I keep telling the people attending the CASE conference for Senior Marketing and Communication Professionals how important it is to start thinking of blogs as media and define some ground rules on the way their institutions should handle relations with bloggers.
So, here are just a few pointers:
Don’t wait for a crisis to start monitoring the blogosphere
Journalists do read blogs — 51% of them according to a study by Euro RSCG Magnet and Columbia University. If this kind of reading is worth the time of reporters, it’s probably worth higher ed PR and communication professionals’. And, if something bad pops up on the blogosphere about your institution, you will know at the same time journalists do.
I know, you don’t have time to read blogs — so use the right tools
You should get your hands on the tools journalists and bloggers use to keep up with the constant and overwhelming flow of information: RSS and Technorati.com.
Read the posts of the bloggers who write the most about your institution
If a few bloggers regularly write about what’s going on at your institution (their blogs show up often in your Technorati watches), you need to subscribe to these blogs — as you would start to read articles written by reporters covering your field.
Pay attention to the comment section of these blogs
You should read comments posted on these blogs, as this will let you get a sense of their popularity. You should also probably start to comment yourself on these blogs – obviously only if you have something interesting to add to the conversation. Bloggers aren’t found of “PR speak”.