Five Secrets to Corporate Blogging Success

Posted by Joe Panettieri

During a recent marketing summit hosted by Cisco in Miami, I was inundated with questions about corporate blogging. How do you set one up? What are some common mistakes to avoid? Who from within a business should write for the corporate blog? There were plenty of valid questions.

Books like “Strategies and Tools for Corporate Blogging” (by John Cass) provide several tips for aspiring corporate bloggers. But reading a book on blogging is like scanning a driver’s manual. Ultimately, you need to get behind the wheel and practice. So too with corporate blogging. Here are five steps to getting started, based on my own experience:

What Makes Bloggers Tick?

Posted by Joe Panettieri

When technology vendors are preparing to launch their own corporate blogs, they tend to ask me the same questions over and over again: (1) “What does it take to blog full-time?” … (2) “What makes a good blogger tick?” … (3) “Will you blog for us?” My quick answers: (1) A patient spouse, (2) lots of coffee (3) every blogger has his or her price.

I have plenty of additional thoughts to share. But if you want a more complete view of the blogging craft, check out Blogging Heroes, a new book that includes interviews with 30 of the world’s most popular bloggers. I first read about Blogging Heroes while glancing at Mary Jo Foley’s All About Microsoft blog. Foley is featured in the book, along with 29 other bloggers from a range of backgrounds beyond the IT field.

Bring Video to Your Web Site — for $150

Posted by Joe Panettieri

No Web 2.0 initiative is complete without video. Yes, Microcast uses video from time to time across our media sites (MuniWireless.com and TechIQmag.com). But since I blog frequently while traveling, I began to wonder: Is there a low-cost video camera that I could use at conferences and IT events? Also, could that same camera be used for rapidly posting video blogs to YouTube?

I found the answer to my needs when I stumbled upon the $150 Flip video camera. It’s a great device if you’re working on Web sites that need some basic video capabilities — such as a real estate site that wants to include open house videos, or a small business Web site featuring quick video interviews with customers.

Breathe Life Into “Dead” IT Markets

Posted by Joe Panettieri

Want to jump-start interest in one of your products or services? One way to do so is to publish some research that educates bloggers, traditional journalists, partners and potential customers about your target industry.

Consider our recent experience in the MuniWireless market. A few weeks back, much of the mainstream business press buried the municipal broadband sector because several big city WiFi deployments had stalled. Alas, the mainstream press failed to realize that hundreds of successful municipal wireless projects (involving specific applications) were in place. We needed a way to show the MuniWireless community — and its critics — that some market perceptions didn’t reflect market realities.

Dominate Press Headlines … Without A Press Release

Posted by Joe Panettieri

Imagine generating worldwide headlines, driving 1.5 million visits to your Web site (in a matter of hours) and creating a media frenzy — without hosting a press conference, issuing a press release, or sending any story pitches to the media. Cynthia Gordon, VP Of New Media Partnerships at Universal Orlando Resort, did exactly that when it came time to announce a Harry Potter “Theme Park within a Theme Park.”

Gordon is among the confirmed speakers we’re working with on an upcoming event in Miami. And she has quite a story to share about Web 2.0 marketing strategies. Sure, Gordon was fortunate to be promoting two glowing brands — Harry Potter and the Universal theme parks — during a recent launch event. But it would have been easy for her to tarnish both brands with lame executive briefings. As each new promotional idea popped up, Gordon glanced at a reminder she had written on her office white board. The simple statement read: “What would J.K. Rowling do?”

Leaping From Web 2.0 to Paper

Posted by Joe Panettieri

I’ve spent the last few weeks immersed in Web 2.0 technologies, social networks, RSS feeds … and the list goes on. We continue to build out our digital businesses. But during three key moments today, I rediscovered my love for magazines. First, I thumbed through a custom magazine we recently produced CompTIA, which traced the organization’s 25 years of service to the IT industry. Then the latest edition of TechIQ, our magazine for the IT channel, hit my desk (it’s a great read but I won’t brag too much). And finally, I stumbled upon the latest edition of Money magazine. Yes, Money magazine. I hate to admit it, but I still love that magazine’s ability to tell me what I already know about my pathetic saving and spending habits.