The problem with talking about tools is that they become ends in themselves.
People feel that since the tool is done, the "stuff" will happen on its own.
So when a business launches a blog, it thinks the rest of the ROI will just follow.
Unfortunately, that's not true.
A blog, like a tool, is only the means to an end. It's the most visible and tangible part.
As we say in HR, the "soft stuff" is usually the hardest part of the job.
As usual, you're absolutely correct Gautam.
ReplyDeleteThere's a sense that companies expect to start a blog, and immediately get thousands of interested readers and customers. When no one comments or even bothers to read, they abandon the blog and claim the whole thing was a waste of time.
We're talking about it over on Recruiting.com, as Jason thinks that companies should avoid paying for help - but if companies don't understand the medium, how can they hope to profit from it?
It takes six months to a year to "get" blogging, if you're regularly posting and reading. You have to learn to write better, read better, gather data, and discipline yourself. Unfortunately, blogging seems so easy to do that far too many companies forget that part about passion.
Right! A blog is the platform for a conversation - it's not by itself the conversation (though I talk about it a lot).
ReplyDeleteContent breeds Conversation. Conversation breeds Community.
Community may (or may not) translate into Commerce.