WebMaster Solutions
Blogging
and
Marketing
Blogs and
Vlogs and Wikis, oh my!
by Kenneth Catto
Perhaps you've
heard about blogs - the hottest communication
story of last year. Commentators from Newsweek
to the Wall Street Journal, from CNN to PBS have
devoted time to the phenomenon. Blogs are just
one of the new technologies that are changing
the way politicians communicate with voters and
businesses communicate with customers.
For marketers,
these changes mean more direct interaction with
customers and potential customers. By speaking
and listening directly with the customer
marketers are able to reduce the expense for
public relations and advertising. Of course,
these developments are worrying some in the pr
and advertising industries, as well as the news
media.
Many things about
marketing communication won't change, of course:
you still need to have something to say. And the
best way to apply all these technologies is
still within a business niche. With that said,
here are some of the other ways communication is
changing:
1. Podcasting is
the hottest idea on the internet. Starting in
2004, people began downloading homebrewed radio
shows to their iPods. So instead of "broadcasts"
they're "podcasts". Unlike streaming audio,
podcasts require the file to be downloaded. The
advantage of podcasts versus streaming is that
you can take it with you when you're not on the
net. The disadvantage is that streaming audio is
much easier for a customer to play at his or her
computer. The solution is to do both - create an
audio file for streaming, and an mp3 for
podcasting. The same recording can be used for
both.
2. A vlog is a
video blog. Unlike podcasting, vlogging can
refer to either streaming video or downloadable
shows. Combined with the rapid development of
internet video delivery, vlogging seems poised
to take off. As with audio, you can prepare your
video file in both streaming and downloadable
formats. Also like audio, you can begin with
very low-cost tools and work your way up to full
blown professional equipment. Remember that
people like good production quality, but they
like watching something interesting even more.
3. Wikis are
websites that are editable by the site users.
Content becomes part of a dialogue among the
users, instead of something fixed. This
interaction can build strong communities, and
produce large sites with enormous information.
Up until recently, wikis have been difficult to
use, and limited to techs. New approaches to
wikis are making them easier to use, and
reinforcing the next trend:
4. Social
software. Community sites that encourage sharing
and conversation are springing up in many areas.
Photography and music have been drivers of this
trend, in addition to political activism.
Interaction builds community, and community is
where the market is.
5. Almost all of
these tools involve RSS, a technology for
feeding information to people who want it.
Unlike email, which is "pushed" by the sender,
RSS feeds have to be "pulled" by the user. While
still not completely mainstream, rss is a
rapidly growing delivery system.
For the small
marketer, the price of reaching customers
directly has dropped. Large corporations,
though, are picking up on these technologies
rapidly. To truly gain an edge, the small
business person needs to develop a strategy for
these channels before the big companies figure
them out.
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