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Weekly UpdatesWHEN CBS ANNOUNCED THAT news anchor Dan Rather would retire several months earlier than the network had originally planned, it did not come as a total shock. The reason behind the decision could be traced not only to the controversial news reports that CBS broadcast about President Bush's National Guard service but also to the individuals who had ferreted out the problems with the story and forced the issue onto the front pages of newspapers everywhere.
These investigators were not journalists in the traditional sense. They were bloggers--individuals using the Web to post their own thoughts and commentary on the issues of the day. The Dan Rather controversy was a capstone to a year in which this new medium became a focal point of the rest of the media, playing a significant role in everything from the unexpected surge of the Howard Dean presidential campaign to Trent Lott's decision to step down as Senate majority leader.
Blog is short for Web log, and while this particular use of the Internet is as old as the World Wide Web, its use has accelerated rapidly in the past few years, moving from the realm of quirky personal diaries to that of influence-wielding (and frequently money-making), high-traffic Web sites.
As blogs have grown in audience and influence, businesses have begun entering the blogosphere (as the world of blogs is frequently termed) in search of new ways to reach target markets, communicate with hard-to-reach audiences, and monitor discussions about their brands and products.
Associations have been launching similar initiatives for these and other purposes. The experience of the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA), Arlington, Virginia, in launching its blog may give you some ideas as to how to apply this new medium to your organization's activities. But first, a bit of history.
Entering the blogosphere
Back in 2003, I sent an e-mail to an ASAE listserver asking if any associations had experimented with blogging. One of the best responses: "What's blogging? Sounds painful!"
Chances are that the term is a lot less obscure now than it was then. And a beauty of blogs is that they are much less painful than many other communication methods. In terms of ease of use, they may be the most painless of all.
Here's the 10-second definition: A blog is really nothing more than a continually updated Web site listing posts (articles) arranged in order from newest to oldest.
Now, here's the 30-second history lesson: Back in the mid-90s, during the initial Web boom, online diaries became popular among students and technical workers. Because of their popularity, a host of software programs (mostly free of charge) were created to make these diaries easy to produce. As a result, people with no knowledge of HTML or capability in Web design were suddenly given the tools to express themselves online.
From its perch in the technology world where geek logs proliferated, the blog quickly expanded into the political realm. Political pundits and established writers such as Andrew Sullivan (www.andrewsullivan.com) and Mickey Kaus (www.kausfiles.com), embraced the new platform as a quick and simple way to reach their readers without the filter of an editor or dependence on a publication schedule.
Because of the ease with which Web logs can be created, though, it was not long before self-proclaimed pundits jumped into the fray. A positive of blogging is that anyone can do it. Of course, that can be a negative, as well.
Minding the message not the medium
In January 2004, ACCA quietly launched its first Web log, ACCAbuzz (acca.blogs.com). We weren't trying to be hip, had no political ax to grind, and were unaware at the time that we were one of the first associations to do it. We simply had a problem we were trying to fix.
The problem: We had no effective way to distribute the vast amount of information we receive from our many state and local chapters, member companies, and industry partners. Our solution: ACCAbuzz, a blog containing regularly updated news items related to the air conditioning industry and our association. We started out using the externally hosted Type-Pad service, with links tied in from our Web site.
We promoted the launch of the blog through our regular communication channels: our weekly members-only newsletter, news releases to our industry trade press, and our weekly opt-in e-mail newsletter. Additionally, we added links to the blog to our Web site to encourage traffic.
Our marketing efforts were successful. Our chapters and members liked the concept. And our overall Web traffic immediately spiked.
Once launched, however, we realized that we would have to be careful about how we publicized the blog to our constituents. For one thing, much of our market had never heard the word blog before--and those few who had probably had an impression of blogs as something unusual or quirky. Not necessarily the positive association we wanted our target audience to make.
So we looked at the blog and realized that what we really had created was something we decided to call a "daily newsletter on steroids." And that's exactly how we promoted it to our membership.
Inviting conversation
Web log readers expect to get the gist of what you're writing in quick, bite-sized nuggets. Informal. Short sentences. Sometimes even fragments. Sometimes even funny.
Because of their informal tone, blogs have been described as a conversation between the blogger and his or her readers. In some cases, that description is especially accurate because many blogs allow readers to comment on individual posts.
Dialogue between frequent readers can build up interest in the blog within your constituency, drive readership toward your posts, and perhaps more important, enable those within your industry or profession to grapple with and debate issues of real importance to your community.
That said, not all blogs allow commenting. For example, ACCAbuzz typically does not allow comments. As a news-gathering blog, it has little in the way of actual commentary. And we found that the comments function was not well used nor was it integral to the success of our blog.
Another factor to consider when deciding whether to enable comments on your blog is comment management. You'll need to keep an eye on your comments because
* Comment spam is prevalent. Spam is not just for e-mail anymore. Lots of spammers clog blogs with random messages (and links to their Web sites, of course) with the help of automated systems.
* You're not offering free advertising space. You don't want companies trying to reach your audience to use comment space to advertise their wares any more than you would want them to use your list-servers for the same reason.
* Antitrust guidelines come into play. Associations must be mindful of antitrust law and watch for unlawful comments. Set up some brief but friendly guidelines for commenting and follow them. These might include some standard antitrust topic bans, such as pricing, supplier boycotting, and salary information. You should also make it clear that comments should be civil and that you reserve the right to delete comments. Be sure to run your guidelines by your attorney.
For easier comment management, most systems can be set up to send you an e-mail when you get a new comment, along with the contents of the comment.
Linking for content
In addition to their conversation with their readers, most successful bloggers are engaged in a conversation with the entire World Wide Web. It all comes down to links. In the good old days of the Web (a mere few years ago), links were something you devoted a page of your Web site to, as in "Here is a list of other Web sites you might find interesting...."
With blogs, linking has become a much more organic way of producing content. Linking to articles, downloads, and other resources is fundamental to the nature of blogging. In fact, read through the most popular blogs, and you will see that the majority of the posts are little more than a link to a news article or another blog, followed by the blogger's brief opinion on what the link points to.
Within the blogosphere, some discussions cross multiple blogs for lengthy periods of time, with bloggers commenting on each others' posts ad nauseam. Within certain sectors, where a group of bloggers may be devoted to the most arcane of subjects, the continuous back-and-forth between blogs can seem perplexing to outsiders--even incestuous. However, a subject that seems arcane to most people may well be central to your organization's mission--so you should keep an eye on all blogs related to your industry or profession.
Providing links in a blog is an instant added value, as a blog can become a frequently visited gateway for important Web links related to your area. From a more practical perspective, these links make it easier to produce content--and blogs need content.
Another reason for links: Google loves link-rich Web pages. A frequently maintained blog can act as a lure for Web traffic to your primary site because the more links you provide and the more blogs that link to yours, the higher your page ranks in the search engine.
ACCAbuzz now gets on average the equivalent of 30 percent of our overall Web site traffic and draws in hundreds of new readers a month through search engines.
Blogging options
Here are several ways that associations are using the blog concept.
Thought leadership. Association CEOs or other senior executives can cement their reputation as thought leaders within their industries or professions by blogging. This is probably one of the trickiest blogs to pull off, but it can pay dividends in a number of ways for an association. Offering your opinion on matters large and small can establish an ongoing relationship with your membership that is hard to build otherwise. For example, Patrick Cleary, senior vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers, Washington, D.C., maintains a blog at blog.nam.org. And Robert Liodice, president and CEO of the Association of National Advertisers, New York City, maintains a blog at ana.blogs.com/liodice.
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