PulsOpinion

An offshoot of the Podcamp discussion was Blogger code of ethics. There are pages on it when you do a Google search.

So what’s the big deal about bloggers and ethics? Why so much fuss….?

The discussion began during Brian Koh’s session at Podcamp Singapore and a question rightfully asked by Melvin Yuan….’Ethics are ethics. What’s so different about blogger ethics? Why hype it so much?” The next question was “Why are agencies saying different things? A PR agency proactively comes with a big list of ‘cannot do la..!’- no financial implications, no discounts/ freebies etc while the Marketing/ Advertising arm of the same firm may come with financial benefits for writing about their client.”

Why such confusion?

To understand why agencies behave the way they do one needs to look at the way they function.

The function of communication be it advertising/marketing/direct mailing/events/PR is to reach out to people that matter. The most common medium used to do this is media: print/television/radio/new media. So the vehicles are the same…but the route to reach out to customers is different.

Public Relations believes in ‘influencing the influencers’ by building relationships. They provide material, arrange for client meetings and hope that information will result in coverage. In the end what is covered is the sole discretion of the writer. PR has strong policies against what they term as bribing. For them media and message cannot be bought and I guess that is why people still believe in the credibility of the press. By initiating code of ethics they are simply trying to maintain the way PR fundamentally works.

Advertising/marketing has always worked on the concept of buying media space. They usually plug client fed information in the space that they buy and this is most commonly known as ads. Since traditionally they have been doing this, they continue to offer financial benefits for the write-ups.

Though traditional agencies have separate departments for each function and are able to avoid confusion- it is not possible to replicate the format with blogs. That leads to mixed messaging.

So what can a blogger do?

1. Ask questions and be upfront to first know who you are talking to…PR or Advertising

2. Define the path you want to take and make it clear to the agencies upfront. You may consider writing a disclaimer in your blog that clearly clarifies your stance on PR/Advertising.

3. If you do not want your write-ups to be influenced and still want to earn, try adding an advertorial section to the blog

4. Consider external links so there is no messing up with your content

Have more ideas…please post them as your comments.

Recession is a natural part of the economic cycle. The markets, the consumers and the products will still be around once the economy has corrected itself. Do not cut the tools that could help keep your head above water; instead make them more accountable.

How digital can help..

Understanding buyer behavior: moving from monologues to conversations and making use of a unique opportunity to speak to consumers and garner thoughts and feedback ‘real time’.

Rising above the clutter: Reaching out to customers beyond the cluttered traditional media. This further helps enhance innovation and look for interesting options to engage customers in the new media space.Here’s what Clinic Plus did on youtube. The adv is called ‘Chulbuli’. Its in Hindi- a perfect language to reach out to the millions of Indians…  The children love it….and what a fantastic way of saying that Clinic Plus is good for hair and should be used everyday.

Chulbuli
Small spend; low cost; high ROI: Digital approach is not only more accountable but also has a substantially low cost per reach. Furthermore, their ability to rise above the buzz and reach out effectively can have a higher impact on the ROI.

Tracking results: New media initiatives can be effectively mapped and tracked thus allowing companies keep track of what ‘clicks’ and what does not.

Blogs have social momentum and their usage is enabled with technological comfort. While third party blogs can be good ‘listening posts’ for conversations about your brand, a well- written company blog can provide a huge interaction point for a large number of existing and potential stakeholders.

Of late I have been meeting a few MARCOM managers…primarily to gauge the impact of recession on budgets and communication strategies ….for my article. During these ‘Starbucks’ sessions (that’s where we end up, eventually), following were the noteworthy comments: ‘Social media marketing is like an open sea…our communication teams are full of ideas but these appear as ‘one size fits all’ type of stuff. Everybody wants to do everything in a hurry not to be left out and more often than not are all over the place!… we came up with a blog but now we are stuck- it takes so much resources to maintain and promote…how can we make the best use of what we have without investing a penny more…’ . Well then, maybe this post is for you -creating winners with blogs…. in 5 simple steps. Of course, there are not just 5 steps, but these are the building blocks- I’ll be adding more in future posts, but will be looking for your additions in comments

How could companies gain leverage and traction through blogs:

Brand monitoring: Just like you practice what publications write about your company and competition everyday, monitor closely what people are talking about you. (Yes- there is someone out there that ought to talk about your brand) Determine brand sentiment and its triggers.

Employees are enthusiastic spokespeople. Leverage: Social networking unlike traditional media is more complex and its huge. You need all the help you can to effectively track what’s happening. While all employees are not spokespeople, encourage them to communicate what they see and hear about the company. Determine what needs action and decide the next steps.

Engage your audience and communicate – have a dialogue: Be open and use this as a platform to discuss the latest in the company. Structured and consistent messages are the key.

Leverage influential bloggers: There are millions of blogs out there. And probably a sizeable proportion exercise good influence. Learn about like-minded bloggers and make them your brand ambassadors. Engage with them regularly.

Measure and optimise: For accurate audience metrics, relevance of content, effectiveness metrics.

Each century has seen its media revolution and blogs are clearly the media revolution of this new century. Thanks to advances in technology that have made it incredibly easy and virtually free to create them, turning both the communications and PR measurement world upside down. More and more independent bloggers — be it journalists, experts or just irregular bloggers like me — are taking to the Internet to put forward their views to anyone who will listen. A new blog is created about once every two seconds. But despite its strong growth, blogging is not yet a very widely used medium.
People in the business of communication envision this as yet another medium to address stakeholders and PR researchers work hard on strategies and innovative approaches to leverage blogs. The problem with measuring blogs is not how to do it, but rather that the nature of blogs renders management impossible. You simply can’t “manage” what 10 million independent-minded, opinionated people are going to say.  Age old thoughts of counting the volume of conversions or the number of trackbacks is one indication of the size and scope of the network surrounding the blog. Examining the credibility and authority of the people who are commenting and/or linking to the site is another way to assess the impact and importance of the blog. One needs to look beyond just quantity of postings or links to the quality of the dialog.  Dennis G. Jerz of Seton Hill University has categorized blogs in the following manner:

- “Coverage” — The number of times your brand or issue is mentioned.

- “Depth” — How deeply does the posting discuss the brand?

- “Interaction” — What was the nature of the interaction? Was the posting designed to solve a problem, compare different brands, or simply allow the author to rant?

- “Discussion” — What was the nature of the discussion? Was it a true dialog with extensive exchange of ideas, or was it just bantering back and forth. 

To determine what readers are taking away from a blog, the medium offers several interesting opportunities for measurement. What your customers say about you in the chat rooms, news groups and blogs presumably reflects what they think about you. So in essence, paying close attention to what is being said in the blogosphere is a great way to get inside your customers….

(Inspired by Katie Delahaye Paine and Andy Lark, The Measurement Standard)