How Significant do Blogging Influence your Business?

Statistics of Technorati said there are 175,000 new blogs being created every day! Can you believe it? Up 'til today, there has been 112,8 million blogs around the world! And there has been 1.6 millios post being published every day! There must be a thousand different reasons for them to create and update blogs. For sure, not all of them used it just for fun. Some, or maybe many, of them, are using this booming tools to do business.

Nowadays, small-medium size business to Giant Corporate Company, are now competing in this new "modern" electronic media (I identified television, newspapers, radion, etc as a "traditional" media). For example, Mark Guim, Nokia "freak" fans, created Nokia Blog, while he's not even Nokia employees or being paid by Nokia. What he's doing is writing a review, new product, and everything related to Nokia that is very popular among Nokia users. Can you imagine how this person (receiving nothing from nokia) affect Nokia Brand Image and Sales? Here is how poweful Internet Marketing is.

This is how New Wave Marketing (quoted from Hermawan Kartajaya) model should be. No more top down (vertical) marketing. Now, everything should be horizontal (communitizing). As a business player, customers are all look at us, our service, integrity, credibility, and reliability. Product is no longer everything (well, it's still important though), our attitude and behavior in doing business will be everything!!

While customers disappointed with our business, they can write everything from A to Z to complain, critize, and destroy our kingdom !!! Just like what Jeff Jarvis did to Dell (click here), that is popular with "Dell Hell", there's actually a lot more happened outthere. We as player in business world, should be careful about this "little-simple" thing that can bring huge impact to our business.

In other side, we can take advantage of this New Wave Marketing, just like what Nokia experienced while out of nowhere, his loyal customer being their "marketer", "dealer", "ambassador", or whatever you want to call it. Believe it or not, nobody can stop "blogger" to write, whether bad things or good things, that can bring either hell or heaven to the business. You better be prepared!

Your Web, Your Way

If the Web's first coming was all about grafting old businesses onto a new medium (pet food! on the Internet!), Web 2.0 is all about empowering individual consumers. It's not enough just to find that obscure old movie; now you can make your own film, distribute it worldwide and find out what people think almost instantly. Big businesses are embracing this new world as well, not just through advertising but also by tapping the expertise of everyone out there to enhance their products.

Here's how to decode the buzzwords and blaze your own trail through the tangle of websites. You Make It Web 2.0 is fueled by an outpouring of creativity from the people formerly known as consumers. From YouTube auteurs to bloggers to amateur photographers competing with the paparazzi, USERGENERATED CONTENT is revolutionizing the media landscape You Name It The sheer mass of information online -- 20 billion Web pages and counting -- should defy organization. Collective intelligence has risen to the challenge.

With users tagging images, text and other forms of content, an organic sort of taxonomy has blossomed, appropriately called FOLKSONOMY You Work on It Why pay a professional when an amateur would do it for dramatically less money? In fields ranging from photography to the sciences, companies are taking jobs once performed by staff and CROWDSOURCING them to the enthusiastic, increasingly adept masses You Find It Wal-Mart can't afford to stock anything that won't sell in volume. But websites like MySpace or Netflix offer an endless array of obscure products, allowing users to forage successfully for Japanese ceramics or old-time bluegrass as easily as they might find the latest John Grisham book.

This business model is known as the LONG TAIL THE ENTERTAINERS The song remains the same, but the way we listen to it is changing. The movie, music, book and video-game industries have all embraced the Internet
• BitTorrent This efficient way of transmitting large files can make anyone a movie distributor • Revver By attaching ads to Web videos, Revver gave stupid pet tricks their first business model
• Second Life An imaginary world built by users spending real money, it has become a nation of nearly 2 million
• YouTube The site that leveled the entertainment playing field. Ask a Ninja outdraws The Daily Show
• Last FM Beyond radio, it's a way to tap into the musical tastes of the crowd and add yours as well
• Netflix With more than 70,000 DVDs available, proof that Keanu and Kurosawa can coexist
• iTunes With a catalog of 3.5 million songs, Apple makes money off the misses as well as the hits
• amazon.com With customer reviews and recommendations, book buying is now a communal experience THE TOOLMAKERS The crowd isn't just expressing itself more; it's also gathering and filtering all those blog posts and photographs and finding an audience for them On the new Web, users are increasingly building their own tools. The result is greater customization and convenience, from maps that can be easily programmed to ads that change with every new blog post
• craigslist The classified-ad service has 23 employees but receives more traffic than all but seven other sites
• Linkedin Social networking for suits. It brings together an elite clientele of global executives
• ebay At the auction site, the users are the police: customer ratings weed out the bad eggs
• myspace.com With 120 million users, it's a whole new society, with features that maximize individuality
• Google Maps Users can add their own points of interest to create mashups like http://www.beerhunter.ca/
• Google AdSense Provides free ads relevant to your website, then pays you if people click on them
• Google The search empire built itself around a social function: counting links between websites THE GATHERERS The crowd isn't just expressing itself more; it's also gathering and filtering all those blog posts and photographs and finding an audience for them
• iStockphoto This photo store taps an army of amateurs, who can sell their shots for as little as $1
• flickr The photo-scrapbook site helped popularize tagging as a way to organize information
• Blogger The popular bloggingsoftware service makes every would-be pundit a publisher
• Bloglines Lets users subscribe to various sites then receive updates from each one on a single page
• Technorati Its search and ranking functions reveal the topics that are burning up the blogosphere
• del.icio.us Allows users to share their Web-browser bookmarks, all organized by tags users provide
• digg The crowd as news editor: readers "digg" stories they like and "bury" ones they don't. Jeff Howe is a contributing editor at Wired. He writes about emerging trends at crowdsourcing.com and is currently working on a book about the crowdsourcing phenomenon

Source: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1570815-1,00.html

How Blogging Affects Mainstream Marketing

There has been a lot of buzz around blogging lately, and for good reason. Weblogs or blogs for short, are changing the way people market themselves and their businesses. If you aren't familiar with blogging, the concept is relatively easy to grasp. Blogs first began as a shared online journal. A blogger posts diary-like entries about his or her daily life for others to read.

Recently though, blogging has evolved into a new form of business writting and advertising. Many business owners now use blogs to promote their goods and services. Others use blogs to promote their website and get higher search engine rankings. Some politicians even use blogs to reach voters.

The typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media that is somehow related to the blog topic. Though most blogs focus on textual content, a blogger may include videos, pictures, and even audio in blog posts. A blog comprised of videos is called a vlog and a blog that uses pictures is called a photoblog.

The Benefits of Blogging
By adding blogging to their marketing campains, business owners are able to market their product with virtually no out of pocket expense. In some cases, bloggers may even be able to make large sums of money with their published blog. For example, a blogger who employs the Google Ad Sense program can make money from blog readers. The more readers a blogger has, the more money can be made from the Google ad.

A blogger can also be a guide for shoppers who are looking for specific products and services. This makes blogging an excellent tool for retailers or affiliate marketers. Blogs can also be a source of valuable information and niche industry news.

Because there are virtually limitless possibilities provided by blogging, it is easy to see why blogs have begun to have a significant impact on mainstream marketing practices. Many companies have noticed this and have chosen to hire a blogger to write and post up to date information for customers, shareholders, and employees.

Some blogs now get millions of readers every single day. There are so many blog readers out there, that experts speculate that the world of blogging is rivaling the mainstream media. New blog search engines are also being created to make searching for a blog easier than ever before.

If you have not yet established a blog for your business, you may want to consider doing so as soon as possible. Keep in mind though that it will take work to attract readers to your blog. It must be interesting or valuable to them in some way. A blogger must also concentrate on creating informative pieces that are as honest and up to date as possible. Blogging is serious business and if you make a mistake, it will not go unnoticed by your readership.

If you need help developing your blog, there are many different browser-based software programs on the market that can help you get a start. Blogs can also be hosted by dedicated blogging services or regular web hosting services.

Last, but not least, a blogger must remember to optimize blog writting for search engines. Blogging is an Internet medium and needs to be approached with Internet principles in mind.

Source: http://knol.google.com/k/ruth-carr/how-blogging-affects-mainstream/x3bdn9gq2new/18?domain=knol.google.com&locale=en#

How Blogging Crashed Dell's Reputation?

Few years back, in 2005, Dell's customer named Jeff Jarvis, had launced complain in his blog called "the buzz machine". Over the summer, Jarvis began writing about his lengthy quest to fix a $1,600 computer, an ordeal he said included countless e-mails, some unanswered, and phone calls to Dell's customer-service line. He even called it "Dell Hell" (that is now popular to used by those who dislike Dell) because of his anger.

People's responses about his complain on his personal blog was stunning! Two days after he published his complain on his blog, Business Weeks magazine and New York Times newspaper had published his complaint on its news!!! Guess what next, everybody talk about Dell and their sales has dropped significantly afterward. One complaint in blog (not newspaper or magazine) had destroyed Dell's reputation!

Afterward, Jeff Jarvis has more influence over people’s perceptions of Dell’s customer service than Dell does - so much influence that the paper claims, “Any attempt to redress the public perception of their customer services by Dell will have to pass via Jeff Jarvis’ influence.”
If there was ever a time for Dell to enter the blogosphere, it would be now. But as Clickz.com reports, the company is doing what you should never do in the blogosphere: stonewalling. “Dell shut down its online customer forum shortly after the postings unfolded. The company’s sales have dropped, and in October of this year, Dell issued a profit warning for the year.” (http://blogbusinesssummit.com/2005/12/jeff_jarvis_off.htm)

Isn't that awesome that somebody with his own personal blog, can affect a highly respected company like Dell, turn around customers perception about Dell, and crashed its reputation? Never take your customers complaint lightly, they can crashed your company reputation in just few minutes, even though you had a great reputation in the past, just like Jeff Jarvis did!

Obama's Viral Marketing Campaign

As eye-popping as Barack Obama's second-quarter fund-raising total was--it raked in $31 million for his campaign for the 2008 Democratic nomination, beating even the much vaunted Clinton money machine by better than $10 million in funds for the primary race--what really has the political classes chattering is another figure Obama reported: 258,000. That's the number of people his campaign says have already donated to him, and it amounts to more than a doubling of his fund-raising base in the past three months. "He's got a much more viral campaign than we do," says an envious Hillary Clinton strategist, using a term for word-of-mouth advertising and marketing techniques. "He's got a real buzz about him."

It's a buzz that Obama is finding new and creative ways to fuel, adapting to a world in which the concept of community has grown to include MySpace and Facebook. No campaign has been more aggressive in tapping into social networks and leveraging the financial power of hundreds of thousands of small donors. Nor has any other campaign found such innovative ways to extend its reach by using the Internet--more than $10 million of Obama's second-quarter contributions were made online, and 90% of them were in increments of $100 or less.

The advantages of Internet fund raising are many. It's quick, cheap and far less intimidating for political novices than writing a big check. Some campaigns have set up systems by which donors can have their credit cards billed automatically in easy-to-budget monthly amounts of as little as $20. "We're seeing the full flowering of the Internet for fund raising for presidential races," says former Federal Election Commission chairman Michael Toner, who is currently advising Republican Fred Thompson as he ponders whether to enter the fray.

In 2000, George W. Bush revolutionized campaign fund raising--and shattered existing records--by creating a muscular network of "bundlers," each of whom committed to bring in $100,000, $200,000 or more from friends and associates. But while Bush's bundlers, whom he designated Pioneers and Rangers, were high-powered CEOs and lobbyists, Obama's bundlers include such unlikely political players as Andrew Nicholas, who tutors refugee students at Denver's South High School; Emily Stanton, a stay-at-home mom in Baltimore; and Jeff Larson, a software engineer in Chicago. They are among the 9,500 volunteers, says the campaign, who have signed up to solicit their friends and families by hosting individual fund-raising Web pages for Obama.

Source: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1640402,00.html

Making Your Online Advertising Works - ADOI report

THE INTERNET, COMMONLY DESCRIBED AS “Online” has already changed the way we do business with one another. We’re still trying to figure out how to effectively use this new medium. One of the major problems in the relation to the online arena is the fact that there are basically no hard or fast rules. The online world is also very different from any other type of media use before. In advertising, it can help advertisers and consumers come together in ways that there are both meaningful and mutually beneficial. The biggest barrier to effective online advertising lies in its strategic planning.

Virtual Consulting, as a leading online consultant, understands the workings and concepts behind online advertising. They initiated a workshop to educate advertisers on implementing successful online strategies. Held at Manhattan Hotel Ballroom on December 3rd, 2008, more than 100 advertisers attended the workshop. Keynote speakers for the workshop included Nukman Luthfie, the Indonesian online advertising guru, Iim Fahima, Founder Virus Communications and Budiman Hakim, Founder & Executive Creative Director Macs909. The discussion centered on strategy, rationale, and case studies. In the first session participants were introduced to various studies on the impact and benefits of going online.

Nukman Luthfie stated that ad clutters on website would decrease the effectiveness of the ad itself. He gave examples of welcoming pages on Kompas.com with 19 display ads, and Detik.com with 15 display ads. This clearly shows that advertising online is not as easy as it seems. Nukman added that rather than prioritizing welcoming pages, advertiser would be better off utilizing contextual ads to grab the attention of specific targets.

Beside strategy considerations, Nukman also elaborated on online measurements to evaluate and built the necessary strategies. Iim Fahima shared her case on the Indonesia society online behavior and responses. Budiman Hakim, on the other hand, presented a review of the arduous journey that this new advertising medium traveled and its vast reach and significant impact on society.

Source: http://www.virtual.co.id/blog/virtual-corner/making-your-online-advertising-works-adoi-report/

How To Sell In Tough Times

But here's some good news for busted Wall Streeters--and any other commission chasers laid low by the latest economic crisis: Salesmanship is a transferable skill.If you can sell stocks, bonds and financial derivatives, you can sell real estate, technology, autos and tooth brushes. That's because the fundamental tools are the same.

Salespeople know how to frame a discussion. They know how to ask the right questions and, with a little discipline, shut up and listen to the answers. They can relate to people. And they have the courage to ask for business and try new things.

So what happens if--and when--you lose your job? First, you go have a martini and a big steak dinner. Then you look for a growing market to attack.My friend Doug, a placement agent, reports that sales gigs at companies heavily dependent on consumer disposable incomes are growing few and far between.

This recession is real. So where's the growth? In tough times, any product or service that promises to boost productivity (or to save money, however you want to look at it) is worth a look.Some promising areas: alternative and sustainable energy sources, such as wind power. (Old company raider Boone Pickens imagines massive fields of wind mills in the western U.S.) Such an infrastructure requires engineering, construction, software, spare parts and maintenance providers--they all need salespeople.

Have questions about how to run your small business? Go to Forbes.com's Small Business Exchange and ask our cadre of experts. The same goes for battery and bio-fuel technologies. We don’t know who will win the alternative-energy game, but we do know there will be plenty of competition for years to come.

Another hot area: software as a service. SaaS providers charge monthly subscription fees, rather than more expensive upfront licenses--a cash-flow booster for small businesses in tough times. Some of the fees are so low you can use a credit card to cover them.Not that you should forget the old standbys: companies that sell to public utilities, educational institutions, health care and infrastructure providers.

We're not talking "credit default swaps" or other sexy doohickeys like that, but you want to put a decent dinner on the table, right?For those still on the payroll, get in touch with your loyal (and solvent) customers. Immediately. Anticipate how the troubled economy might affect them, because it will.Preempt trouble and engender even deeper loyalty by crafting some new pricing schemes. Take another look at long-term contracts. Assuming they haven't fallen on especially hard times, find creative ways to allow valued customers to keep buying.

Worse case scenario, accept products or services in lieu of payment.A final thought in this environment: Watch receivables like a hawk. Your commissions depend on it. You don't have to whip out the bludgeon, but a sales pro should be able to politely squeeze a customer's payables department.

I'm not going to kid you: Things aren't looking good out there. But it doesn't matter. Because no matter what, salesmen do one thing: They sell.So stop reading and pick up the phone.

Source: http://news.alibaba.com/article/deta...ugh-times.html