Sally Falkow points to an interesting list by London based E-consultancy on The 12 reasons why UK businesses don’t blog.
What’s interesting is that some PR folks tell me that clients aren’t asking for blogging, tagging and social networks. What companies and orgs know though is that things are changing. They sense that customers and supporters are getting info and news from different sources these days– away from the mainstream and their Websites. ‘Engagement’ seems to be a word that Corporate America, not only the non-profit sector is picking up on.
I don’t necessarily hear it alot but also sense that most corporate communication departments know that they’ve already lost some control over the message.
So, the question is: are the agencies leaving money on the table by not listening to the conversation or even asking the right questions?
Podcasting for business
A client called today, asking about podcasts. The questions were more about marketing so we talked about sponsorships and adding podcasts to websites– to spread the word and become more of an industry resource.
A few months ago, I posted about a PR agency brownbag we did with one of the topics being podcasting. A podcast is a program recorded into MP3 file that is posted online. You can listen to it online or download and take it with you on a handheld device like an iPod (hence, the name Podcast).
Businesses using podcasting include IBM for Investor Relations, Cisco to distribute news and even Whirlpool that focuses on lifestyle instead of a product.
You can find a more complete list of business podcasts here.
To begin though, you’ll need a podcatcher, or software to listen. I’m fairly sure that all podcatchers are free. I use juice. iTunes podcatcher is another example. Here is a more complete list.
Once you can listen to the broadcast, you’ll want to find a directory to pick and choose those that appeal to you. A few directories include Podcast.net, Yahoo! Podcast and Podnova.
And, of course, what good would podcasts be without a blog to go along with?
E-mail marketing seminar: free
Constant Contact, an ASP that we use for e-mail campaigns is throwing free e-mail marketing events in the Baltimore/Washington, DC area.
The content may be to basic for some but in this day and age of pay for play events- it’s good to find value for free.
On a related note, Exact Target, another ASP offers a deliverbility blog. This is a good read for anyone that wonders what happens (or not) when you hit the send button. I subscribed to find out what happens to those notes that don’t get delivered or bounce!