In a recent post from eMarketer.com titled Companies Struggle to Keep Social Media Content On-message, 69% of company messaging was distorted when conveyed by blogs. When conveyed by mainstream media, distortion dropped to 45%. As reported by PR and communication firm Burston-Marsteller, bloggers tended to include "Opinions, personal experience... and speculation".
The post suggests the one of the best ways to combat message distortion is through the use of owned media. Forrester blogger Sean Corcoran defines Owned Media as "channels a brand controls". It's no longer enough to simply publish your story on your website. Each day, blogs increase in influence as they move toward mainstream media. You (and your message) need to be there.
Eliminating Message Distortion
Here are some steps you can take immediately to to increase the power of your blog posts:
- Connect "Here" with "Now". Blog content changes frequently, compeling Search Engines to index frequently. Composing a post about what's happening right now improves the search ranking of your post. Including your expertise and insight connects readers to the "here", your products and services.
- Switch to Draft Mode. Insight may appear to be inspired, but rarely is it instantaneous. I've configured my blog software to compose my post in draft mode instead of publishing each time I press Save. Leave room in your blogging process for research, reflection and fact checking.
- Use Just the Right Word. I recommend creating your own personal thesaurus of key search terms. Keep it close and refer to it while composing a brand message for digital distribution.
- Capture "This Just In!" With tools like Google Alerts and or an RSS reader, you no doubt will have plenty to write about. Consider creating an early warning system to alert you when topics aligned with your expertise appear in the news.
How do you manage to stay on message when publishing blog posts? Please add a comment to share your tips.
Resources
- eMarketer.com - Companies Struggle to Keep Social Media Content On-message
- Forrester blog by Sean Corcoran - Defining Earned, Owned And Paid Media
- Key Phrase Thesaurus -Worksheet with instructions by Jerry Gitchel
