As the company behind the widely acclaimed Blog Business Summit events, we’ve built an extensive network of partners and friends in the blogosphere. Along the way, we’ve also picked up the tricks of the trade, and we enjoy sharing our knowledge and expertise.
If you’re starting to think about the blogosphere and how it affects your business, you don’t need to look any further than Parnassus Ventures.
The Basics
It doesn’t matter if you’re blogging or not. If your communications and human resources people aren’t paying the right kind of attention to the blogosphere, you’ve got a recipe for disaster. Read on to find out how we can help you navigate the blogosphere - whether or not you ever write a blog post.
As Gartner VP of Research Allen Weiner said, companies need to have a blogging policy - even if they’re not blogging.
Why? Because chances are at least one of your employees has a blog. And if they do, they’re almost certainly talking about work. If you don’t want to find yourself in the position of having to terminate an otherwise valued employee because they accidentally revealed something about your business on their blog, then your company needs a blogging policy. The rules must be clear for everyone, across the board.
We at Parnassus Ventures understand this critical issue. We’ve heard our share of horror stories about employees gone wrong in the blogosphere, and we can help tailor a policy to your needs. Let us help you take this critical first step toward being a blog-savvy business.
There are probably terabytes of information floating around the blogosphere about what Dell did wrong when it did nothing to engage a Jeff Jarvis - a dissatisfied customer whose blog has a PageRank of 8 (the same as Dell.com).
What Dell did wrong, we can help you do right. We’ll teach you how to monitor the RSS ecosystem for buzz about your company. We’ll help you engage with the best sales force you’ll ever have - your satisfied customers. And if anyone has something negative to say we’ll help you respond productively.
Reaching Out & Blogger Engagement
If you’re ready to go beyond the basics, to reach out and leverage the power of the blogosphere for your business, then kudos! We’re excited for you. Read on to find out about how we can help you engage.
When Connexion by Boeing wanted to draw attention to their in-flight Internet service, they didn’t send out a press release. They hired Parnassus Ventures to put together an event that would get the blogosphere buzzing like mad. We loaded some of the top speakers from our successful Blog Business Summit conferences onto Connexion One and flew them to Walla Walla for a wonderful dinner at Reininger Winery. They blogged about the event, creating considerable buzz and excitement about Connexion in the blogosphere.
We often talk with our clients about breaking out of the CEO Box. The CEO Box is basically the common assumption that if your business is going to be blogging, then the CEO or some other top executive will need to spend time writing about the company’s day to day operations.
The first thing you need to do is throw that assumption out the window. There are many ways for you to connect with your customer base and the blogosphere. Our suggestion: let us build you a sponsored blog.
Essentially, a sponsored blog offers your company an opportunity to engage the blogosphere without the risk and time involved in creating your own blog. The blog is owned by Parnassus Ventures, but we’ll build the editorial focus to suit your needs. No matter who you want to reach, we’ll come up with an blog that they’ll want to read again and again. Your brand and advertising will be featured prominently throughout the blog, ensuring that you engage your target market.
Putting Yourself Out There
Yeah, sponsored blogs and buzz management are really cool. But you want a blog. You want it to belong to you. You want to reach out to your customers directly every single day, and you have the people and the time to devote to it.
If this sounds like you, then welcome to the blogosphere! We’re here to help you make a grand entrance.
We’ll help you build and design a killer blog using any number of platforms from hosted solutions like TypePad to fully customized blogs built with WordPress or Movable Type. Our world-class team of designers and developers are at your disposal.
You may be ready to jump headfirst into the blogosphere, but you’d still appreciate some guidance from people who have been blogging for a while and know their way around.
We’ll help you to develop an editorial focus. We’ll work with you to get the blogosphere engaged with what you’re talking about. And we’ll help you avoid common newbie blogger pitfalls.
Imagine that your company has a radio show that targets your audience, delivers your message, ingratiates you to your customer base and builds general goodwill throughout the online community. A good podcast can deliver the same benefits to a business as a good blog - and a lot of companies are doing it.
We can help you determine editorial, develop a strategy, and execute on a first-rate podcast series that delivers quality content to your listeners and powerful marketing to your business.
