The Company Blog & Looking After Rabbits
To blog or not to blog?
Many months ago when planning the latest iteration of the Purestone website the inevitable subject of the company Blog arose. A furious debate ensued…
Pro Bloggers:
“We HAVE to have one. We’re a digital marketing agency for christ’s sake. We need to suck our own sweets.”
“It will help our SEO.”
“It gives the company a face, personality and tone of voice well beyond what the website can.”
“It empowers people within the business and gives them an open avenue in which they can communicate and express themselves.”
“I run my own blog and contribute to others so it’s second nature for me.”
Anti Bloggers:
“If it’s not updated on a regular basis it will do far more damage than good.”
“Why should we conform? We’re not an industry sheep in how we go about our business so why start now. Unless there’s a business case and justification for it then surely it’s just a pain in the backside?”
“I’m worried about someone saying the wrong thing and making us look bad or like we haven’t got a scooby.”
“Just who’s going to administer it? Add to it? I’m not, I can tell you that for free.”
By virtue of the fact you’re reading this then clearly we opted to have a company blog.
Above are just some of the soundbites from what was a colourful conversation. Of course, this situation, is by no means unique and we’ve sat in many, many client meetings watching and chairing this exact debate. There’s no simple answer. It needs discussion and it needs an eyes open approach. The potential risks and dangers of running a blog are significant… which nicely leads me onto the main point of posting this entry…
If you’re going to set up a commercially focussed blog then it needs regular content and a marketing strategy of its own to generate interest and traffic. Now, the more observant of you and those who regularly visit Purestone will be thinking ”you need to look at your own blog mate”. You’d be right. We have fallen at both these hurdles.
Now I could say that we did this on purpose as part of an experiment to gauge the damage an unkempt blog can have on a company. No one would really believe me though. The truth of the matter is that despite starting with the best intentions it’s fallen away and the distance between posts has grown. It reminds me of when I was 8 and I wanted a rabbit. “James, you will look after it and feed it every day won’t you? I don’t want to have to be looking after it when you lose interest’… “Yeah, of course, I’ll make it the happiest rabbit ever.” After 6 weeks ‘Pluto’ (my new rabbit) was not happy. His feeding wasn’t probably as clockwork as he’d have liked and his claws (?) were getting a bit on the long side.
When we discussed the blog there were many people in the room nodding enthusiastically and commiting themselves to getting a new rabbit/blog. The difficulty is that we live and breathe digital, day in, day out and we’re so busy doing this for clients that we inevitably fall down the priorities list. Not ideal by any stretch but a reality that most companies are faced with.
So if you’re considering a blog please read and heed the above.
Pluto died at 8 years old, he was a happy and content rabbit after my Mum intervened and looked after him.
James Smee.
Bad Rabbit Keeper of the Year – 1985 – 1993
Pluto the rabbit
Anyone for some doom & gloom? Not us.
Everyone else is talking about it, so in an effort to keep up with the Joneses, we’re jumping on our very own recession soap box and venting our economic spleen. However, contrary to the media and their continual doom and gloom mongering, we’re relatively upbeat about things and for good reason too. A small part of this is about being good old-fashioned Brits, stiffening the upper lip and staring downturn in the face but the larger part of it is the fact that the online marketing industry is in good shape.
All of the marketing industry rags and analysts are predicting that the axe will fall hardest on the traditional side of the marketing mix. PR, press advertising, exhibitions, direct mail are all cited as beginning to feel the pinch and this is predicted to continue. It’s quite clear why this is the case: it basically boils down to measurement and how much bang you can get for your marketing buck. PR and press advertising can be incredibly effective at building brand awareness and blanketing a market sector but they’re not cheap exercises. When purse strings have been tightened, marketers have to look at activities that they can genuinely quantify, measure and justify back to the business. Simple stuff really , such as if I spend £1 how much will I make in return?
The answer to this question is far more attainable with online marketing than traditional. The analytics coupled with much better economies of scale make activities such as e-mail marketing, website development and search engine optimisation/PPC far more attractive to businesses. That is why the online advertising and email marketing industry are still posting big growth figures and by all accounts, recession or not, this will continue throughout 2009.
It’s very hard not to get embroiled in conversations regarding the economy at the moment because the media make it unavoidable, it plays on a continual loop 24 x 7, newspapers, radio, television and online. However through talking with our clients we’ve found that, in the main, the mood is cautionary as opposed to panic stations. I think everyone understand that things may get worse before they get better, but as long as we’re all sensible then the cogs will keep turning and there is still good business to be made – in fact many would argue that a period of downturn is the best time to market your wares!
James Smee, Director of Optimism