Blogging starts to make the PR world go round

Blogs are a rapidly growing phenomenon. Overnight anyone can become a “published” writer, but what are the benefits and downside of this participatory practice? Can it be trusted? Well, that depends on which blogs you’re reading. As a journalism student I was always told to be honest and transparent in order to maintain my credibility and although the perception of public relations may appear differently, I can tell you that what we’re learning in corporate communications is no different.

Blogs are not only enabling companies and organizations to have a voice, they’re providing the appearance of a real person in which you can have a two-way conversation with. Maggie Fox, CEO and founder of the Social Media Group recently stopped into our classroom to talk about social media. She believes that blogs are “all about the content” and that companies that use them must live up to the promise of the brand. The advantage of a corporate blog is that there is a human face on the issue, which Maggie states is “valuable business intelligence.” People who have issues with a company can go on to the blog and find a human to talk to. Receiving a response shows that the company not only cares, but that they are concerned for their public.

She explained that the benefits of a corporate blog can be difficult to measure. In one example, a blogger named ‘Yellowknife’ from a Yamaha blog wrote that he was pleased to be able to get a real person to answer his concerns. Maggie states, “it’s hard to put a dollar value to thread where he shines a positive light on the company.”

Maggie’s views are echoed in Tony Martin’s recent article in the Globe, “They blog, therefore they are…better CEOs,” which explains how CEOs of major corporations are jumping into this evolving trend. Yet as much as these powerhouses are blogging, even more are listening. Check out what Martin wrote about Jim Estill, CEO of Synnex Canada Ltd.

Indeed, Mr. Estill may be one of Canada’s most regular CEO bloggers. He devotes about two hours a week to an average of three postings at his blog, called Time Leadership and located at http://www.jimestill.com. He estimates his blog receives 3,000 to 4,000 unique visitors a week.

Clearly there is a strong demand within the public to hear what CEOs have to say, but regular bloggers, such as Maggie Fox and Martin Waxman, founder and president of Palette PR, warn that it isn’t for everyone and that you must be cautious before hitting “publish.” In a recent podcast interview with Mr. Waxman, he mentioned that blogs are a big commitment and that although they are currently on the rise, he believes we will soon see many disappear with only a few key ones remaining.

So where did blogging come from and why are they becoming an ever more important component of public relations? Well, Maggie believes that the rise in blogging can be attributed to the changing ways that people are organizing themselves. Instead of connecting with people in our community, we’re connecting with people over the internet whom we share common interests with.

We’re entering into an exciting time for public relations and if you’re not already on the social media bandwagon, then what are you waiting for?