Entering the Blogosphere

DevonInspiration Ltd.
www.devoninspiration.com

The most explosive
outbreak in the
information world
since the
Internet itself.
– Business Week Online1

© 2005, DevonInspiration Ltd. Reproduction Prohibited Page 2

Table of Contents
BACKGROUND
5 Blogs defined
7 Who’s blogging?
8 Why do people blog?
13 The blog boom
BLOGS AND BUSINESS
16 Research
18 Advertising and marketing
20 Brand building
23 Communications
26 Public Relations
27 Thought leadership
28 Search engine optimization
29 What to blog about?
RISKS AND MISTAKES
31 Risks
33 Mistakes to avoid
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY
36 What’s new in blogging?
38 How technical is it?
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS
40 Recommendations
44 Final thoughts


Background


Blogs defined
A blog, short for web log, has traditionally
been defined as an online diary or
chronological log of the author’s thoughts.
As blogs evolve, this definition is quickly
becoming outdated.
Increasingly, a “blog” refers to a site’s
architecture: a simple web site which is easy
to read, use and update. Blogs are
essentially content management systems
which show posts in reverse chronological
order and generally allow reader interaction
through “comments” links.
Blogs are emerging as an online medium for
everything from traditional diaries, to in-depth
product reviews, to news reporting and
analysis. Blogs are evolving down three
distinct paths:
• News blogs
• Personal blogs
• Corporate blogs


Most major news organizations have
established blogs about breaking news, blogs
about specific topic areas or blogs by
columnists from their print format.
Personal blogs make up the majority of
blogs. I group anything blogs where the
author is writing his/her personal opinions
and musings into this category.
Finally, corporate blogs are emerging. While
some early-adopter corporations already
have blogs, the next 12 months will be a
defining period in the way that businesses
use blogs.
Sample blog from a newspaper: http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/online/


Who’s blogging?
• Demographics:
– 57% of blog readers are male 2
– 52% of blog readers are over 30
years old2
– 42% of bloggers live in households
earning more than $50,000 (£26,106)
annually2
– 1.7% of blog readers are CEOs3
• Online behavior:
– 86% of blog readers purchase music
online3
– 70% of bloggers have broadband/
high-speed Internet access at home2
– 27% of Internet users (14 million
people) read blogs1
• 11% of Internet users are habitual
blog readers4
– 12% of Internet users have posted
comments or other material on blogs 2


Why do people blog?
Bloggers have a sense of community; they
connect with others who have a passion for
the blog’s topic. Blogs combine immediacy
with a personal approach in a way that is
unmatched by other outlets.
News blogs What are people
blogging about?
Bloggers are becoming
“citizen journalists” in 1. Personal subjects
increasing numbers. 2. Politics & Government

Anyone can write a blog 3. Arts & Entertainment
4. Lifestyle
about any topic; there
5. Humor
are no gatekeepers or
6. Business
editors who control
britblog.com, 21 Mar 2005
content. Therefore there
has been a transference of informational
power from the few to the many.
In a recent speech to American editors,
media mogul Rupert Murdoch admitted that
he underestimated the influence of the
Internet (and bloggers), noting that people
want more control over the media, instead of
being controlled by it.5

Evolution as a news source
During The Gulf War in the U.S., many
people for the first time turned to CNN for up-
to-the-minute reports; indeed the network’s
ratings during that period far exceeded their
previous records.
After 9/11, the use of the Internet as the
primary information source for breaking news
became mainstream.
Several events in the recent past have shown
that people are now increasingly turning to
blogs rather than or in addition to traditional
media for the latest information.
In December 2004, thousands of blog
reporters posted pictures, video footage and
first-hand reports immediately following the
Asian tsunami – before the first accredited
journalists arrived on the scene.1
After the London bombings on 7 July, blog
search engine Technorati reported a 30%
increase in blogging activity. Nine of their top

Evolution of blogs as a news source
TV Cable Internet Blogs


ten searches were for Technology enables
transport updates, eye- citizen journalism
witness accounts, → Free, easy-to-use
missing persons blogging sites emerge
information and news → Camera phones
updates. capture on-the-scene
images
As further testimony to → Blogging sites
the movement, MSNBC enable users to
has opened a citizen update blogs via text
messages or e-mail
journalists web page,
complete with an → Compatible audio
and video technology
“assignment desk”. allows posting of clips
on blogs
Enabling technology
→ RSS feeds on blogs
Other technological instantly update
advances have subscribers
facilitated the citizen
journalist movement. Many mobile phones
now come with built-in cameras, enabling
people at the scene to take pictures and
e-mail the post not only to news sources but
directly to their own blogs. Additionally, many
blog platforms allow users to send an e-mail
or a text or voice message which is
automatically posted to the blog.


Political blogs
Blogs are already playing a role in politics.
Politicians, their spouses and campaign staff
are creating blogs in the run-up to elections
to build support and to help control their
message.
www.labour.org.uk/tonyblair

www.gop.com/blog

Bloggers with every political leaning bring a
new level of scrutiny to incumbent politicians
and challengers alike. Many political bloggers
have built up a community who trust their
opinion. Bloggers were even granted press
credentials to the party conventions during
the last U.S. presidential elections.

Creative Outlet
Blogs can be used as a creative outlet. For
instance, Google’s blogging site Blogger.com
encouraged would-be authors to finish a
novel and post it during U.S. National Novel
Writing Month.
Celebrity Blogs
Celebrities as diverse as Pamela Anderson
and Barbara Streisand are also getting in on
the blogging action to promote their latest
projects, connect with fans or express their
political views.
http://barbrastreisand.com/statements.html

http://pamelaanderson.blogs.friendster.com/


The blog boom
• In 2004, Webster's made "blog" its word of
the year.6
• As previously mentioned, about 27% of
Internet users read blogs.1
• The number of blogs has increased from
100 thousand to 13.9 million in about two
and a half years.7
• In a role reversal, traditional news media
are now reporting on what the bloggers are
saying; London’s The Guardian newspaper
reported bloggers’ views on the UK’s
general election this May.

Blogs (in millions)
16
July, 2005,
14
13.9
12
May, 2005,
10
9.0
8
Dec, 2004,
6
4.8
4
2 Dec, 2002,
0.1
0


Blogs and
business


How can businesses use blogs?
Businesses are just learning how to utilize
blogs. In the early days of the Internet, many
companies simply used their web site as an
online “brochure”. There was a recognition
that they should be involved in the medium,
but it took some time before a clear under-
standing of how to use the medium emerged.
Business blogging is in its infancy; however
blogging in general has reached a tipping
point. Customers are increasingly familiar
with blogs. Now is the time for early movers
to make their mark in the “blogosphere” not
only to gain new customers and increase
customer loyalty, but to shape the way that
businesses use blogs to interact with
customers.
On the following pages, some areas of
business blogging are explored:
• Research
• Advertising & Marketing
• Brand Building
• Communications
• Public Relations
• Thought leadership

Research
Business should periodically monitor what is
being said about them in blogs. However,
navigating through the blogosphere to gain
insights can be a time-consuming process.
This task can be outsourced to blog-
monitoring services that use text-analysis
techniques and natural-language-analysis
software to evaluate blog
and other online content. What to research
 Information on
Competitive research competitors
Because blogs are  Public opinion
constantly being updated, about your brand
they are a great source for  Find out what’s
missing from your
competitive information. product offerings
Consumer-generated  Determine gaps in
media such as chat consumer
understanding of
groups, message boards
your products
and blogs can be less  Look for
biased than focus groups. misinformation
about your
Market research company or its
Blogs encourage direct products so that
you can rectify it
and instant feedback from

customers. Companies can ask customers
what they think about the latest product, ad
campaign, or what they would like to see in
the company’s offerings.
U.S. Cellular recently used blog research to
create a new calling plan targeted at teens.
Blogs revealed that teens were concerned
about exceeding their minutes, because their
parents would make them pay for the extra
charges. To address this concern, U.S.
Cellular offered free incoming calls to teens. 8
Polaroid’s blog research alerted them to the
fact that customers are concerned with photo
longevity and archiving. They now have the
opportunity to
develop a
product which
meets these
needs.8
Blogs by and for
brand or product
advocates are
an excellent tool http://blogs.myrtlebeachonline.com/biker_blog
for market Example of a blog by a product advocate: Biker Blog
promotes Harley Davidson.
research.

Advertising & marketing
Ad placement
Businesses can cost effectively reach highly-
targeted blog audiences by placing ads on
relevant sites.
Advantages of
Ads can be placed directly blog advertising
or through a third party  Reach highly-
such as Google's AdSense targeted audiences
which finds germane blogs  Only pay for
based on key words within customers who
click through to
the blog’s content. For this your site
type of ad, advertisers  Outsource the ad
generally pay on a per placement function
click-through basis. to third-parties
such as Google
Henry Copeland, founder AdSense
of media-buying firm  Earn revenue from
BlogAds, expects blog ads on your own
blog site
authors to earn increasing

Example ads from Google AdSense: www.fivewordreviews.blogspot.com


revenue as advertisers bypass publishers
and pay bloggers directly for their
audiences.4
Product launches
Bloggers can generate a buzz for new
products. Microsoft hired 20 bloggers to
promote the next generation of its Windows
operating system.4
Example of Microsoft employee blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/embedded/

Sales
Blogs can include links to sell items online.
Because they are updated frequently, they
are more likely to drive traffic than a static
web site. In addition it is perceived as a soft-
sell approach.

Brand building
Creating a human element:
Disney, MSN and Sun Microsystems are
among the many companies that let their
employees blog about their products.
www.blogs.sun.com

According to Nick Barley, business and
marketing officer of Microsoft UK, blogging
allows Microsoft “to show a human face and
engage with people on a one-to-one basis.
There's immediate feedback and it
demonstrates that we listen”.9
Employees can be the best advertising
channel, according to Pete Blackshaw, CMO
at Intelliseek, because they they speak with
authority, passion and credibility. 9

The new brand advocacy
Bloggers are beginning to obtain sponsorship
from products and brands. However, full
disclosure is the custom in the blogosphere,
as savvy blog readers will Building brands
quickly pick up on with blogs
 Put a human face
marketing speak and this
on your corporation
may in turn have a  Let your employees
negative impact on show their
the brand. expertise and
interact with best
The good news is that customers
customer evangelists are  Hire bloggers to
already blogging about promote your brand
brands for free. A  Interact with
customer
company representative evangelists on their
can respond to posts or blogs
questions about their  Establish your
brand directly on the company’s
expertise by
blogger’s site. posting
collaborative
Establishing expertise
reports in blog form
Blogs are the new White  Become an
Papers. A single expert or information
a team can collaborate to resource
create an authoritative
report in blog form.

Agencies and other service providers can
establish themselves as experts in their field
by posting their own articles and linking to
relevant industry-news items.
Agenda Inc. posts articles from other sources:
http://news.agendainc.com

Nike hires corporate bloggers: www.gawker.com/artofspeed


Communications
Opt-in Communications
Blogs are the next step in opt-in
communications. Using a Really Simple
Syndication (RSS) feed, customers can be
notified every time their favourite web site
has been updated. RSS has been around for
a number of years, but it is coming into the
limelight with blogs.
Customers subscribe to an RSS aggregator
which either sends them an e-mail (through a
compatible program such as Outlook), or
compiles the posts on a web page such as
My Yahoo!. Each time a blog or other site
with RSS is updated, the customer will have
instant access to the information.
Currently 5% of Internet users (approximately
2.5 million people) use a form of RSS
aggregator.2

Example graphics for RSS feeds:


E-mail collection
Blogs can be used as part of an e-mail
collection and lead-generation strategy.
Identify who is visiting your blog for research
purposes (i.e. before making a buying
decision) and who is visiting because they
are an existing customer seeking additional
information. This information can be used to
send future targeted e-mail to these groups.
Viral marketing
Blog posts can be e-mailed, forwarded and
linked to. “Permalinks” create a unique page
for each post so that as the site is updated
links to older posts won’t become outdated.
“Trackbacks”, another blog feature, allow
blog readers to comment on your blog within
their own blog and create a direct link to your
original post.
Crisis management
Even faster than sending e-mail, a blog can
keep your best customers informed in the
event of a crisis. Blog architecture allows for
quick web updates, and RSS feeds
disseminate the information immediately.


Internal communications Communicate
with blogs
Blogs can also be used for  Use Really Simple
internal communications, Syndication (RSS)
either to distribute feeds to inform
customers of blog
information from one-to-
updates
many (e.g. replacing a  Collect data from
company newsletter or visitors to your blog
e-mail) or for two-way to send future
communication. targeted
communications
Blogs can be used in work  Encourage
groups to collaborate on a forwarding and
linking to blog
project and share posts
learnings. Because of their  Communicate
simple architecture, blogs quickly during
are an excellent crises
alternative to content  Share information
with internal
management systems and departments
knowledge management  Keep partners and
software. Their flexibility suppliers updated
allows for postings of
various lengths, with different types of
content, e.g. photos, links, audio or video
clips and text.
Finally, blogs can keep partners and
suppliers updated.


Public Relations
Blogs can be used to communicate with the
press. Using RSS updates, companies can
regain some control in disseminating their
information. However, it is not advisable to
simply post press releases in this format.
Instead create a feed of helpful information
on your company.
Having the company CEO, senior
management or company spokesperson (e.g.
head of a new product launch) maintain a
blog can generate P.R.
To capitalize on pre-existing blogs, identify
blogs that are most likely to comment on or
report on your product. Offer them advance
or exclusive information in order to generate
good will and created positive word-of-mouth.


Thought leadership
CEOs and other business leaders who blog
can claim their stake in thought leadership for
their industry. They can state their opinions
on current industry events as they happen,
and cut through media clutter.
Blogs allow top-level managers to have more
conversations with customers than is feasible
in person.

GM’s Vice Chairman interacts with consumers on his blog:
http://fastlane.gmblogs.com

Creating a buzz through blogs can also lead
to speaker opportunities for small- to
medium-sized business owners.

Search engine optimization
“Blog” is becoming an acronym for “Better
Listing on Google”. Because of the way
search engine spider technology works, blogs
with many pages and links will benefit from
higher listings in search engine results. This
translates to higher click-through rates than
static web sites.
Frequently updated blogs, with lots of
content, pages, comments and links generally
receive the highest rankings.
Each time a blogger posts a new entry, a new
web page is created, which is an opportunity
to increase the frequency of key words –
again resulting in higher search engine
rankings.
As the medium evolves, customer demand
for less cluttered search results may well
precede a change to the way that search
engines operate. In fact, Google is already
beta testing “Google Scholar” to help
academics achieve more relevant results.


What to blog about?
• Company news
• Behind the scenes information on how the
company is run
• Case studies about previous work
• Comments on your industry
• Create a resource for industry issues
• Ask customers what they think about new
products or product ideas and other
innovations
• Have employees blog about the product or
service, e.g. have the product manager or
technical expert provide additional insights
• Most importantly, create a forum for open
dialogue with customers and address
issues raised by readers.


Risks and
mistakes


Risks
Negative feedback
Blogs foster open communication, so there is
the opportunity for negative customer
feedback. However, the format allows
companies to respond back to customers
directly.
The medium encourages full transparency
and customers respond to a company that is
honest about its pros and cons.
Competitive interference
While negative feedback generated by
competitors is a risk, IP addresses are
tracked, so it is possible to find out if your
competition is responsible for any negative
feedback.
Spam
Trackbacks allow other users to link to your
blog within their own blog. This can lead to
spam with some bloggers trying to increase
their search engine results by linking to as


many sites as possible. Anti-spam tools can
help combat this.

Lack of direction
Risk assessment
Be sure to have a clear  Are you able to
aim and direction for the respond to
blog. Have a plan to negative feedback?
create awareness and  Are you equipped
to handle
drive traffic. comments from
competitors?
In addition, have
 Can you implement
guidelines for employees spam filters if
who blog. It would be necessary?
wise to make this clear  Do you have a
even if your company clear plan for your
does not have an blog?
 Do employees
officially-sanctioned blog,
know what they
so that employees know can and can’t
what information can be disclose on a blog?
shared publicly.


Mistakes to avoid
Stagnating
Blogs need to be updated frequently to
establish and maintain an ongoing dialogue
with best customers. In addition, be prepared
to be responsive to reader comments, or the
one-to-one connection will be lost.
Fiction
Blog readers are savvy and will not spend
time reading a blog that looks like pure
advertising. At this time in the development of
blogs, customers are not responding to blogs
created by fictional characters such as a
company’s mascot.
Copy
Just as copy needs to be adapted from the
written page to an e-mail, blog copy has a
unique tone and style and should not be a
repurposing of already-written content. Copy
must be honest and authentic. Avoid P.R.-
speak and over selling.


Excessive linking
Bloggers have become Potential mistakes
very savvy at achieving × Not updating the
high search engine blog often enough
rankings by including × Creating a fictional
many links on their blog. blogger
However, the tactics they × Repurposing other
copy
use are not all advisable
× Too many links
for businesses. Too
many links within text
hinders readability.
Another blogging term “blogroll” refers to the
list of external links on a blog’s home page.
These links are often traded (i.e. I’ll link to
your site if you link to mine) to benefit both
bloggers. Businesses should limit their
external links to sites that provide helpful and
complementary information and resources –
ideally ones that do not link to competitor
sites.


Emerging
technology


What’s new in blogging?
Mobile blogging
Depending on the provider’s capabilities, a
blog can be updated online, via e-mail or now
by simply sending a text message.
The Guardian recently sent a reporter to New
York City to visit sites reviewed by bloggers,
and to post reports exclusively via mobile
blogging.10
The San Francisco Chronicle offers podcasts on
its blog: http://www.sfgate.com/blogs/podcasts

Podcasting and blogging
Bloggers can post MP3 files which can be
downloaded by the reader and played on a
computer, iPod or other MP3 device. This
phenomenon got a recent boost when
Apple’s iTunes included free podcasts in their
music store.

Video blogging (vlogging)
Citizen Journalists are taking blogging one
step further by having a video entry
accompanying their report.
Would-be talk show presenters are also
posting their own content using video
blogging software.
PlayStation’s latest marketing campaign has
become the UK’s first major consumer brand
to incorporate video blogging.

playstationfreedom.co.uk


How technical is it?
• Publishing blogs
– Using a standard template from a free
or low-cost provider, setting up a blog
is very simple and can be done in a
few hours.
– Any customization of a template will
require some tinkering with HTML
code, using the site provider’s help
menu as a guide.
– Add-on features such as a web site
counter, photos and password
protection may require customization.
Certain features will require bespoke
blog design.
– Adding an RSS feed to let users know
when your sight is updated can be
done by cutting and pasting code into
your blog’s template.


• Updating blogs
– Once a blog is set up, it takes only
minutes to post a new entry.
– Blogs with a lot of content will take
slightly longer for the post to be
published.
• Reading blogs
– This is just as simple as reading other
web pages, i.e. generally no password
or sign in is required.
• Interacting with existing blogs
– Some sites will let anybody post a
comment to them, i.e. you don’t need
to be registered with the site.
– Others require registration with the
site’s provider or the blog owner. This
generally involves simply setting up a
user name and password.


Additional
thoughts


Recommendations
Business blogs versus other blogs
Below I have illustrated where I think
corporate blogs should fit into several
categories, as compared with news and
personal blogs.
While corporate blogs should be updated
consistently, they should not be updated as
frequently as news or personal blogs which
may be updated several times per day.

Corporate
News Blogs Personal Blogs
Blogs
Updates Frequent, timely Frequent Less frequent
1 for most
Number of businesses;
1-6 1-3
blogs each 1-3 for technical
businesses
Many, relevant Few, relevant,
Links Many, relevant
and irrelevant selective
Ongoing or event Ongoing or event
Longevity of
Ongoing specific (e.g. specific (e.g.
blog
wedding, travel) product launch)
Ads Fewer Most Least
Adopting new
Second to market Early adopters Wait and see
technologies
Podcasts on
Yes Yes Rarely
blogs
Video Rarely and with
No Yes
blogging caution


Businesses should avoid blog overload from
having too many blogs. This can confuse,
rather than reinforce, brand messaging as the
company will have several “voices”.
As previously mentioned, businesses should
avoid the temptation to include an excessive
number of links in order to increase search
engine rankings.
Ads on business blogs should be specific and
strategically placed. Finally, new technologies
should be used with caution.
Customer interaction
Before launching a blog, businesses should
know what level of interaction they desire from
their customers. On the next page, I have
ranked various blog-related activities by
customer interest and level of interaction with
the blog.
Businesses should focus on attracting their
best customers to become “active”, or more
specifically, getting customers to subscribe to
their blog. Blogs are the next step in opt-in
communications. Forward-thinking companies
should formulate a plan (similar to an e-mail


address collection strategy) to build a
subscriber base now, in order to secure space
in customers’ news aggregators. As these
aggregators, such as My Yahoo!, become
more widely used, businesses will be
competing for space.
Bear in mind that customers who aren’t
technologically savvy may need to be
educated as to how to use the medium. This
should be done with both online and offline
communications.
A secondary strategy should focus on
converting “passive” and “interested”
customers to “engaged” customers.
Write a
Subscribe to related blog
blog(s)
Level of interaction

Leave
Leave many
comment on comments
Find blog a blog on blog(s)
through blog-
specific Read a Regularly
Find blog search blog read multiple
through engine, e.g. blogs
search Technorati
engine,
e.g. Google

Passive Interested Engaged Active Passionate


Final thoughts
• While there are millions of blogs, no one has
quantified the number of active blogs or the
number of unique blog writers; many bloggers
maintain more than one site. So while there
has been an explosion in the number of blogs,
the increase in the actual number of people
creating blogs is probably much less.
• Blogs are an emerging technology that will
continue to evolve. News blogs will lead the
way in increasing consumer awareness of
blogs and comfort level with blogs.
• Blogs are cheap and easy to implement, but
it is important to have a strategy in place
before embarking into “the blogosphere”.
Although there are many excellent blogs in
existence, the majority of blogs today are
poorly executed personal blogs with a narrow
appeal. This leaves the door wide open for
industry leaders to make their mark in the
blogosphere.
• At some point the increase in blogs will level
off, but blogs are here to stay: as long as
there is an Internet, there will be blogs.

Footnotes
1 Business Week Online, 2 May 2005
2 Pew Internet & American Life Project,
Brand Strategy, 10 May 2005
3 Blogads.com, 12 Mar 2005
4 Business Week Online, 13 Dec 2004
5 The Guardian, 15 April 2005
6 Financial Times, 4 Jan 2005
7 Technorati.com, 25 July 2005
8 The Wall Street Journal Online, 23 June 2005
9 Brand Strategy, 10 May 2005
10 The Guardian, 7 May 2005


For more information contact info@devoninspiration.com.


Entering the Blogosphere

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