Not That There's Anything Wrong With That...(and Other PR Blog Jots)

Yada yada yada...
Chris Brogan
In the 1990s, NBC Thursday night programming was a veritable powerhouse. It wasn’t until “CSI” came along on CBS in 2000 that any other network could compete with the “Must-See TV” lineup. Chris Brogan takes a look at NBC’s formula of sandwiching less popular shows between their three all-stars, “Seinfeld,” “Friends,” and “ER.” He thinks the same concept can be applied to growing your audience on blogs. Among other tips, he recommends trying to engage audiences that already engaged elsewhere, a “crossover audience” from another popular site may be drawn to yours if you write about similar themes. “I mentioned above that your product had to standalone and that crossovers stunk on TV and comics, but what I didn’t say and should is that AUDIENCE crossover is magic. Wherever you can find ways to get a big product’s audience to interact with you, it’s good. Don’t get onto someone else’s blog and just pimp the hell out of your blog. That won’t work. It just comes off as seeming wayyyyy too self-serving. But it doesn’t hurt to write a follow-on topic really quickly that augments a blog whose audience might really love your stuff.”

Tips To Improve Your Googleability
Personal Branding Blog
Now that we know some excellent tips for growing your audience, how do you improve searchability? If your personal brand is doesn’t turn out well in Google search results, continuing to expand your audience may prove challenging. Robert David Hunter offers some excellent tips for improving your “Google visibility,” including establishing a presence on business networking sites such as LinkedIn, and making sure your name appears somewhere in your blog’s title. “You will notice that some popular social networks carry a lot of weight (see picture above) in Google. From what I’ve noticed, Facebook, LinkedIn, Lyro, Technorati, YouTube, Twitter and Blog Catalog are favorable. You should join these popular services, so that you can “own your brand” on Google. If you have negative publicity associated with your brand, by joining these networks, you can push those results down, so that if someone Google’s you, your personal brand will be secure. Also, purchase your domain name immediately (yourname.com).”

Dear CEO Blogger...
PR Squared
In an open letter to CEOs thinking about jumping into the blogosphere and participating, Todd Defren lays out some specific advice for them to ponder before doing so. He urges CEOs to spend at least a month just listening and reading other blogs before starting their own, and getting to know a few bloggers in their field. He points out that many a CEO ego has the potential to be crushed by the somewhat cliquey nature of the blogosphere, and that they can’t expect to shoot to the top of Technorati as soon as they put thoughts to keyboard. Todd recommends easing in, and keeping expectations in check. “Same with blogging, Chief.  Think of it as an extended block party.  You’re certainly invited, but please don’t expect to be Mr. Popular right away.  Giving freely of your attention in the form of commenting & linking liberally to your peers’ blogs is the equivalent of handing out your BBQ goodies.  It could take YEARS, but sooner or later your neighbors will come to respect, expect and love your contributions.”

Thunderdome: Target and Wal-Mart
The Buzz Bin
Wal-Mart in Target already battle it out for their share of the mainstream retail consumers (though I’m not even convinced they are in the same league, Target’s audience seems to be young adults with money to burn whereas Wal-Mart targets—heh—the lower income families), and they may be taking that fight to social media. Both have suffered well-publicized astroturfing gaffes (though some may argue Wal-Mart’s was more egregious). Larissa Fair think that now is the time for Wal-Mart to take advantage of the bad publicity hit Target is taking and make a social media comeback. “Though Wal-Mart may (or may not) have learned from their mistakes, they keep trying to prove their willingness to listen and engage their customers. Hopefully Wal-Mart will be able to get it right this time, and really become a part of the community, as we have seen with Dell, SouthWest, and other companies that have successfully engaged the public through their blogs (and willingness to acknowledge their downfalls).”