The blogosphere's new PR laws (Editorial Intelligence Magazine)
David Rowan
They are the blogosphere's immutable new PR laws. First, listen to what they're saying about you. Second, engage with the conversation. And third - for God's sake, be honest, or you'll be exposed on a million computer screens.
It's no longer enough for businesses to dismiss bloggers as flaky bedroom geeks. They may lack the resources of mainstream media - sneeringly dismissed as "MSM" - but once they start criticising established companies, the message can go global at the speed of a few mouse-clicks. Businesses such as Ryanair and Land Rover have been damaged by ignoring disparaging comments on weblogs. Most recently, it was Apple's turn over its new iPod nano, found in a few instances to have easily damaged screens. Matthew Peterson, an aggrieved customer who posted complaints on a dedicated weblog, flawedmusicplayer.com, soon found himself receiving 30 emails an hour from others with similar experiences. Only when Apple finally acknowledged a problem - after the debate seeped into the mainstream press - did Peterson turn down the volume, acknowledging that "Apple does the right thing".
Dell, too, was forced to rethink its policy of ignoring the weblog chatter. Jeff Jarvis, much-read writer of the BuzzMachine blog, decided to chronicle his painful struggle to get his Dell PC fixed. The company failed to respond, even to Jarvis's much-linked-to open letter of complaint to Michael Dell, the CEO. Only when the damage threatened to hit company sales did the in-house PR admit that her department would henceforth monitor blogs and flag up customer complaints.
It doesn't take much effort to see what they're saying about you: a search at technorati.com or blogsearch.google.com will reveal how your brand has been featuring in the past few minutes' conversation. Better still, kickstart the debate through your company's own blog, which needs to be a transparent, feedback-soliciting glimpse into the internal culture. It may just offer the customer feedback and innovative ideas that keeps the business on track. As Business Week urged in a recent cove story: "Look past the yakkers, hobbyists, and political mobs. Your customers and rivals are figuring blogs out. Catch up ... or catch you later."
(Editorial Intelligence Magazine, November 2005)
They are the blogosphere's immutable new PR laws. First, listen to what they're saying about you. Second, engage with the conversation. And third - for God's sake, be honest, or you'll be exposed on a million computer screens.
It's no longer enough for businesses to dismiss bloggers as flaky bedroom geeks. They may lack the resources of mainstream media - sneeringly dismissed as "MSM" - but once they start criticising established companies, the message can go global at the speed of a few mouse-clicks. Businesses such as Ryanair and Land Rover have been damaged by ignoring disparaging comments on weblogs. Most recently, it was Apple's turn over its new iPod nano, found in a few instances to have easily damaged screens. Matthew Peterson, an aggrieved customer who posted complaints on a dedicated weblog, flawedmusicplayer.com, soon found himself receiving 30 emails an hour from others with similar experiences. Only when Apple finally acknowledged a problem - after the debate seeped into the mainstream press - did Peterson turn down the volume, acknowledging that "Apple does the right thing".
Dell, too, was forced to rethink its policy of ignoring the weblog chatter. Jeff Jarvis, much-read writer of the BuzzMachine blog, decided to chronicle his painful struggle to get his Dell PC fixed. The company failed to respond, even to Jarvis's much-linked-to open letter of complaint to Michael Dell, the CEO. Only when the damage threatened to hit company sales did the in-house PR admit that her department would henceforth monitor blogs and flag up customer complaints.
It doesn't take much effort to see what they're saying about you: a search at technorati.com or blogsearch.google.com will reveal how your brand has been featuring in the past few minutes' conversation. Better still, kickstart the debate through your company's own blog, which needs to be a transparent, feedback-soliciting glimpse into the internal culture. It may just offer the customer feedback and innovative ideas that keeps the business on track. As Business Week urged in a recent cove story: "Look past the yakkers, hobbyists, and political mobs. Your customers and rivals are figuring blogs out. Catch up ... or catch you later."
(Editorial Intelligence Magazine, November 2005)
posted by David Rowan at Monday, November 21, 2005
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