Small Company? Better Blog!
Posted by Administrator on September 19th, 2005
By Ryan May, BAE Systems | Minnesota Public Relations Blog
EDITORS’ CHOICE| External Corporate Blogs
As you probably know by now, a lot has been written about corporate blogging in the last couple of years. Major corporations like General Motors and Microsoft have demonstrated how highly-visible blogs can be contagious and can help companies reach new audiences.
But to date most small companies haven’t jumped into the blogosphere. Often small companies don’t have the workforce or the infrastructure to explore this new world and, as a result, have overlooked blogging and the solutions it may offer them.
It is my belief that smaller companies can benefit more from blogging than larger companies for several reasons. Let’s develop a couple hypothetical scenarios about a small company we’ll call ABC Co. to investigate this idea more thoroughly.
First, let’s say ABC Co. chooses to ignore blogs or bloggers. While small companies might be less likely to be noticed by bloggers, that is not always the case. Take the now infamous example of Kryptonite bike locks.
When bloggers discovered that Kryptonite’s U-shaped lock could be easily picked with a Bic ballpoint pen, the company’s sales were hit hard. Kryptonite lost an estimated $10 million is just 10 days according to Fortune magazine, a pretty big hit for a $25 million dollar company. Blogs were blamed because they posted videos of how to pick the lock and Kryptonite ignored the problem.
Taking a page from Kryptonite’s book, ABC Co. now understands it can’t ignore blogs, so it begins to monitor them by using online services like Technorati, Blogdigger and Google. The monitoring doesn’t take longer than a simple word search daily to understand what people are saying about ABC Co. and their industry.
Lets say that after monitoring blogs for a period of time it becomes evident that, for the most part, ABC Co. is highly regarded in the industry. But a few rouge bloggers have posted some rumors that are false, and they seem to be multiplying across the blogosphere.
ABC Co. is now faced with a decision: how to respond to these false messages spreading like a virus across the web. ABC Co. may decide to try and target the bloggers directly, but pitching to bloggers holds some inherent risks including the mismanagement of messages and as a result making the situation worse.
Another option available to ABC Co. is to start their own blog and begin sending messages out to its customers proactively. At this point ABC Co. might examine the pros and cons of starting a blog. Here is an initial list:
The list above is by no means comprehensive, but it begins to dissect reasons for and against blogging. For the purpose of this article let’s assume that ABC Co. decides to start a blog. What are some things they may encounter right away?
I believe small companies that decide to blog will find that blogs unleash an untapped market segment. Blogs create relationships with visitors by interacting with them.
Also, by blogging small companies begin to establish themselves as leaders in the industry, because they have a greater web presence. Something often miss about blogs is that they typically get better placement within Google and other search engines, because of the number of sites they link to and that link back to them.
This develops online notoriety. Depending on the quality and frequency of the posts, ABC Co. will show it has its finger on the pulse of its industry, thereby gaining credibility.
If you run a developing company, it is time to ask yourself this question, “will your company blog or not?� In my opinion if you’re a small company, you better blog!
About the author
Ryan May is the Senior Public Affairs Analyst for Army Programs at BAE Systems in Fridley, MN. At BAE Systems, May manages the development of PR/Marketing efforts for major U.S. Army contracts including media relations, congressional briefings, internal communications, video creation and collateral to support army programs business development. May has a diverse background having worked as a freelance newspaper reporter covering the 2000 presidential election, as an event coordinator for Mark Dayton for Governor, a production intern at KQRS Radio and an account executive at Strother Communications Group. He blogs at Minnesota Public Relations Blog since February 2003.
September 19th, 2005 at 10:10 pm
Ryan,
I think you provide an excellent argument for why a small company had better blog. This discussion is interesting to me, as I’ve been chatting with the President of my company as to whether blogging is better or easier for a big company vs. a small company. I think its easier for a bigger company to blog, based on recent research conducted by my company.
http://blogsurvey.backbonemedia.com/archives/2005/08/more_on_big_vs.html
However, I really think, “it’s a company’s strategy that counts more than its size,” so a small company also has a lot to gain from blogging.
You wrote about some of the pros vs. cons of blogging, I had a few more examples.
Cons
http://www.backbonemedia.com/blogsurvey/15-Risks-of-corporate-blog.htm
Pros
http://www.backbonemedia.com/blogsurvey/22-impactcorporateblog.htm
However, I do think you should only blog if blogging fits within your marketing strategy and plan. I’ve seen a number of companies stop their blogging efforts recently because they determined they would receive a higher return elsewhere.
http://blogsurvey.backbonemedia.com/archives/2005/08/does_blogging_w.html
John Cass
September 19th, 2005 at 11:49 pm
John -
I agree it is definetely easier for larger companies to blog, but that it is why a small company can reap huge benefits by blogging.
Also, I wrote back in June that I felt many PR people were saying that blogs are the solution for everyone.
http://mnpr.blogspot.com/2005/06/missing-message.html
This is simply not true. As you said it is critical to make sure it fits within your company’s marketing strategy! Good thoughts.
September 21st, 2005 at 1:11 am
I run a small 12 person interactive agency and researched blogging at the beginning of the year. After reading several Blogging 101 articles, I remained skeptical that the PR value would be worth the work. I decided to launch the blog anyway but justified it with a different focus:
http://www.leveltendesign.com/blog/blogs/by-tom/welcome-to-the-levelten-in-site-blog/
I was looking for a way for our staff to communicate better and to facilitate a learning culture. After 7 months I can I still am skeptical about the PR value, but the blog has been a good focal point, and motivator for active research.
IMO the PR value of a blog for most small business is questionable and will diminish in the future as more business blogs come online. However, a blogs ability to foster learning and knowledge sharing makes it worth the work.
We are beginning to talk to several clients who have significant knowledge assets to share about starting a blog.
September 27th, 2005 at 6:06 pm
I agree with you that small companies will gain specific advantages over their particular market through blogging. Most small organizations don’t participate in blogs because of the reasons you posted, and those who do chose to maintain a good blog will put themselves ahead of the competition.
You suggested that one reason why these smaller companies don’t blog is because they “don’t have the workforce or the infrastructure to explore this new world”. One solution to this problem is to have their intern (if they have one) or their young professionals be in charge of maintaining the blog.
The younger generation of practictioners will be able to control a positive and responsive image with a fresh persepctive. As a student myself, we are learning how to produce blogs and comments, and many graduates are entering the workforce with this skill.
Thanks for the great post!
September 28th, 2005 at 12:18 am
Tom,
On a personal and professional level, one of the best ways to learn is actually to blog. The dynamic of having to generate a lot of content requires that you conduct research to develop the most thought leadership.
Nicole,
I think its useful to have a number of different voices from a company, but what’s critical in deciding who should blog is that individual have the expertise and ideas to demonstrate leadership in a community. Anyone can demonstrate that leadership by conducting research and through careful thinking. However, I would like to think that people with more experience will do a better job of presenting thought leadership than someone with less experience.
John