To Blog, or Not to Blog

A few years back I sat in a meeting with some of the most powerful online publishers in the UK. The topic at that time was

Whether Blogs would become a powerful publishing tool.

The debate has now changed to

How to utilise the power of the blog.

Many of the arguments still hold true; most blogs are drivel, most bloggers don’t stick at it for more than a week, most blogs generate no traffic, many are used simply as SEO spam, and good writing, interesting subjects and great journalism are still top of the pile and what people ultimately want.

What has happen is that mainstream journalism has met new online pretenders and the blog is the playing field. All the major publications and columnists now have blogs. It is the same concept, just a variation in terms of medium.

Reduce it down and blogs are the newspaper column of the internet. They are about connecting with an audience, pushing the boundaries, about individual opinion and personal experiences.

This is significantly different to the marketing tool many perceive them to be, where the blogger pushes marketing messages at their audience.

CEO’s and MD’s have caught onto the buzz - they thump boardroom tables demanding that their company has a blog - not fully understanding the power or implications of the medium.

I’m not convinced that a blog is for everyone. A poor blog, an outdated blog, a blog created to push a specific party line can do more damage than good.

If you are going to go down the blog route there is no half hearted, lets dip our toe in the water path. It is a jump in and submerse yourself approach that is required. If the idea of being completely open, of committing resources to something that may or may not take off, if you want to stick to the old style "we tell it to you" approach, then blogs are not for you.

There are a many questions to ask yourself before becoming part of the Blogosphere

• Why do you want a blog? You have heard it is a must and everyone is doing it, but why do you want to develop a blog, what do you want to get from the blog?
• Do you have something interesting, personal and engaging to share with the readership, or are you simply trying to use it as another way to pump out marketing messages?
• What or who is the personality of your blog?
• Are you prepared to invest resources in updating the blog regularly, preferably daily?
• Are you willing to allow the bloggers you have chosen the freedom to say and write what they feel and think; or do you want to keep strict editorial control?

A successful blog can be a powerful branding tool. It offers the opportunity to engage with your customers at a deeper level, it gives the opportunity to share your values with your customers and it turns marketing into a true conversation, not a production to be watched and admired.

If you want to create a blog, to tap into this phenomenon, take a step back, ask yourself the tough questions. Once you can answer them, once you are confident this is the path for you to pursue, then jump in with both feet. You might just be surprised at the results.

OnlineTravelFocus
Online Travel Focus