I spoke at e-consultancy’s London conference on new media last month, and gave the pros and cons of corporate blogging. A lot of what I said seemed to be news to the marketers in the audience, and it does seem that the United States is ahead of Europe in adopting corporate blogging. Today, Chris Lake at econsultancy has a post about The 12 reasons why UK businesses don’t blog, and my favorite is:
4 – Your PR agency thinks blogging is a bad move.
Ok, first you need to book a lunch appointment. Then, you can play a game with them. Ask them to explain how Google works. Ask them about RSS. Ask them about anchor text. Ask them to give you some tips on online copywriting. Ask them why blogging would be a bad move, with all the above in mind…
The fact is that most PR agencies are not even vaguely qualified to advise you on blogging, or even about online PR. You might realise this over a long lunch.”
Amen.
…Or maybe even a short lunch. Bring a web developer along and ask them the same questions.
I’m interested to know what evidence this “reason” is based on. In my experience, the problem is too many PR companies telling clients that blogging is a great idea, without actually understanding what is involved or why it might be appropriate.
I’d personally love more PR agencies to think that blogging is a bad move – it might stop them recommending it just because it’s the latest buzzword.
And who exactly is “vaguely qualified”? People who run a blog that makes you register before you can comment?
Blogging nowadays has become a new standard for people sharing ideas and information. Companies may be afraid that they won’t be able to keep pace with the changing world issues. The content of the blog is the most important thing to care about. If your content is not up to dated blogging won’t be a plus but a minus to your company. Having debated all pros and cons in their minds companies should carefully think if to enter the world of blogging or not cause the profit of entering may be much less than expenses.