THE ADVANTAGES OF BLOGS TO THE ORGANIZATION
No Comments
Written by Atila on August 14, 2008 – 3:06 pm
If you’re not listening to what bloggers are saying about you, you’re not doing your job as a professional communicator.
Intel didn’t listen. Kryptonite may or may not have listened. Communication has changed. Many organizations are used to a oneway system, broadcasting a message to an audience. However, the Web gives today’s consumers an opportunity to talk back in a way that was not possible before; the communications mix has become two-way. And that’s going to really shake up a lot of communications and marketing departments, because, let’s face it, most organizations are simply not used to pesky consumers talking back. However, let’s not lose sight of the fact that Intel is still around, as are most of the other so-called dinosaurs that the Web was supposed to obliterate.
The irony of the Web is that, while on the one hand it gives a voice to the individual consumer, it also rewards size and scale. The Web may have millions of websites, but it is dominated by a small number of mega-sites. And, as we will see in the next chapter, they are likely to get bigger and stronger as the Web matures.
THE ADVANTAGES OF BLOGS TO THE ORGANIZATION
Blogs tend to be personal and conversational, and I will look at why you, as a professional, should consider blogging later in the chapter. However, here I’d like to examine the potential advantages of blogs to the organization.
•A human face Modern organizations are creating greater distances between themselves and their consumers. Self-service, automation, and outsourcing all reduce the number of opportunities – the touch points – the organization has to interact with the consumer. When the consumer can’t put a “face” on an organization, it’s easy to see that organization as a soulless entity. Blogging has the potential to give it a human face.
•A finger on the pulse A key component of blogging is that people can easily post replies to any comment the blogger makes. If an organization is prepared to listen, it can spot trends – negative and positive – early, and respond appropriately to them. Done well, blogs can become a part of the product development process, helping ensure that the new product or service is addressing real customer needs. Blogs can be a wonderful source of market research, of new ideas, and of feedback.
A great blog is a window into the mind of a great thinker.
•A sharing culture Intranet blogs can be an excellent way to share and explore ideas, product concepts, etc., within an organization. They can be a way of knitting virtual teams together whose individual members may live on different continents. Some organizations – such as Google, for example – use them to document product developments for patent application purposes.
