01.23.07
Pitching Blogging
This Friday I am on a mission. A mission to inform. A mission to persuade. A mission to change a room containing blogging misconceptions and fears into one that sees opportunities. Can you help? I have put together a “Let’s Blog!” presentation for the public relations firm I am employed at, CoreMessage. I am not trying to push them into jumping on a bandwagon. I focus on how acknowledging, reading and understanding this new media tool will lead to more effective public relations. Unfortunately, the St. Petersburg Times blog is the only well-known blog among my colleagues. I don’t know how many of you are familiar with that hub for opinionated, self-righteous, anonymous posters, but it is not what blogging is about, at least not from what I am familiar with. While I am a newbie to actively participating in the blogging community, I have kept my eyes on it for some time to get familiar and comfortable with it. Now I feel I am ready to share what I know, but I would love your input and advice to help me help them see the light!Â
Through Josh Hallett, I found Brian Oberkirch’s great post entitled “Helping your agency stop worrying & learn to love the blog†on his LikeItMatters blog. I will definitely incorporate some of his points. I love how he says, ”Social media makes… communication connections visible, tangible, ready for smart action.”  How exciting!Â
Also, I enjoyed the engaging Marketing Edge podcast debate between Albert Maruggi and Michael Keliher of Provident Partners from a couple months ago called The Great Blog Debate and will incorporate some of their pro’s for blogging. Â
I really would love specific success stories to tell/show them. So far, I think I will mention Lee Hopkins report that his blog has seen more hits and an increase in traffic over his website (July 2006-Jan 2007).
But I need more, so help an ambitious PR girl out!
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February 9, 2007 at 9:59 am
You know much more about the blogging world than me, which is why I can’t wait for your blogging presentation. But since I am considered one of these so-called colleagues you work with, I must defend myself by saying that I do not read the St. Pete Times blog, nor do I condone what goes on within it’s posts and comments. It’s like high school all over again.
I think the news media have a responsibility to encourage ethical blogging, and I think true bloggers have a responsibility to point out when blogs are unethical, inappropriate and even trashy. It’s up to us to maintain our own integrity and prevent that negative stigma from attaching itself to what we do.
It’s just like when people refer to “spin” as a way of describing what we as PR pros do. It’s not. Reputable PR pros are “truth tellers” and manage communication to build honest relationships between organizations and their stakeholders. Just like blogging should be about building honest relationships and offering honest opinions from transparent sources.
Hmm…perhaps blogging is in need of a PR campaign….:)