Jack Morton is an experiential marketing agency. In an article called Leveraging the power of blogs in Jack Morton 360 newsletter you can find a good article about blogs. They say:

“Blogging is like a modern day soapbox: anyone can post a blog and use it to share a perspective or message. And by “anyone,” we mean anyone—individuals, employees, business leaders and even brands. Blogs are uniquely genuine, the virtual equivalent of “word of mouth.”

And here are some suggestions:

  • “Conduct Industry Analysis: Need to find out what a group of consumers think about your latest widget or market trends? Check out blog sites for the specialists following your industry. Specialty search tools and listings make it easy to find the blogs you want (Technorati.com is a good example, Blogwise.com is another). It’s a real-time (and free!) pulse-check for opinions and conventional wisdom in your market. You can even choose to be alerted when something new is posted on a blog that interests you. This type of “blog beginner” activity can help your brand tap into the knowledge that is out there—even if leadership isn’t quite ready to jump into blogging with both feet.
  • Take Advantage of Targeted Advertising Opportunities: Most industry-related blogs are either sponsored outright or earn income via banner and text ads. Identify bloggers who cover important topics in your area and find out what they charge.  Blogs are a great medium for targeted messages—and because they’re online, they’re flexible. Marketers can change ads to match the day-to-day changes in their industry. (This is another way to warm brand managers to the idea of blogging their brand—especially when bloggers start responding to the ads.)
  • Encourage Employees to Blog: Encouraging team members (or better yet, leadership) to create their own blogs will enable readers to experience the personal side of your business. At the same time, you can give customers (or investors) an “inside scoop” on where your company is headed. Technical or development experts can discuss the latest goings on in R&D, while your C-level discusses the future of your business. Your brand can gain quick credibility by offering the chance to have conversations with executives or experts. And each has the freedom to tell their own version of the brand story—lending it the human touch that blogs are known for.
  • Create a Corporate Blog: Your brand’s blog can broadcast messages to your external consumers, partners and industry-watchers. Or, it can be used to communicate internally with your own employees and teams. Much like a newsletter or other “push” channel, you can use a blog to talk to anyone. The difference is that dialogue via blog is quick and specific—so blogs become both a “push” and “pull” channel. Users come back because they are genuinely interested in the content, while brands have a portal for sharing the latest news as it happens.”

Thanks to Albert who tipped me.

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