Remembering the Basics about Blogs

I recently began reading, “The New Influencers” a book written by Paul Gillin which details the various facets of the social media realm. Gillin is a journalist with 24 years of technology writing and editorial work under his belt.

I myself have grown up with Facebook and Myspace and recently joined sites like Twitter, Plaxo and LinkedIn. Although I have been familiar with these sites and know how to use them, I wanted to become more knowledgeable in understanding the overall role that social media plays in the world of PR.

The PR Lawyer blog has written a lot in the past about the importance of blogging for your business. I wanted to reiterate some points from this book in support of that advice.
Here at Furia Rubel, we believe blogging should be a strategic decision made during overall PR planning. Remembering the basic ideas behind blogging and understanding why you have created a blog is just as important as the content included and topics it should address.

In the last chapter of Gillen’s book titled “Next Steps,” he outlines all of the possibilities of what blogs can and will do for business owners and some points to consider for businesses – big and small.

Gillin paraphrases some points from The Corporate Blogging Book by Debbie Weil, which I feel are important to note.

Large corporations who blog will be noticed by consumers and the media. It should be a regular commitment and something that once a business decides to begin, it should be continued.

Blogging = excellent way to start a conversation with your customers and the media. It is important to evaluate the level of comfort in your industry to the idea of open, honest, communication.

Blogs are open venues for conversation where criticism is a definite possibility. Your business should be able to handle negativity quickly and honestly.

The online community is all about being interactive. Links, videos, music, pictures are all important factors to consider when crafting a business blog to keep viewers engaged.

I would recommend Gillin’s book to anyone who is apprehensive about “joining in the conversation.” I myself did not blog for a long time and wish that I had started sooner. Blogs have opened my eyes to a whole new world of different online communities and people with various interests. I am very interested to hear more from Gillin and his new book titled, Secrets of Social Media Marketing, due out this fall.