The Blogging panel discussion was too short (only an hour), but the great observation is how attitudes seem to be changing. We did have “the ROI question,” but for the most part the real issue isn’t whether companies should be involved with blogs, but how they should do it.
Among the returns on the blogging investment (and the investment can be really small; it can even be zero in dollar terms and just the time of an interested person), we came up with:
- Time saved in communication – answering common questions that have come by email, enabling leaders to refer those questions to the blog, and as people have further questions those can be asked and answered in the comments, too. It saves having to have the same conversation repeatedly.
- Leads generated and sales closed – Jeremiah says Podtech.net doesn’t do press releases or advertising; his blog is one of the company’s key methods of marketing, even though that’s not it’s primary purpose.
- Building relationships with customers – this is the main benefit
- Customers and potential clients familiar with you – A blog is a great way for people to be up to speed on what you’re all about, eliminating awkward talk about the weather when you first meet.
- SEO – This wasn’t mentioned the first time through, because it’s a fundamental truth that BLOG stands for Better Listings On Google. It’s a given. Having a blog puts you higher in the search rankings.
Members of the blogging panel, and their blogs, are listed and linked to below:
- Jeremiah Owyang, from Podtech.net
- David Doucette, from Fairmont Hotels
- Rick Short, from Indium Corporation
- Peter S. Mahoney, Nuance Communications.
(OK, he said his blog was hard to find. I couldn’t find it. But you can contact him at Nuance.)Thanks to Michael for the link to Peter’s blog in the comments below - Grier Graham, our moderator from Techdirt.
- And I am Lee Aase, your faithful scribe, from Mayo Clinic. But then you knew that, since you’re already here. I’m here on Facebook if you want to “Friend” me.
So tell us, what didn’t we get to discuss that you wish we would have? The beauty of a blogging panel is it never really dies. The discussion can continue indefinitely.
Updated: Thanks for the link, Jeremiah. For those interested in reading more about the conference sessions, here are the links to Day 1 and Day 2 posts.
Technorati: Blogging, panel, Jeremiah Owyang, David Doucette, Rick Short, Peter Mahoney, Grier Graham, ROI
Thanks for the writeup, Lee! – Dennis
Jennifer Jones, my colleague produces a very high quality podcast called “Marketing Voices” it’s got many subscribed who are marketers.
We’re eating our own dog food.
Hey Lee,
Great talking with you today. Btw, Peter Mahoney’s blog is here:
http://mycmonetwork.blogspot.com/
Mike
Thanks Lee! It was a great discussion and I think we all agreed that there was not enough time to cover the content. I learned a lot from this group and hope to continue the discussion about how we can all use this powerful communication medium.
–> Peter
Lee,
You did a great job on the blogging panel. I know I learned a lot from you (especially in the discussions we had during the breaks). I look forward to staying in touch and learning more.
Thanks, Rick. It was great getting to meet and know you…and congrats on the gift card! I want to stay in touch with you, too…because we haven’t had the level of external blogging you have, and I really like the approach you take with new people wanting to start a blog.
I plan to subscribe to your blog, but for some quirky reason it’s blocked to me behind the firewall. You’re not running a porn site, are you?
I expect it will be unblocked soon…