Lion Buzz

With marketing and advertising, business managers do not always see the real tangible value in their investment. How much money will an investment in a blog make? John Wanamaker, the famous American merchant and pioneer advertiser said:

“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” – John Wanamaker

Is blogging the modern equivalent to advertising? Most people don’t think so. The big difference between advertising in Wanamaker’s times and blogs today is focus and participation. Wanamaker could not focus his newspaper advertising to a target audience. So most newspaper readers simply avoided his advertising, it was not meant for them. This explains why Wanamaker believed he “wasted” half his money. Also, Wanamaker’s advertising was not a conversation with a reader. It was a one way channel. Blogs are two way, actually multi way channels with comments from anyone who is interested in the conversation.

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Bloggers are trying to sell to non-bloggers. That is what we do at Lion Buzz™: sell blog services. Bloggers see all kind of great potential in using blogs. Non-bloggers wonder what they are missing. Bloggers see the Internet as a whole new way of communicating. The blog being the first format in the WEB2.0 or social media revolution. Since blogs are a new format, a platform and communication method, explaining blogs may take many approaches. Some people have to see a blog in action to fully understand what is the communication innovation. Bloggers say to the world:

• Blogs are informal and direct: it gives people a forum to say everyday things, it’s like a water-cooler conversion or a chat in a bar.
• Blogs can be written and read by anyone: it is like Microsoft Word on the Internet. You do not have to mail it to your friends or customers, it’s just “there”. Anyone can read them and comment. Like a global bulletin board.
• Blogs are for everyone: the company CEO can write about corporate strategy and governance. The marketing manager can write about product features and when the next release is coming out. The support manager can write about bugs and how to get around them. The financial executive (CFO, VP of operations) can write about how the company profits are accounted for and how strong the balance sheet is.
• A blog will get you started with WEB2.0 and social media: with focused content and targeted audience you start creating communities. You develop a style and a voice, you start interacting with people who are interested in your opinion or your product.
• A blog can be a network or community building tool: you can gather people of all kind and get them interested in what you have to say. You can have people exchange ideas between them, you provide the place. You can become a moderator (facilitator) of conversations about ideas, opinions and even knowledge.
• A blog can be a repository of knowledge, opinion and ideas: this is one of the most popular uses in blogging. All by yourself you can start gathering “content” a catch-all phrase for material. If you have your own writing, photography and videos.

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