Blogs and Consumer Generated Content
Blogs are changing the way we send and receive information in today’s world. Where once the big media networks were in control of our news and information blogs are quickly taking over. Blogs are what is known in the industry as Consumer Generated Content (CGC), when individuals and companies are expressing their news and opinions through their own media source, blogs.
This has brought a whole new realm of challenges for advertisers and marketers everywhere. Though blogs are accessible and able to contain ads how do you target them? One of the biggest blog communities on the 'Net is MySpace has many advertisers stumped. In the latest issue of Wired Magazine they put the dilemma this way.
“In an online advertising market increasingly dependant on the 'Net’s ability to precision target ads, MySpace offers no sure way to hit the bull’s eye. Google decides which ads to show based on the search terms and page content. By contrast the typical MySpace page view doesn’t offer much of a clue about anything. What conclusions can you draw when Kid A bounces onto Kid B’s profile and leaves the message 'Wazzup?'”
As a business owner this really causes two problems for you. The first is if I am looking to market through other people’s media, how can I be sure I am getting a targeted audience? The second challenge is how can I capture my audience if they are no longer using the traditional mainstream media sources?
The first challenge is the most difficult and I will save the answer on that one for a future post. As for the second question, it is easy: get yourself or your company a blog. By creating consistent content relevant to your industry you can effectively capture the eyes and more importantly the wallets of your target audience. What business wouldn’t kill for customer’s who frequented their stores on an almost daily basis. This in essence is what good CGC does.
Targeted Web traffic is worth far more these days than you can really imagine. I know because I get my fair share of it and it has had an instrumental impact on my business. If you are not taking advantage of it you may just well be on your way to being out of business. Harsh words? Perhaps, but can you afford to find out the hard way?
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