In July 2004, we had made a bold suggestions to advertising executives: leverage the power of the bloggers and use them in your guerilla marketing efforts. We had suggested that advertisers approach the bloggers and work with them to create buzz. Yes, it can be an efficient and time-consuming process to approach bloggers (many of them are not businesses, some do not even disclose their real identities, while others are just skeptical of corporations who want to influence their message), but a new service will make this easier than ever. What this company is offering is data mining of blogs. Blabble, while still in beta mode, will allow you to find who is talking about your products/services and what are they saying.
Why data mining of blogs makes sense?
Why data mining of blogs makes sense?
- Blogs are just starting to explode. Their very independent nature makes them attractive to consumers who can read unadulterated commentary.
- The young generation does not care about the political correctness of established media outlets. They would rather hear from someone like them than a large corporation with its army of PR experts and marketing types.
- Data mining will allow a company not only to assess impact of its actions in literally real time (you can make that happen by starting a blog yourself). This data can then be used to refine the message within a matter of hours rather than weeks and months.
Suggested road map for advertising executives
- Analyze what kind of data are you mining now, how old it is by the time you get to see the reports, and how long will it take you to react to it. Will it really have any meaning by the time these steps are completed?
- Think of blogs as another advertising channel different from search and contextual advertising.
- If you don't know what blogs are, how powerful this trend is, and the remarkable impact it is already having on commerce, do some research on blogs, or even better, start blogging yourself.
Related article: 3Es of Internet Advertising