Yes, everyone is already blogging. Yes the blogosphere is saturated. But these are reasons that every marketer should be here – your audience is. And you can’t expect to properly market to a space you aren’t completely comfortable with. The best way to get to know an environment first-hand is to dive right in.
Your blog doesn’t even have to be about marketing (although if this is your true passion and interest, it should be). If you have an passion outside of marketing, and would be more excited to contribute to a blog about that, go for it. For example, in addition to this blog, I am passionate about music, and keep a music blog in addition to this new site. The point here is that having a blog, jumping into the conversation, getting involved posting on other people’s blogs, submitting posts to Digg, etc. are all elements that will help you master this space.
Even if you’re not intrepid enough to develop your own domain name (which is the way I would recommend you go), there’s free tools out there like blogger or wordpress. While we’re on the subject, you should also all have Facebook and MySpace accounts that you are active in – if you’re reading this blog you’re probably already in both those spaces. You can’t possibly come up with a creative campaign that will work in these spaces unless you actively spend time there.
Having a blog will teach you so much more about this space than you can possibly learn simply reading blogs. You’ll get to know just what someone in your shoes may or may not want to hear, and how you can reach them with your message, and the proper way to do it. It is invaluable.
In addition to blogs, developing a list of messageboards which center around the subjects of the clients you are trying to market online is a fantastic grassroots tactic. Messageboards are like blogs, except with a community of people contributing. They move much quicker, and involve group dynamics much more so than blogs. It’s here that you’ll find more comments and discussion, so be sure you know what you’re doing before engaging a messageboard or messageforum audience on a topic.
Being active on social news sites like Digg is key as well if you seek to generate a huge buzz for a specific website or story. The difference here is you’ll need something really special to stand out or no matter what you do you’ll get completely lost in the fray. Get to know what your audience is discussing and where they are discussing it online. Then get into the conversation, but do it properly and transparently. It is an unforgiving space if you are not careful.
Again, the best way to succeed here is to be a part of the community and inside the discussion.