Branding and Marketing—things Sure Have Changed

Branding and marketing is a huge field with many devoted fans and as many reluctant participants. One thing for sure, in branding and marketing--things sure have changed. One of the things most dramatically altering the face of branding and marketing is blogging.

A blog, or weblog, is a regularly updated journal published on the web. (Technorati) And, according to Technorati, (a site that tracks links and blog updates to the tune of tens of thousands of updates every hour) there are over 175,000 new blogs every day. Bloggers regularly update their blogs with over 1.6 million posts per day, or over 18 updates a second.

Blogging is a social medium, meaning that it is a living entity seeking interaction with others. Blogging is powerful because it has a low barrier to entry, both in technical skills and in credentials—you don’t need to be a professional writer or a techno geek to be able to create a blog. Basically, if you feel passionate about a topic and are ready to write about it on a regular basis, you can host a blog.

As a blogging community grows, and ideas, links and information are shared, a blog can take on a life of its own, capable of garnering a large, devoted, passionate and therefore powerful audience. As word of mouth and viral marketing techniques are overtaking traditional print, advertisers have jumped on board. Some sites allow or encourage advertising on their blogs, others wouldn’t even consider it—but advertising aside, a mere mention of something on a popular blog can literally drive hordes of people to check something out on a website, store or online video.

Why has blogging become so powerful? A blog is powerful because it has the ability to connect millions of people around the world, instantly sharing ideas and commentary.

People want to speak the truth and let their guard down, and people want to connect with others who do the same. Opinion rules in today’s marketing -- This is never so true as it is in the new world of Internet 2.0 and in the unconventional ways that people are connecting. The old adage was, People want to do business with those they know. The new adage is more like--People want to do business with someone that someone knows (and has connected with and had a good experience with).

Traditional business maintains that wall of authority-speak and formalizes the once-removed technique of communication. In traditional marketing, the formal was cultivated and informal was removed. You believed something because someone in authority (or popularity) told you it was so. So, while it is important that those in command have credentials in order to be trusted, it is the world of opinion based upon experience with a brand that drives credibility.

Blogging has changed the face of the internet, and therefore marketing and branding. It is changing marketing and branding from a static message to a dynamic and fast-paced interchange.