This is a question that we hear from potential clients all the time. If blogging/social media is as easy as writing an e-mail and costs practically nothing compared to an advertising or marketing campaign, why do we need to hire someone to help us do it?
Some companies truly don’t need to hire consultants, they may have the blogging talent and knowledge in-house. But the road to the blogosphere is paved with stories of companies that have made serious missteps in social media because they entered the arena with the best of intentions, but without really getting some crucial component of “it.”
Recent examples include:
So what is that elusive “it” that consultants, like us, offer?
Knowing the blogosphere as we do, we’re better able to predict and prevent common pitfalls like the use of marketing jargon or gimmicks. We’ll ask questions about your plans for the blogosphere that people in your organization won’t think to ask. And we’ll bring real-world examples of successes and failures to the table.
Why do we know all this? Because we’re truly passionate. We’re unabashedly geeky and we really love the blogosphere and related technologies. We live out here. We spend all our time thinking about how this stuff works for businesses. Unlike major PR firms, we don’t provide any other services. There’s something to be said for true specialization when you’re hiring a paid expert.
This is the reason we’ve chosen to focus on the “how” instead of the “why” at our conferences. You can understand the “why” from reading any number of blogs and business blogging testimonials, but when it comes to the “how,” you’re probably going to need some help.
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Jim Turner 09.22.06 at 11:53 am
Great points Teresa. I’ve often touted that we have heard enough theory on blogs let’s hear the nuts and bolts. Tell me and show me results of real life.