Blogging and other forms of participatory media have just received substantial validation in the form of a recent announcement by The Conversation Group. The newly formed entity aims to “bridge the gap between Silicon Valley and Main Street.
Participatory media - that is blogs, forms, social networks and other venues that enable communication and commentary from a wide array of people have become a more and more important means of reaching a highly desirable segment of the buying public over the last couple of years. Several companies, such as John Battelle’s Federated Media have been formed exclusively to help marketers engage with the highest profile blogs and bloggers. While other entities like the oft maligned Pay-Per-Post focus more on the blog-at-home-mom part of the population offering marketers a chance to engage smaller audiences with paid testimonials from more casual bloggers.
As companies find it more and more difficult to reach consumers due to innovations like digital video recorders that make it possible to skip commercials on network television altogether dollars formerly earmarked for more traditional forms of advertising have been reallocated in no small way with participatory media being among the largest beneficiaries of this trend.
One problem companies are facing with this reallocation is the fact that they frequently lack the in house know how to engage this new audience. This problem is true from a technical standpoint but also from a functional one. It is a difficult proposition to effectively engage the public via forums, blogs, etc and one that is frequently fraught with failure as companies try to engage the thought leaders in a given space only to have their efforts backfire, sometimes with very public humiliation as the end result.
The Conversation Group may very well represent a life-preserver to companies attempting to navigate these sharky waters. With a team characterized by having expertise connecting with leading participatory journalists including a number whom have been long term bloggers in their own right.
Managing Partner Ted Sheldon is a prime example. Founder of PersonalBee (which was acquired by Technorati), Ted is also a strategic advisor to Technorati and previously was Chief Strategy Officer of Borland Software and Senior VP of Sales and Marketing for WhoWhere.
Personally, I think this is the start of a significant trend. I’ve been retained on a number of occasions to help companies chart an effective blogger engagement strategy and have in addition been a corporate blogger - which even for an experienced blogger like myself is a challenging position.
I won’t be at all surprised if we ultimately see the rise of a new executive title in the next couple of years; the CBO or Chief Blogging Officer. Blogs in particular are becoming a very important way for companies to engage directly with their most passionate users and as a result companies can’t afford to be too cavalier in their approach towards understanding and effectively utilizing this new medium.
The simple fact is that consumers and competing companies alike are going to enter the fray using blogs and it just may be that organizations like The Conversation Group become the first line of defense when someone like me says “hey Company X, don’t you get it? I’ve got a blog and I’m not afraid to use it!”
For The Conversation Group’s Clients this may no longer be the terrifying war cry that it has been for some companies in recent years.
September 12th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
Oliver:
Another way to think about the “chief blogging officer” is that this is a person who has responsibility for overseeing the way in which an organization engages with its market — some organizations already have this. Sometimes called “Chief Customer Officer” and a couple of other things, organizations are still struggling with a top down view of their relationship with their market. Blogging helps the thinking process in getting an organization to think about itself as a participant instead of as the dominant role in the relationship. But a more fundamental shift happens over time as companies recognize that in all the things they do they need to be engaged as equals in a conversation — product development, customer support, sales, marketing, public relations, investor relations…
Thanks for following The Conversation Group!
best,
Ted Shelton, Managing Partner
The Conversation Group
September 13th, 2007 at 4:16 am
Oliver,
To piggyback on Ted’s point, many companies already have someone in place. Toyota has a Corporate Manager for User-Generated Media. According to Brandweek, his mandate is clear: read, monitor, and engage where appropriate.
http://urltea.com/1h3a
I agree with your basic premise, though. Companies are going to have to bring someone on board whose sole responsiblity is to keep the proverbial ear to the ground and engage where necessary. I recently completed a social media training session for a client and they were openly wondering if they’re going to have to hire someone full-time to do this. I would argue yes and you can even utilize your interns to fulfill this role. But someone in your organization needs to be doing this if you don’t have someone already.
Also, it’s important to note that the key to success will not be high Technorati ranking or becoming an A-lister. Rather, their metric will be how many customers did they make happy. The primary mandate for any “Chief Blogging Officer” should be simple and clear: Do well by doing good. In other words, be a customer service superstar and engage the blogosphere as a vehicle for above-average customer service. It’s not about the personal ego and it’s not about the brand.
I would welcome an opportunity to discuss this further.
Cheers,
Michael
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Michael E. Rubin
Call me — 312-787-7249 x212
See what I’m up to — http://twitter.com/merubin
See a picture of an orangutan — http://tinyurl.com/yosceb
December 15th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
very interesting, but I don’t agree with you
Idetrorce
December 15th, 2007 at 3:41 pm
What do you think, Idetrorce?