After reading a post by Chris Brogan about Blockbuster Movies I found myself quite frustrated.

Social Media as a communication tool for brands is relatively new, so I don’t expect the world out of those who are out there doing “social media marketing.” Hell I am learning new and better ways to do things all the time, so I am not devoid of social media sin.

However I am always bothered by how many people try and boil SMO down to the most basic tasks:

• Create a page/profile on network X,Y,Z
• Create a group on network X,Y,Z
• Give that group special access to stuff
• Create a widget for network X,Y,Z
• Put a video on YouTube

ugh….

What happened to the strategy?

Those are social media tactics… and by themselves they are ineffective. Social Media works in two situations, when there is high quality content and when there is a conversation. Simply putting a profile on MySpace/Facebook is neither a conversation nor high quality content.

Those can be tools to lead social networks to a place where they can start a conversation or get high quality content, but the simple tactics are played out, old, and ineffective.

Especially the movie scene where people are itching to talk about their expectations, favorite actors, the results, etc… people are dying to talk about, and with others who are interested or part of the movie. Why not facilitate it in a real way, rather than creating another contact point. If you want another contact point run a commercial.

All too often people or companies start up a blog with out really thinking through what they plan to do with. The ease of blogging and the lack of information available makes this an easy mistake. After all most people will tell you that all you have to do to start blogging is head over to Blogger, Wordpress, or Typepad and sign up. Sure, that can get you started but it would get you an effective blog.

What is your blog subject?

I say subject because you really need to focus on your topic. Many times new blogs become about a very broad range of topics rather than focus on the particular niche of content that is going to produce the greatest results.

If you try and become known for your great product, don’t dilute the focus of the blog by splitting the focus by blogging about great project management.

Now that isn’t to say you can’t write about other topics, but really try and focus the content on your niche. People will start reading if you have great content in one area, rather than good content in seven different areas.

Come up with a name, and URL

I say URL over a domain because in a lot of cases it makes sense to have the blog hosted on another website (for SEO and link juice reasons). However you should still try and think of a name for the blog for branding sake. It is easier to remember and converse about a blog with a name, rather than saying “So and so’s company blog.” The URL should reflect that name (either as a subdomain or subfolder).

The name should reflect the topic directly. If you were to just hear the name of the blog it should give you a pretty clear idea of what the topic of the blog is.

Think about the blog “personality”

This will play into the tone of voice that you are going to use, the type of posts you will do, and how the blog will look. Is your blog funky, fun, bright? or is it traditional, subtle, clean? The personality should reflect the name, and focus but there is some room to push the boundaries a bit here.

People read blogs for the content but also for the personal true connections. So it is important that you express the personality well, failure to do so could prevent any sort of real following to build up as it will seem unauthentic.

It still hasn’t hit everyone yet, but the smart companies perk their ears when someone mentions “blogging.” There is a reason that I call them smart, and that is due to the huge impact that blogging can have on business in both a negative and positive light.

There have been enough studies now to prove that self published online media is in fact taking viewers away from traditional media. Those viewers are now looking to digital magazines, utube, and blogs for their information (if they are not actually publishing themselves.) Now even small time bloggers have the power and influence to positively or negatively impact business based on what they write.

Their is a familiar phrase “someone will tell ten people about a bad experience, and only two for a good experience.” While still true, it is now amplified when the user chooses to blog about a good or bad experience. Not only in the direct readership base of the blogger, but remember that blog posts become searchable. Imagine a great review of your product/service that comes up anytime someone searches your company… now imagine a bad one. That alone can make measurable shifts in business and sales, and all based on a single blog post.

This may sound frightening, but we see it is an opportunity. It should tell you right now that your company or business needs to have methods for improving and monitoring customer satisfaction. After all, having nothing but happy customers is a great way to build a business.

Additionally, you should be monitoring the discussion of your company on blogs and online publications. While a bad review can negatively effect your business, it does give you the opportunity to change the publishers mind. A response by a blogger stating that they were contacted and the issue was resolved is a powerful vote towards your business and could potentially convince once bitter readers to open their minds again.

Most of the time when people talk about business blogging it is in the context of the business themselves blogging, but that is missing the whole conversational side of blogging. Some of the biggest positive impacts that blogging has on business can be achieved through engaging in conversations that occurring right now. Have you ever sent a trackback to other prominent bloggers? Left comments? Discussed the issues with readers?