Opinion: The Case for Blogging
I’ll admit it. I’m a blogger. And I’m not ashamed of it.
So I cringe when I hear a reporter is ejected from a college playoff game because the NCAA prohibits live blogging.
I squirm when fellow journalists check out Perez Hilton, then talk about how low-brow social media is.
And I cheer when I hear the NHL’s New York Islanders and the Arena Football League launch contests encouraging blogging, and rewarding the best of the best with press credentials.
It’s time marketers and writers realize blogging has hit the mainstream. It may still be a subculture, but people are writing, and consumers are reading.
I launched my own about high school football in September 2005 after covering Blogon05 for this Web site. The intent was to take Seth Godin’s advice to write about a passion, include some SEO, and find out if I have an audience. If it worked, I’d bring it to my Chief Marketer bosses and persuade social media development.
My tiny niche blog was deemed a success because it created a buzz and educated readers. Now it’s my evening and weekend labor of love. Turns out people from all walks of life are still reading it – from inner-city high school football players to the chairman of the board of a major low-price airline.
My audience is small by nature, but loyal. In June, a relatively slow month for high school football, there were 5,210 visits (1,328 unique), 17,596 page views, and 81% returning visitors.
So here comes the question: If a blog that targets fans of one high school football league in Fairfield County, Connecticut, can be successful, why aren’t more brand marketers and niche publishers jumping on board?
Think about it. There are 16,615,843 blog posts (according to Google as of July 1 at noon) related to the iPhone, a product that is already generating a huge buzz. And Rokkan CEO John Noe wrote last week that more big brands are using social media to create excitement for its products.
A lesser-known brand may not be able to build as big a buzz as Apple, but could build excitement and create awareness by getting into social media.
Marketers already should be checking the blogosphere to read what consumers are saying about their brands.
If the Islanders and the AFL can build excitement by getting citizen journalists to promote them, more brands should be doing the same. Although in their cases, the citizen journalists vying for the prize may be kissing a little tail, and be afraid to tell it like it is (I’m not).
Now if you still think blogging is low-brow, check your favorites, track your viewing history, and see how many social media sites you’ve hit. Then consider taking your brand down the social media avenue.
For more Chief Marketer articles on blogs and the use of social media, click:
