Explaining The Business Value of Blogs and RSS, Quickly
10.17.07I'd like to do some consulting for some environmentally focused businesses next year. As part of that effort I'm pitching a relevant trade journal with an article idea. That's not something I've done before, but for now that's beside the point. I write to you here to ask- what do you think of the following as a succinct explanation of the power of blogging and RSS? I thought you might enjoy reading it and comparing notes.
Small sustainability-minded businesses now have a greater opportunity than ever before to experience "information power parity" with larger and more traditionally oriented competitors. There are a new class of tools, specifically blogs and RSS syndication, that enable businesses to:
1. speak directly to consumers without being dependent on anyone else for media coverage
2. to turn marketing into issue leadership and website visitors into subscribed stakeholders
3. to gain first-mover's advantage on industry news and the moves of competitors by automating your online research.I'd like to write a how-to overview of those possibilities in the sustainable industries context. It would be based on the experiences I described in this article: social media for marketing...
I think that's pretty good but I'm interested in your opinion of the ideas and articulation. I've been a big believer since I got into this business in the power of advanced RSS to help anyone smart become a leader in their corner of the information economy - whatever that might be. It's worked very well for me, I'd like to spend some time with green businesses helping them do the same. It's always a challenge explaining it, though, particularly before getting to do a visual demonstration. At that point everything becomes clear, but how do you open the conversation with ambitious people unfamiliar with the concepts?
October 17th, 2007 at
You know I think the ideas are good. My only suggestion re articulation is that you might consider the ol’ feature-writing rule “show, don’t tell” — if it’s possible (and I’m not saying it is), hook ‘em with a lead paragraph with three one-sentence, tantalizing and concrete examples of the positive results businesses have had through effective use of blogging and advanced RSS.
As for how I open the conversation: I pretty much believe that words just don’t cut it, and until I have something I like better, I’ll ask people to watch CommonCraft’s RSS in Plain English before I begin a spiel.
October 17th, 2007 at
I agree. Marshall - Anecdotes really help feature articles pop. Things like stories from people who have really seen the light. Editors love anecdotes/real people talking. They help show what you are talking about. Add some info points and you’ve got a story.
October 17th, 2007 at
Great advice, guys, thanks. Beth Kanter spend some time last weekend talking to me about the importance of story telling - I’ve clearly yet to assimilate that! Too often I feel like the facts are compelling enough. That’s clearly not true for everyone. I’ll put together some examples of these concepts put to most effective use.
October 18th, 2007 at
I posted about a nice little video that sums up the power of RSS to tie in with my Click the Orange initiative
October 24th, 2007 at
1 - Step back and accept that not every business or every businessman needs a blog. Sometimes bells and whistles are just that, not a value added item.
2 - If your business has a newsletter or employee newsletter, you have a natural springboard to a blog.
3 - If yours is a business that generates a ton of paper, like the legal profession, you probably have the makings of a blog.
4 - If you would say it to a customer, say it on a blog.
October 29th, 2007 at
I struggle with this daily. RSS is hard enough - take it a step further and try to explain MediaRSS to a bunch of traditional media execs.
November 3rd, 2007 at
I have often thought of this and gone back-and-forth with a friend of mine who is a director at a not-for-profit. While discussing the same points Marshall mentioned above she became jazzed about the idea but quickly realized she did not have the resources to dedicate to keeping up with a blog. I agree blogs can be extremely valuable to small businesses, and especially not-for-profits, but is it irresponsible to suggest to a client they should have a blog (because they genuinely should) and get them jazzed about it only for them to fail b/c they don’t have the time to dedicate? Since you are talking to small businesses which may experience this same challenge.
Marshall, another point you could discuss is the value blogs can bring via SEO/awareness for your cause or company.
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