Untitled Document
PR Insight: Blogs are Dynamite
The PR you get
on blogs can be explosive, whether positive or negative. Be sure you understand
this popular new communication medium.
By Laura Enock
Oct. 5, 2006
Credit Union Management
magazine's Web-only "PR Insight" column runs the first Thursday
of every month.
Ever thought about the PR
impact Web logs, or blogs, could have on your credit union? More than one CU
has been written about on a blog.
And if the blogger that
writes about your CU is well read, as many blogs are, that could be wonderful.
But it could also be terrifying.
There's been a lot of talk
about blogs and the havoc they wreak (as well as the business they build) in
the general mainstream press. There's a lot to be said about having your own
blog (a report on credit union blogging was just published in a recent issue
of 80/20 Marketing), but our concern today is coverage on the blogs
you don't own.
And that, my friend, is
a true PR concern.
I chose that word carefully,
even though it may not be a concern of yours today. Pitching blogs positive
ideas about all those wonderful things you do for members and the community
you serve is the subject of another column. Our immediate concern here is to
help you control the coverage you get on blogs when the going gets tough, when
you're neck-high in trouble, when the very last thing you want to think about
is PR.
When something goes wrong
(say, for example, a security breach) be sure you respond immediately with an
honest, transparent, PR reaction. If you don't do that, don't be surprised to
find your credit union's name all over the Internet in not such a positive light.
Indeed, not every word of
PR coverage is "free marketing" for your credit union. Negative blog
coverage can turn into a real PR problem.
To make the most of blog
public relations, understand the difference between traditional print media
and blogs. Also, find out which blogs your members and potential members visit.
Keep a list of these blogs and contact them, if not for all your PR campaigns,
at least when something goes wrong. Briefly, the credit union should let bloggers
know what happened and the steps they have taken to counteract the situation
and prevent it from happening again. The more the CU goes above and beyond,
the better. Credit unions also can do a daily blog search for their name (using
google.com, for example)
to see if they come up on an obscure blog post penned by a disgruntled member.
Blogs are very similar to
traditional media, with a few noteworthy differences:
1. Bloggers are more
powerful than you think. While you might take an article in the New York
Times seriously, there's a tendency to renounce bloggers and their postings
with an attitude of "Well, who does he think he is, anyway?"
Don't go there. While the
blogger may be an independent nobody with fewer credentials and less common
sense than you have, nobody's asking for resumes. If it's a well-known blog
that attracts visitors, it has the power to build—or destroy—your
reputation.
2. Blogs are permanent.
Newspapers last for about a day, a week, a month. But once the next issue is
out, it's over. Sure, you can recycle the media coverage you got and make the
most of positive coverage, but negative coverage is of less concern as time
goes on. A posting to a blog, however, is on line until the blogger decides
to take it off.
Which may be never.
If your credit union is
mentioned by name, you may find yourself in a situation where a Google search
for your credit union brings up a blog posting from two years ago that you'd
rather forget. And don't forget, if the blog post is widely read, it may be
linked to by dozens, hundreds or even thousands of other blogs, which exponentially
increases the potential audience very rapidly.
3. Communicate on line.
Don't try mailing a press release to a blogger; you'll only be seen as a relic
from the last century. E-mail is the way to go; phone calls are OK, too.
4. Formality is out.
Blogs are typically not written formally. Your communication with bloggers should
be informal, too. Of course, it needs to be professional, yet your style should
be more like the spoken word than the written word.
Bottom line? Like most powerful
inventions (think: dynamite) blogs can be used for you or against you. See to
it that the only blog coverage you ever receive is coverage you're proud of.
Laura M. Enock is
CEO of CUVA and publisher of 80/20 Marketing, a monthly report on credit
union marketing, and www.CreditUnionNewsletters.com. Get a free professional
evaluation of your credit union's newsletter by emailing requests@cuva.us.
|