Posts filed under 'Blogs'
Posted February 8th, 2008 by Neha
Fashion Week in 2007 was the year for the celebration of staple institutions in the fashion world. Lacoste was applauded for 75 years of defining timeless and Ralph Lauren took a much deserved bow at the end of the runway for 40 years that have reshaped the industry.
As last year applauded the traditional, Fashion Week 2008 has embraced the new. New media that is. In 2006, bloggers were handed the much vied for press passes among the Anna Wintours of the industry. 2008 sees another first on this front. IQONS.com, a social networking platform that has connected some of fashion’s premier young talent with the industry’s superstars, was enlisted as a media partnership, alongside longtime traditional media partner The New York Times.
I find the most compelling aspect of social media to be the ability for a community to contribute their own thoughts and build upon one another’s ideas. It gives everyone a voice, even those who don’t get those prized seats at the runway. So I find it fitting that with the induction of this new media partnership, IQONS will circulate the first issue of its user-generated magazine among the jewel tone clad fashionistas perched under the white peaks of the Bryant Park tents. Meanwhile I will shiver in Boston, and try to live vicariously through some of my favorite fashion bloggers (Fashion Tribes) who were given the ultimate nod from the industry by getting press passes to arguably, the most glamorous week of the year.
Posted January 10th, 2008 by Char Lyn
Mack over at the Viral Garden had a post yesterday that gave a great tip for using Google to monitor your brand in the blogosphere. He also underlined the importance of corporations leveraging the free market research available through blogs. However, I disagreed with the underlying message of his post, which implied that corporations don’t monitor the blogs and should always respond to blog posts about them.
Good marketers know when no response is the best course of action. Here are some examples:
- A truthful, transparent response will incite more negative posts.
- Responding may expose the company to legal action or increased regulatory oversight.
- Entering the conversation opens a floodgate that requires continued involvement beyond the resources of the company.
Still don’t believe me? Then you probably also think the customer is ALWAYS right. Now I do believe that you should do everything within your power to make a customer happy, but there are some customers whose happiness would drive you out of business. When those customers blog, no response is the best route.
Do you have other scenarios when a corporation shouldn’t respond? I’d love to hear them. Also feel free to comment about your vehement opposition to the content of my post. Just be aware that I may not respond.
@Jennifer Laycock Please don’t misconstrue my post in any way. I loved your post and subsequent comments. In your specific case, Panera’s best response may be to allow each franchise location to determine the log in time interval, in which case you could get the local manager to give you unlimited access.
Posted January 8th, 2008 by Kevin
Last week, Mack Collier, popular Social Media Blogger at The Viral Garden, continued his discussion on How to Launch a Successful Blogger Outreach Program in One Day. This edition of the conversation focused on how companies can approach bloggers if there is currently little to no online chatter about the brand. As Mack states, adding value for your audience can have an immediate impact on conversations about your brand. Some of you may be scratching your head and wondering what that means. How can you add value beyond the value your product or company currently provides?
Your first instinct may be to utilize traditional PR materials and redistribute them to the blog to increase exposure and drive traffic back to company news. Another idea may be to take previously distributed content and post it up on the blog to see if it generates a conversation. Don’t be disappointed when your audience doesn’t get excited about materials they can find elsewhere on your site or have seen before in the past.
Adding value means providing content, materials and conversation that expands upon your existing brand presence. Use this venue to let people inside the operation and understand what makes the company tick. I’m not suggesting that you give away the company “secret sauce,” but be passionate about the industry and ask yourself, “what do our customers need to know?”
If your company makes performance apparel for athletes that keeps you cool in hot weather, blog about all of the sports that could benefit from your offering. I’m much more likely to talk to you if I believe that you use the products and they work. Ask me what products I’d like to see you develop using your “state of the art technology” and you’ll have me hooked! Don’t paint yourself into a corner by focusing solely on the technology that makes your clothes superior and news from the company. Your customers don’t really care how it works; only that it does.
There will always be an opportunity to mention a new product, discuss the addition of a new team member or even announce that you had a great quarter, but the primary focus should be on getting the people to your blog and keeping them involved in the conversation. And most importantly, the conversation needs to come from a real person.
*Important Note: Start thinking about who you want your customers and potential customers to be conversing with before you launch the blog.
Posted January 4th, 2008 by Scott
2008 has finally arrived! Now it’s time to get up off the couch and commit to your resolutions. My first and foremost commitment is dedicating more time to my footprint in social media. Yes it’s true, I work for a social media marketing company and KNOW the value and necessity of taking part in the everyday blog-to-blog discussions and infamous social networks. But the truth of the matter is in 2007 I did the same thing that many others out there did, I OBSERVED. The start of 2008 is the perfect time to act on our “research” from last year.
I know what I need to do. Do you? If not, here are a few ways that you can get yourself and your business involved in online conversations:
1. Monitor the conversations going on about you, your company and your products. Utilize RSS feeds like Google Reader to help you monitor the day-to-day conversations.
2. Contribute to blog posts via comments, participate in online communities and forums, and share your own opinions within consumer review sites. Monitor your brand (Technorati and Google Blog Search can help with that) – if you’re being talked about, whether positive or negative, get involved in the conversation. Let your customers know their voices are being heard. Often enough some of the biggest critics will become advocates because you acknowledge their complaints.
3. Sign up and create profiles for all the major social networks (Myspace, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.). Since we live in a world where it’s not what you know but rather who you know, expand your network and reconnect with old friends and colleagues.
4. Take the plunge and START A BLOG! There are loads of platforms available (Wordpress, TypePad, etc.) where you can sign up and have your own blog up and running in minutes!
Keep in mind the web is rapidly evolving – putting off what you could do with social media today until tomorrow could leave you up to your neck in catch up work 
.
Best of Luck in ‘08!
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