Print’s dead? Don’t tell Rupert Murdoch. He’s launching two print magazines to piggyback his WSJ and NY Post in an effort “to spur reader engagement and attract new advertisers.”
Seemingly unrelated to this, an email just told me to “HURRY!” as my “BlogWorld & New Media Expo Discount Admission [is] Expiring Soon!”
The Bohle Company is promoting BlogWorld this year. Bohle’s site tells us they have experience doing this, I hope they burn their playbook and take a unique approach to blogger outreach. While the show's lineup looks interesting, BlogWorld’s e-mail marketing smacks of old school.
The final, unrelated news item spurring this post is Yahoo’s 360 Mash. Mash is Yahoo’s foray into the social network space. Yahoo! joins a short list of companies who, upon seeing the success of Facebook and MySpace, start their own social network.
Begin Rant: Didn’t Wal-Mart try their own social network? Wal-Mart has since reaped the reward of customer engagement via Facebook. I’m scratching my head as to why more big brands don’t follow their lead.
Reading the above examples is like watching Groundhog Day --just not as funny. While being a small widget with a long tail is all the rage, we see old world thinking bolted onto the new.
My guess is that many companies want the new world rewards of customer engagement without relinquishing old world control. If they own the social network, it’s easier to assume presume that control exists.
The benefits of giving up control of the message are proven online. New tools require new rules and you should expect mixed results (at best) by mixing the two. /rant
tags | public relations | PR | media relations | media | BlogWorld | marketing | blog | Rupert Murdoch | Yahoo! | Facebook
The traditional "inside-out" approach is predicated on controlling the message and will require a lot of unlearning for the leadership to change. What they need to realize is the while they are honing their messages their influence with customers has plummetted.
Social media is a double-edged sword. Peer-to-peer influence is on the rise and accelerates the loss of influence that was already going on for many reasons. However, savvy companies are finding ways to use social media to regain influence. But, as you point out the rules are different.
I invite readers to download our white paper "Customer Relationships in a Web 2.0 World." (www.thewhetstoneedge.com/web2.php)
John I. Todor, Ph.D., author of Addicted Customers: How to Get Them Hooked on Your Company.
Posted by: John I. Todor, Ph.D. | 09/19/2007 at 08:46 AM
Something I just learned from a PR podcast is that you can't engage in social media just because everyone else is doing. You need to have a specific purpose and have a goal of what you want to accomplish. I guess Yahoo! is just trying to "check" the social media box on their list of things to do.
Posted by: Adam Denison | 09/19/2007 at 05:02 PM
John and Adam - Good points. Thanks for stopping by.
Posted by: Kevin Dugan | 09/20/2007 at 06:37 AM
I still enjoy a monthly print Magazine. As much as I wish, I just can't take my laptop everywhere. Now a daily newspaper...that's a different story.
Posted by: John | 09/20/2007 at 01:19 PM
Looks like the last one was a successful spambot!
Not going to BlogWorld this time. Too many conferences. But I am starting BlogPotomac in conjunction with Debbie Weil? Why? I'm taking a page out of Josh Hallet's book. Simply put, I'm tired of reading about events on the west coast, and want one here. So I'll put the effort in.
Posted by: Geoff Livingston | 09/22/2007 at 01:42 PM
Geoff - Good idea. Pete Blackshaw mentioned the same idea for Cincy (BlogOhio?) awhile back. We should revisit for all the same reasons. (And I cleared out the spambots...again).
John - Good point on the utility of print. I also prefer it over Sunday breakfast.
Posted by: Kevin Dugan | 09/24/2007 at 06:41 AM