Groundswell Blogging

Tips for successful blogging
1. Start by listening. What do your customers want?
2. Determine a goal for the blog.
3. Estimate the ROI.
4. Develop a plan.
5. Rehearse.
6. Develop an editorial process.
7. Design the blog and its connection to your site.
8. Develop a marketing plan so people can find the blog.
9. Remember, blogging is more than writing. If you’re not getting a dialogue from your customers, your blog is not working.
10. Final advice: be honest. Make an honest assessment.

HP blogging case; developed a blogging policy first. The biggest benefit is that the company is now talking with customers who are in the middle of the funnel. In one instance, an HP blogger helped get the word out about a fix for a printer driver problem. In another instance, HP was able to respond to some trash talking by the CEO of Sun Microsystems. Groundswell authors recommend calculating the ROI of blogging efforts (and pretty much all activities). Don’t’ continue if you don’t think it’s going to pencil out