Every week, Copywrite Inc.’s Rich Becker and I discuss a blogging best practice on BlogStraightTalk, a Bumpzee community. This week we discussed the recent iPhone pricing controversy, and the ensuing slew of related blog posts.

The conversation evolved quickly out of iPhones and into does it make sense for bloggers — particularly business-centric bloggers — to post on such trendy topics? It’s easy to get caught in the excitement of such a widespread event. When trendy topics happens, everybody loves to blog about them.

But in the end, this may not be the best thing for your blog. Readers expect certain content, and in the thrill of the moment, a trendy post may stray from the blog’s mission. Here were our top takes:

Rich

• When you write about deeply covered topics, the shelf life is much shorter than that of topics that aren’t covered as much.
• Sometimes you cannot see the whole picture if you post too early on a topic just because it seems hot. I wanted to see more before posting on it.
• When you do pick a hot topic (which we do from time to time), it always makes sense to lend something new to the conversation.

Geoff

• Many bloggers mimic the A-List and follow the memes of the day. And those blog posts may get “dugg,” but they will not build a loyal readership.
• The best way to get a loyal readership is to develop subject matter expertise and deliver it to the masses or the few via your blog. Substance stands out.
• Whatever you do with content, think for the long term, and what will matter to your readers.

BlogStraightTalk publishes every Monday. Join us.

Every week, Copywrite Inc.’s Rich Becker and I discuss a blogging best practice on BlogStraightTalk, a Bumpzee community. This we week we discussed White Hat Marketing vs. Black Hat Marketing.

The purpose of the Joe Thornley post “White hat social marketing” was to clarify what is appropriate business behavior and outcomes for social media. At issue is protecting the trust and transparency that are essential to social media. A paraphrase of the post for context…

White Hat Marketing: Find others who share our interests and form communities with them. Companies need to “understand how to enter into mutually beneficial long term relationships with online communities.”

Black Hat Marketing: Use social media to achieve a short-term increase in conversions for online commerce. Mine the information we enter in social networks to generate marketing databases or post corporate marketing videos under the guise of consumer generated media.

Here are some of our takeaways…

Geoff Livingston:

• Any business that attacks social media with Machiavellian hard selling, non relational pitches will fail. They must engage in conversation, build relationships and foster a community with their efforts. That’s how conversational marketing works.
• To assume that a commercial concern – i.e. a business – will invest in and execute social media campaigns for no tangible benefit is ridiculous. Why? It flies in the face of the very role businesses play in our real world community.
• Companies have gray hats. Their conversation allows them to become a better serving member of the community, but they are there for a reason.

Rich Becker:

• The white hat-black hat definition of social conscience has been around much longer than social media. Its roots are easily identifiable within community relations and strategic philanthropy.
• Most businesses are operating to generate some type of revenue. Believe it or not, that might actually be a good thing because as they earn revenue, they employ more people, which stimulates the economy; they give back more to the communities in which they operate (we can hope); they can earn more for shareholders, who tend not to be “fat cats” as much as they are little people with 401K plans who would like to retire one day.
• For good measure, they can employ social media to help nurture the concept of active consumers as opposed to passive shoppers. How cool is that?

BlogStraightTalk publishes every Monday. Join us.

Related links:

What’s Your Blogging ROI and True ROI on Blogging and Social Media

Every week, Copywrite Inc.’s Rich Becker and I discuss a blogging best practice on BlogStraightTalk, a Bumpzee community. This we week we discussed flogging, or fake blogging.

When Wal-Mart did one; they were chastised. When Daniel Lyons, a senior editor at Forbes magazine, did one; he was praised as a humorous hero. Enter Ray Hopewood (blog.rayhopewood.com/), a president hopeful who claims to have made Paris Hilton’s ankle bracelet software and wants Americans to live well, at least as well as he does.

Even if you don’t buy his blog, Hopewood is doing better than most bloggers (and some presidential hopefuls) by capturing a positive news story in The New York Times. Just a few months ago, all he had was a mocumentary moment on the Late Show With David Letterman. Given The New York Times story, that alone makes the Ray Hopewood concept better than bust.

But is flogging a good idea? Here are our takeaways…

Rich Becker

• As a flog, had it been kept up to date, it would work in that the best flogs and characters are up front in their affiliations and agendas. It is positioned in such a manner, and nobody needs to get hurt while making fun of a process that is often stranger than fiction.
• But… it falls short in that the campaign seems to end as a set up instead of an ongoing promotional activity.
• In this case, the bog fix could have been easy enough to execute by making the links to the company much more direct (making Hopewood the obvious spokesperson for the company too) and regular updates throughout the life of the campaign, even if we never see another mockumentary.

Geoff Livingston

• Here’s the deal with Flogs. They’re funny, they’re cute, but they can be extraordinarily dangerous for businesses who engage in them behind a closed façade.
• Companies must disclose that they are executing a fake blog. Just saying that you are receiving editorial support services on a blog, or are openly poking fun at someone can save an organization a later PR fiasco.
• And when it’s an open façade like this, it must have some sort of tangential tie back to the company’s value proposition.

BlogStraightTalk publishes every Monday. Join us.

More reading on flogs, etc.:

Attack of the Fake Bloggers (TechCrunch)
Do People Really Want Transparency and Authenticity (Copyblogger)
Ten Reasons Why Ghost Blogs Suck (Vaspers, the Grate)
Fake Caveman Brings Club, Tells All (Buzz Bin)