Maybe your question to all this blogging stuff is: Who gives a hoot or nanny?

If you don’t give a hoot or nanny about building relationships or engaging in conversations – you probably shouldn’t have a business blog.

Fair warning: You’ll probably give business blogging a shot at some point. Either publishing a blog or tracking them. However, by then you may be playing catch up. You’ll end up focusing on the tactics without having a strategy.

Chris Brown of Marketing Resources and Results talks about Marketing Tactics versus Marketing Strategy. Apply the same to business blogs. Tactics without strategy often comes across as manipulation.

Building relationships and having engaging conversations with customers has long been a key to a successful business. Blogs are a platform for those conversations.

Aside: You may have thought I should have said "hootenanny" – but that’s closer to being a blog than you might think (definition)

Previously:
- What Makes a Blog Different: Intro
- What Makes a Blog Different: The Tools
- What Makes a Blog Different: The Talk

technorati tags: Relationships Conversations ROI Business Blogging

Okay, so we’ve gotten past the tools question. What about the RBI…err…ROI of Blogging?

Jordan Behan at TellTenFriends Marketing shares this great find in Blogs Equal Traffic, Part Deux: "People are more interested in what I have to say than what my site is selling."  Amen!

My good fri-ent (friend first, client second), Tom Vander Well at QAQnA has shared findings of how prospects and clients are reading his blog, gleaning quality information from what Tom is saying, then making decisions to hire Tom’s company.

So, in alphabetical order – RBI (Relationships Built Intentionally) first, ROI (Return on Investment) second.

Back to the question: "What’s a blog going to do for my business that other marketing materials aren’t already doing?"  Simple: Engage your customers and colleagues in a real-time, relevant dialogue that builds long-lasting relationships.

Remember, sometimes the question isn’t always the question. Ann Handley of MarketingProfs brings this up in her comment, wondering if the question "…is really the subtext of fear: ‘What could I possibly have to say?’ "

Ann goes on to point out "…smart business owners/marketers understand is that blogs are not just vehicles to TALK…but also to listen."  Amen! (two Amens in one post – phew!)

See where we’re headed with this bloggin’ thing?  Engaging in a conversation, both roles.

People do business with people….with people they know, and people they like.  Building Relationships. Your other marketing materials cannot, will not and do not do that.

Yes, Virginia – there is an ROI of Blogging. But it comes after the RBI of Blogging.

I missed an opportunity to meet up with Dr. Kenneth W. Davis this weekend. Ken was in Iowa for a visit, but I had a previous meeting which required requiring my presence.

I often point to Ken’s site in my workshops and meetings as an example of how to write concise, time-saving blog posts. In turn, Ken’s posts help me become a better writer (we all hope).

We met through our blogging. Hopefully we’ll meet offline soon. In the interim, we can stay in tune with each other’s thoughts via blogging.

Ken offers up a great thought for this week: Go "which-hunting"

Among the great features of Technorati is checking your own "baseball card" rankings and subscribing to a Watchlist. You can also subscribe to a search to find when people are talking about you or your company.

But it shouldn’t end there. In fact, that’s probably not the most efficient business use of Technorati.

Hypothetical Exercise: Let’s say I’m an antique retailer, just starting out in blogging. After I check out KnowMoreMedia for like-minded blogs, I scoot over to Technorati for some profitable research. I go to the "Blog Finder" search (near the top):

1. I have a small retail storefront, so I search on "retail" and get 141 results. I can download the OPML and put it in my feeds, or scan them one-at-a-time. The quality of blogs using this term is all over the map, but I do find Whirled Events an enjoyable read. I also notice that it doesn’t take a lot of links to crack the top 20 here. I note that "retail" should be one of my blogs tags.
2. I repeat the process for "antique" and quickly find a few keepers, including The Antiques Blog and Collectiblog. Remember, we’re not only building a business, but also building a conversation. The hope is that we can have some great conversations with these folks – possibly building links (and findability) for everyone (including ourselves).
3. During the last search, I notice that Technorati offers "Related" suggestions near the top of the page. One term I hadn’t thought of is "Vintage." Okay, I get distracted here by reading Modern Mechanix, but I run across old magazines and posters when I buy lots – maybe we’ll find common ground here someday.
4. Think of other things might search on. Remember, you’ll be able to expand your reach by extending your voice in a conversation.

This is still only a portion of what can be done with Technorati. Maybe you’re not in retail, just modify the search terms to fit your business.

Remember Josh’s story on how A Single Feed Creates a Lifetime of Loyalty? You can do the same with some of the tools that Technorati offers.

How do you use Technorati to benefit your business? We’ll be discussing this and more at our Iowa Business Blogging workshops on Thursday nights. Join us!

One of the first things I suggestions I offer to customers is to find a like-minded business blog. While Technorati and Google can help, the first place I point them to is KnowMoreMedia.

Why? Let’s throw a few examples out there:

• Mortgage Broker or Real Estate Pro? Check out PropertyMaven or LandingTheDeal
• Reatil Shop? Read and Comment at ManagersRealm or SmallBizMentor
• Pharma Rep? ThePharmVoice or HealthCareVox
• You’ll find blogs on Marketing, Advertising, Branding, Customer Service, Call Centers, Card Services, Insurance, Deal Flow, Business Coaching….I could go on, but it’s likely that these folks have something in your line or interest.

Build a relationship with the authors. Subscribe to their feeds. Comment on their posts, use their posts as a starting point to your post…who knows, maybe you’ll write for KMM someday and extend your reach.

The name fits the network: KnowMore.