Companies not including blogs in marketing mix leaving money on the table
A legal marketing director from one of lexBlog’s clients back East turned me onto a thought provoking article on blogs. B.L. Ochman, internet marketing conduit, and president of whatsnextonline.com published an article for Bacon’s entitled Companies That Don’t Include Blogs in the Marketing Mix Are Leaving Money on the Table. What Blogging Opportunity Is Your Company Missing?
Ochman talks about some interesting marketing campaigns which would have been the perfect fit for a blog. Though not about legal marketing, I’ve found it does not take much to get the minds of innovative legal marketing professionals going. Here’s some food for thought.
She starts off telling us:
Blogging is a fast, low cost and highly-effective publishing, marketing and content management tool. With top blogs reaching millions of people daily, and directly influencing journalists and decision-makers, thousands of whom also blog, it is time for blogging to be taken seriously in the marketing mix.
Ochman then sites examples of companies which she believes lost exposure and sales for failing to blog:
- Teva , maker of waterproof sport sandals, issued a well-written press release announcing that it is designing a new line of shoes made especially for elephant named Tina suffering from a debilitating foot disease. Though the company received some coverage via Business Wire about Tina, who unfortunately is now deceased, Teva could have started a viral campaign about the project, by creating a blog following the shoe-maker’s progress as it “cobbles for the pachyderms.”
- Ford UK Web site. In a clever product placement, British chick-lit writer Carole Matthews gets paid to write Ford Fiestas into her short stories. The author changed the heroine’s car in her book “The Sweetest Taboo” to a Ford Fiesta instead of the Volkswagen Beetle she’d originally penned after she received Ford sponsorship. The missed blogging opportunity: the stories should be part of a blog that allows readers to tell their own Fiesta stories and respond to the ones on the site.
- Necco Candy. Necco sold eight billion Conversation Hearts for Valentine’s Day 2004, updated with sayings including “IM Me.” But they missed the opportunity for a blog where customers could suggest and vote on new messages.
Like I said, not about law firms. But I am sure law firm marketing directors are working on many public relations campaigns or press releases for which a far greater buzz could be created by adding a blog. If you’re unsure how to apply a blog to a marketing campaign you’re working on, drop me an email or give me a call.