Comments on: Enough With Blogger Strategies!

By: » Browse My Stuff

» Browse My Stuff — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:39:58 +0000

[...] Enough With Blogger Strategies! davefleet.com • Tuesday, June 23, 2009 davefleet.com Exploring the intersection of communications, marketing and social media Skip to content About Contact Pitching Tips « Edelman’s Trust Barometer 2008 – Social Media Rising; Word of Mouth Still King IABC Takes The Lead With The Social Media Release » Enough With Blogger Strategies! I attended an event recently where I had the pleasure of chatting with a number of executives about social media. READ MORE [...]

By: Marketing and PR News and Ideas, March 6, 2008

Marketing and PR News and Ideas, March 6, 2008 — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 05:07:12 +0000

[...] Enough with Blogger Strategies! – Dave Fleet talks about how organizations can get involved in blogging, and points to various primers on the subject. [...]

By: Dave Fleet

Dave Fleet — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 22:16:04 +0000

Eden — thanks for your comment! As we discussed yesterday, we synced up on this one – I actually updated the post as you were commenting.

You make an excellent point – transparency is very important. PR people should definitely disclose their role when commenting on posts related to their client.

By: Dave Fleet

Dave Fleet — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 22:11:18 +0000

Henna — you’re right, companies should start out by commenting on things that aren’t about their company (and building a relationship with you through other means if appropriate, too) – I neglected to put that in my original post. I’ve fixed that now – thanks for pointing that out.

By: Eden Spodek

Eden Spodek — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 03:01:49 +0000

Excellent post Dave!

When it comes to the engage aspect, while it’s important communicators learn how to use social media and commenting on blogs is a good way to start, I think people need to tread carefully.

It may be easiest to start commenting on blogs unrelated to your company or client(s). Start commenting on other industry blogs or topics of interest.

Unlike Henna, I actually welcome comments from people representing brands provided they are upfront and either offer points of clarification or move the discussion along.

What I don’t like is when they say they are “anonymous” but clearly they are speaking on behalf of product or service and their post is a blatant promotion.

By: collin

collin — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 19:27:29 +0000

testify!

By: Henna

Henna — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 18:04:09 +0000

You are right – I don’t mention any commenting policies on my blog but it’s because I figure that PR people will just know. I mean, if you’re posting a comment about the brand you represent, I’m assuming it’s because you want to say something good about it, and since your point of view is unobjective, it’s not necessarily the best comment.

And I want to clarify – I’m definitely open to hearing from companies! I love hearing from P.R. people and agencies because they help me get the right information. The ones that I do deal with are great – they are helpful and have taken the time to build a relationship with me which makes it a pleasure to work with them! But they haven’t built that relationship through commenting and I don’t think that would be a great start. If they wanted to comment on products they don’t represent, I’d be open to that as long as they weren’t bashing them.

But yeah, all this just goes for me (and most product-focussed bloggers I’ve spoken to).

By: Dave Fleet

Dave Fleet — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 06:18:20 +0000

Gavin — great point!

By: Dave Fleet

Dave Fleet — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 06:17:28 +0000

Hi Henna,

Thanks for your perspective.

If the company does step #1 (listen) properly, they should know that you don’t want comments from PR folks on your site and that they should contact you another way. Remember, though – not everyone feels that way. Some people are open to hearing from companies.

Thinking of your specific situation: You’ve made your decision on companies commenting on your blog so I won’t speak to that. In terms of your site, at first glance I don’t see anything that would indicate you don’t want to hear from PR people (it may be that you’ve written about it in the past, but I haven’t delved that deeply). I suggest that you put something in your sidebar or on a ‘comment policy’ page that clearly says you don’t want comments from companies. That way the good people will notice and pick another way to contact you (perhaps consider providing that clearly, too), and you have something to point not-so-good people to, too.

Thanks again,

Dave

By: Gavin Heaton

Gavin Heaton — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 03:53:00 +0000

As you suggest, blogging is not a strategy, but a tactic within an overall social media strategy. Sure blogs are a great way to communicate, but it is just one of the forms in which consumers and businesses are engaging with brands. If you follow the first step of “Listening” well, then you may find that you need to “play” in other social media spaces too.