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Kyle Lacy

Duct Tape Marketing Misses on Corporate Blogging: Part 1 of 2

I read the Duct Tape Marketing blog every once in awhile. It resides in my Google Reader, updating ever so often, giving me small tidbits of information. I usually get some good pointers from John Jantsch. Today he wrote about a new Universal McCann Wave3 research into social media citing it as a great example to help employees sell social media to their "older" (John did not say that. It was me) employers.


Here are the points of reference:
  • 73% of online users read a blog
  • 57% join a social network
  • 45% have started a blog
  • 83% have viewed a video online
  • 39% subscribe to RSS Feeds
  • 36% think more positively about companies that have blog
John uses the research to give advocates of social media key points to throw out at corporate board meetings. "I don't think we should be doing the whole blogging thing." "Well, check out these stats from Universal McCann Wave3! We should do it."

In my humble opinion this is completely the wrong approach. There is a reason why 73% of people read blogs. They want authentic information from individuals and companies. Can you truly create authentic communication when the only reason a corporate culture decides to blog is because of a stat?

"OMG. People are reading blogs and joining social media? We should be a part of that social media stuff! Wait. Bright shiny object. Where?"

Strategy. Strategy. Strategy. Don't do something because it is the new best thing! Do it because you have a planned approach. Do it because you want to communicate in a REAL way with your clients. Do it because it is a part of a communication PLAN.

If you jump into social media with a fractured plan, you will get a fractured response. Everyone needs to be on board, from top to bottom. It need to be from the mail room student to the CEO.

Read my blog on Indianapolis Social Media

Tags: blogging, community, corporate, ducttape, marketing, media, social

5 Comments

Lorraine Ball Comment by Lorraine Ball on August 21, 2008 at 7:03am
Offering statistics to make an idea palatable to a corporate executive is the equivalent of putting cheese on broccoli for a child.

My kids loved cheese, and we could get them to try almost any vegetable if coated it in a layer of cheese. Not the healthiest way to start, but over time we reduced, and even eliminated cheese. As a result, today, my adult kids eat every vegetable ( except mushrooms, cause the cheese mushroom thing was gross).

Corporate execs are a lot like children (more like kids then you would want to believe) and sometimes you have to bury new ideas under a layer of cheese (or statistics) to help them get used to the taste.

Ultimately whatever you are serving, ideas or food) have to taste right on their own.
Joe Dager Comment by Joe Dager on August 21, 2008 at 10:01am
Glad to see your reading good material, Kyle. If you would download John's 7-step marketing guide you would see that the first Duct Tape Marketing core principle is "Strategy before Tactics."

The problem in most organization is that the CEO and mail room do think differently. It is a little "left brain" thinking that we can dictate a corporate writing style but I do believe that organizations do need to get on board. An attempt by John to give organizations a reason to start may just give right brain people a better understanding.

Thanks Lorraine for the cheese tip.
Kyle Lacy Comment by Kyle Lacy on August 21, 2008 at 10:14am
Joe: I believe that the right brained of the corporate world would be more inclined to writing a blog. The simple fact that the CEO and the mail room think differently is the diamond in the rough! Talk about a communication platform to gain a centric stance in a company! The stories told between the mail room and the CEO are exactly what is needed to put some Authenticity into corporate blogging.

I recanted a tad-bit in a new post: Duct Tape Missed: Part 2.
Don Schindler Comment by Don Schindler on August 21, 2008 at 7:17pm
Don't worry, Kyle. Even if they do start to blog because they incorporated an overall strategy created by their own marketing dept or an outside agency, it will die. Blogs only survive if the writers actually believe it is working and write an open, honest and transparent way.
Kyle Lacy Comment by Kyle Lacy on August 21, 2008 at 7:19pm
Damn straight Don

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