we invite people into our world, where we tell them who and what we are, what we do, why we do it.” I have no problem with people pushing their agendas or their products – but if they are not willing to be up front about it, to me they are just a modern version of snake-oil salesmen.
Great post! Too many companies that I’ve seen try to take a less-is-more approach to social media, I guess to seem “cool” and not too eager or naive (Sort of like if you go to some party and barely talk, and definitely don’t smile, to try to seem really interesting). To me, and I’m sure a lot of people, that approach is such a turn-off. I much prefer a brand that shows their genuine enthusiasm for what they do, and for getting you involved in it, without being too pushy.