Use PR sense when monitoring blogs

A good friend of mine tells a funny story about the time his executive team discovered the stock bulletin boards on Yahoo (this was years ago, in the early days of the internets).

The CEO and CFO called him in -- completely panicked -- and urged him to start posting replies to all the negative things people were writing about the company. They were shocked -- shocked, I tell you -- to find such negative comments out in the open for everyone to see!


Critics? What critics?

Of course, my friend -- like most of us in the business -- knew better than to try and reason with that kind of antagonistic audience (and by that I mean the bulletin board posters, not his executive team).

Sometimes, you just have to ignore what people are saying or writing about you.

I remind you of that fact as a counter to a lot of what you read today regarding blogs. We continue to hear about the importance of blog monitoring -- and I agree completely that it is critical -- but rarely does anyone suggest what to do with what you find other than to "engage" the bloggers.

But that broad stroke misses an important element.


Analyze first, then decide about responding

The key to blog monitoring is thoughtful analysis. What is being said? Who is saying it? What relationship does that person have to our organization? What is the blogger's agenda and how does that color his/her point of view?

You must answer those questions before you can consider whether to engage the blogger via comments, trackbacks or e-mail.

Then, you must determine whether or not you can solve the problem or smooth over a situation. Taking on a blogger without the capability of fixing the issue is just asking for trouble.

Here's an example of what I mean.

I recently had a problem with spacing on the RSS feed of my blog. I wrote about it, and Rick Klau of FeedBurner jumped in with information and assistance. Perfect example of blog monitoring and response.

Now, as I've written before, what about someone who writes in his blog that McDonald's food sucks or that oil companies are evil?

Does it make sense for company representatives to respond to those bloggers individually? Doubtful. In fact, doing so may inflame the situation.


Track trends, not individuals

The key in those instances is to track what you read over time to make sure that the trends aren't headed downward. Use what you learn to uncover weak spots in your offering, or places where improvements can be made. But remember that no company is going to be popular with 100 percent of the population, and the bigger you are, the more likely people are to take potshots at you.

In fact, overreacting to a blogger's complaints may open the door to future problems. If one blogger gets a free meal or a new PC for complaining, then everyone else who registers a similar complaint will expect the same thing.

The go-go blog evangelists out there will tell you that you should reading and responding to blogs. Read, yes. But tread lightly when considering a direct response. In fact, perhaps the best approach is for your company to blog, so you have a forum for communicating on your own terms.

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