A lot of social media discussion about blogging assumes that readers have a common understanding of what blogging is in 2009 (nearly 2010).
I know that from a personal perspective the term “blogging” evokes mental images of my favourite niche blogs – all of which are best of breed publishing websites in their own right. So, it came as a shock recently to find that the term “blog” often generates far less positive perceptions in broader corporate circles.
I find myself frequently detailing the virtues of various social media components as part of a well-rounded digital strategy. The discussion generally includes the creation and management of blogs; in part as a means of handing control of the website content back to the comms team, introducing dynamic distributable content back into the website, and introducing an engagement mindset for the brand.
Now, its still relatively common for larger brands to have static web 1.0 websites. And it’s not uncommon for content on these sites to be locked down by draconian change management cycles that require a strong belief in reincarnation. So you would think that clients desperate to unshackle their websites would embrace blogging with gusto, yes? No. Instead, the momentum of the conversation starts to falter.
I started to wonder if the term “blog” evoked a different understanding amongst those who have better things to do than follow the evolution of social media. So I started asking what “blogging” meant. I asked friends who were brand managers. I asked media agency contacts. I asked SMEs who were starting their social media journey.
I discovered that the word “blog” consistently summoned mental images of post-puberty journals, emotive Dear Diary litanies and complex, detailed accounts of less than complex lives. Any wonder that some corporate clients reach for their blackberries and start checking their email whenever the topic comes up.
Whilst there is no doubt that Blogspot and WordPress.com play host to terabytes of personal musings that may have been better left as passing thoughts, the craft of blogging has itself evolved into something quite different.
Most of the blogs at the upper end of the Ad Age Top 150 bear more similarity to dynamic niche magazine publishing websites than they do to the traditional “weblog” from which the blog derives its name. It only takes a cursory glance at mashable.com,problogger.net, sitepoint or any number of top tier blogs to sense the vast distance that the apple has now fallen from the tree.
Unfortunately, the perception amongst the broader business community has yet to catch up with these changes – and makes me wonder if the “blog” terminology short-sells its legitimacy.
Since most of my clients are very familiar with mainstream media I decided to borrow from magazine terminology. I discovered that when posts became articles, bloggers became columnists, features editors or publishers (depending upon the style and application of the blog) something interesting happened. Blogs became something very different and far more deservingly legitimate in the mind of the client.
I’m sure that some of you will say that clients should get it without having to change the terminology – that marketers should keep up with developments. Maybe they should – but they don’t. I read an article earlier this week that suggested that any marketer that didn’t have a strong understanding of digital should not be in the job.
My experience is that plenty of very competent senior marketers rely on external parties for guidance and maybe don’t always get the advice they need. Understandably, some are reluctant to ask possibly embarrassing questions.
Either way, not all clients have the same understanding of what blogging is. I have found that drawing parallels with what is familiar and comfortable changes that understanding and introduces the appropriate level of legitimacy.
If you sense that you and your client are thinking different things, using the publisher comparison is one way to create some common ground with non-digital marketers and create an area of comfort in which the client can ask questions – and hopefully embrace new opportunities.
in senior marketing, online media and digital brand management roles. Passionate about the customer experience and cautious of false prophets, I help create genuine long term value within the digital & social media landscape. 
