Insights and Ingenuity

I read a blog comment someone left on a site recently, and the comment characterized social media as a broad category that, depending on the execution, could be called publishing, customer service, community relations, and many other things. For me, observing and joining social media communities has been incredibly educational and fulfilling, both professionally and personally. One of the important lessons I’ve learned is that when someone graciously wants to engage you in conversation, it’s not a responsibility to be taken lightly.

I read a comment in Twitterverse today, something like “Will blogging supplant traditional journalism?” and thought that was an interesting and intriguing question. I’m not qualified to be a journalist or news writer (sheepskin notwithstanding), but I love blogging. I love writing posts for my blog, reading the blogs of others, adding comments to blogs. I love bookmarking blogs and comparing bloggers’ positions on the same issue. I know why I blog (and Twitter and network); do you?

With this post, I’m participating in a viral project to identify and define the best practices for social media marketing. I’ll tag a few people in an effort to keep the wave going; feel free to comment or join in yourself – perspectives welcome!

Blogging can be like a virtual front porch in a traditional Southern home. Everyone is welcome, there’s plenty to enjoy, laughs to share and strong opinions to trade. Unspoken etiquette requires you to be civil when you’re being honest, be receptive to your neighbor, and share what you know. You can join the nice folks down the street and offer your influence, or you can host your own get-together and shape the conversations a little more strongly.

User-generated content is powerful and pervasive. Studies show that consumers filter many of their decisions through their relationships with trusted – or otherwise endorsed – sources. If vehicles like blogs have the potential to reach everyone, and the messages communicated therein can be crafted to resonate strongly, how can marketers harness this potent power for our clients in a way that adds value, relevancy, and authenticity to the proposed relationship?