Blogging

Blog schizophrenia. It’s nasty business, and I’m just saying no.

The Copywriter Underground was orginally fashioned to be my contact with other copywriters (none of whom live in my particular chunk of nowhere – 14,162′ Mt. Shasta).

But my interest in Engagement Marketing kept cropping up. Half the time I was talking to copywriters. The other half I was writing posts better suited to businesses looking to succeed online.

I know better.

Announcing The Engagement Principles – my new marketing blog. Engagement marketing is destined for big things, and it’s a natural extension of my interest in blogging, social media and the value-added copywriter’s role in it.

Intelligently practiced, I believe engagement marketing offers small and medium-sized businesses the ability to out-compete much larger companies online.

It taps into the passion that’s far more evident at small companies than big organizations.

It’s cost-effective. It’s nimble. And – unlike those expensive print ads so many companies buy – your customers can talk back to your blog. (A community based on shared passions and values is a hell of a competitive advantage.)

I could rant on for a long time. But I won’t. But give The Engagement Principles blog a visit. Add it to your RSS feed. Read the short white paper referenced in the sidebar.

And don’t be afraid to comment. Write well, Tom Chandler.

The outdoor clothing market is crowded and competitive. How does a new company build a space for itself in a very tough market?

Welcome nau. Enter the Engagement Principles.

A key tenet of The Engagement Principles stipulate that true engagement occurs when customers and organizations share values and passions. Nau (Maori for welcome) is a brand-new outdoor clothing manufacturer who is doing exactly that.

They emphasize green manufacturing, organic products (cotton mostly), and sustainability. Their Web site is a study in green and friendly text.

To whit:

“By celebrating positive change and the people who make it possible, by helping redefine what it means to do business responsibly and by using the power of design to create more sustainable clothing, we’re trying to do things differently. While our business is outdoor apparel, our passions are much larger, and the stories we want to tell much broader.”

They’re suggesting the clothes themselves are objects of sustainability. Whoa.

A deeper read of their site reveals an even more audacious idea; that everyone in the process – from fiber producer to designer to manufacturer to customer – are part of their “kollective,” all of whom share the responsibility (and the warm glow of success).

It’s an aggressive position, and a brilliant engagement marketing stance. If we’re all part of the same sustainable team, then those wearing the nau label aren’t practicing brand loyalty.

They’re wearing environmental awareness.

Brilliant.

This sets them apart from other manufacturers who are still seen to be tacking green promises onto less environmentally friendly products.

We’ll see how their position holds up when their clothes are released (January 2007).

Begin the Engagement.

Even better (I’m getting a little misty here), they have a corporate blog. It’s called The Thought Kitchen (dedicated to stirring the pot).

More an artistic and lifestyle statement than standard business blog, it revels in subjects that nau’s target market might find interesting – and leaves the sales pitch, corporatespeak and hype behind.

Indeed, it’s more lifestyle site than corporate blog. And you won’t find a mention of pants or jackets.

The holy grail, of course, is an engaged community of uber-customers multiplying their collective appreciation for nau’s values and products, leading to a critical mass of buzz, loyalty and referrals.

The blog is young and still seeks a voice, but I’d like to see it deliver information that reinforces nau’s message, including profiles of sustainable/organic suppliers and other stakeholders.

This information would personalize the company from the frontline workers through their entire supply chain, demonstrating nau’s commitment to its values and involving their customers in the fight for sustainability.

The Marketing Path Less Traveled.

Nau’s approach to outdoor clothing isn’t one of extreme environments and lethal stunts.

Instead, they appeal to those who aren’t going to risk their lives on Everest, but still want outdoor gear that fits an active lifestyle.

They emphasize their design ethic (clothes designed for fashion and sustainability), and in fact, their clothes are only part of the story – the company’s values occupy center stage:

Three ingredients inspire our product design: beauty, performance and sustainability. Come learn more about our mantra, and its influence on everything we make.

A brand new company, nau’s gambling their target market will be so enthralled with their message of sustainability that the clothes will prove irresistible.

They’re also betting that engaging those customers via a blog will lead to the two-way flow of thoughts, words, vibes and information (and – oh yes – revenues).

My marketing dislikes? Their Web site is overdesigned, slow and somewhat difficult to navigate, and their message sometimes veers dangerously close to the narcissistic (as evidenced in this video about their design philosophy).

And frankly, there’s a lot to be done on buzz front (going “viral” to use a badly worn term), but the building blocks are in place.

Stand or fall, nau’s approach will no doubt be closely watched by the rest of outdoor clothing industry – an industry surprisingly devoid of engagement marketing.

Wake up, fellas.

[tags]engagement principles, passion marketing, business blog, corporate blog, blog, outdoor clothing, marketing, engagement marketing, nau[/tags]

I’d love to sit and blog more today, but the skies are clouding over, rain is coming, and it’s a perfect day to go fishing.

So I’m going fishing. But I’ll leave you with this…

In the wake of the YouTube acquisition, the thoughtful-but-wordy Communities Dominate Brands (CDB) blog wrestles with the concept of building an online community versus buying one.

Of course, buying a community is currently an option for only the biggest organizations. Or is it?

As the idea of online community filters down the business food chain, it’s possible we’ll see individual blog communities being acquired by companies looking to jump start the blogging process.

A nearby example would be my Trout Underground Fly Fishing blog. It’s a classic “passion” blog and one of the top content blogs in the industry.

And it’s possible that an outdoor company that’s lagging in the online arms race would someday want to acquire it – with its community, goodwill and “voice” intact – as opposed to building their own.

CDB’s Take? Don’t Do It.

The CDB blog comes down against acquisition with a couple of thoughtful statements:

The question is however, can you buy communities? And I believe that in fact many companies can build their future, not by buying, but by building.

And:

What we should be saying is – This is who we are, this is what we do, how can we create something that will ATTRACT our stakeholders, our audiences, that creates genuine value that we can develop over time.

The gist of their argument is this: just because a online community exists doesn’t mean the goals and values of the community align with the company’s.

As a copywriter, I’m just as happy with a “build instead of buy” concept. Somebody’s going to build those communities (whether blog or other format). It might as well be forward-thinking copywriters.

I still believe blogs (or whatever they morph into) will represent an enormous opportunity for copywriters willing to pitch the entire project to clients (instead of providing content at $10 a post), though most businesses are taking a “wait and see” approach.

Still, make a list. Sharpen your pitch. And see what happens.

[tags]communities dominate brands, blog, business blog, business blogging, corporate blog, community[/tags]

Even a cursory reading of my blog should suggest strong support for small business blogs (medium and big biz blogs too).

And why not? As some one who plied the waters of interrupt marketing for so many years, I’ve come to realize the benefits of engagement marketing, especially in light of the new media channels opening up.

It’s always nice to read an article from someone who “gets it” – and then makes it work.

Tim Jackson of Masi Bicycles pens an excellent article on Marketing Profs about the benefits of the small business blog in his outdoor business category – high end road bicycles.

Sales at Masi have nearly doubled each of the last two years, and while cycling in the Armstrong era isn’t exactly suffering, it’s clear that Jackson attributes much of his company’s success to his blog.

Money quote?

I have been a huge proponent for small businesses to blog, as if their lives depend on it… because they do. Drawing from my experiences in the bike industry, where the bulk of my business blogging discussions take place, small retailers really can’t afford not to blog….

He goes on to describe the benefits, which you can see in the article. Still, I can’t let this go without one more excellent quote:

Keep in mind that most of the customers who walk into your retail store are spending time “shopping” online before they step foot into your store. They are engaging in an online experience, wouldn’t you prefer that they have that experience with you?

Replace “customers who walk into your retail store” with “customers who buy your products” and you’ve got a solid argument for blogging for the brand.

[tags]masi, bicycles, tim jackson, interrupt marketing, business blogging[/tags]