E-Commerce News: Add 'Blog' To the Campaign Lexicon
This article is a profile of how weblogs are being used in the race for the presidency. It has a lot of the same observations that we've seen before.
However, something about this article makes me think that the growth and popularity of the campaign blogs are showing us what will happen on business web sites soon.
Blogs, those Web sites where thousands have posted their musings, rants and commentaries, have gone presidential. The Dean campaign led the way, launching its site in March. Since then, six of his eight Democratic rivals, along with President Bush, have launched similar sites. Only Sharpton and former senator Carol Moseley Braun (Ill.) have not.
As soon as the other candidates saw the power of the Dean Weblog, they too joined in at different levels. It appears that weblogs are becoming a standard campaign tool.
This makes me consider where the business versions of the Dean Weblog are? What major company is going to be the one that starts the me-too phenomenon that will take business weblogs to the next level? Am I missing something?
I am a believer that the Weblog form and function will be a standard on corporate websites one day, just as it is in these campaigns. Companies will see that they can use a Weblog to help customers feel connected to the company- just like a campaign.
I don't think that creating a community of supporters for a candidate vs. business are all that different. I just think that campaigns are more nimble and are not so locked into their decades-old marketing strategy. They have less fear of communicating in free form and are willing to take risks- even as the stakes get higher.
Especially if Dean wins the nomination, businesses will see that part of his success was built on enabling supporters to *feel* like they are a working part of a community through his weblog- and they'll ask themselves- "How can we do that?"
Article via: Marketing Wonk