Blogs Blogs Blogs – can’t seem to get away from them!

Hi all, hope everything is going well for you!

So, BLOGS. They seem to be popping up everywhere don’t they?! We’re asked to write them for university courses and often businesses rely on them to boost their reputations. For example, the beloved discount website ‘Scoopon’ has just recently moved into the blog life which you can check out here. However, what benefits is this giving them, if any? I’m not too sure if a pointless blog about funny websites or photos is actually adding any real value for organisations? On the other hand, I think creating online two-way conversations is a must. According to Jones, Temperley and Lima (2009)…

“how a company is perceived and the image their audience has is not only shaped by their communication efforts but is a product of conversations taking place online. These well managed and orchestrated online conversations can help companies to build and maintain presence, reputation and brand image.”

Due to the fact that Sunset’s Events brand awareness as an events company is not very well known, this year’s PR focus has been on online means such as updating of their website, social media activities and the introduction of an online blog. During my internship, I worked on all of these tasks. One of the main challenges I faced was having to research and find content to put in the blogs. I was told to research literally anything on the web that was ‘interesting’ and would get people talking. This proved to be a very difficult task! You can check out the Sunset Blog and some of the entries I worked on here.

The blog mainly concentrated on getting important info out there and also demonstrating to the public the work ethic and team that is Sunset Events. In my opinion, blogs such as ‘Totes Boges Yoges’ which expressed the work ethic and team environment as well as ‘Get some Southbound in your system!’ which provides helpful info are good blogs that help to achieve the objectives set out. However, I’m not too sure if blogs such as ‘Procrastination Grouch Monday’ are really necessary or if they have a positive outcome for the organisation? What do you think?

Having worked on and been a contributor of the ‘Southbound’ facebook page as well as the ‘Sunset Events’ facebook page, I was able to witness firsthand the real impact social media can have for an organisation. The pages have been very successful for Sunset in getting important information out quickly and also in developing a strong online presence. These PR tools have so far been successful for Sunset Events and their image (which was previously unknown) has now made an impact online through social media. It is in my opinion that creating an online presence including online conversations can be very beneficial to all organisations. From my work at Sunsets, I have to come to the conclusion though that blogs may not always benefit and organisations should only choose them as a tool if they have someone who is willing to work on them constantly to create a HUGE presence.

If anyone else has any experience within social media and blogging then please feel free to share!
Until next time,

Melissa
Curtin Bentley Campus