If you doubt the power of blogs, run a simple Google Search test: Enter your community or other topic of interest and look at what comes up in a Google Search. You’ll see domain names for Yelp, LInked In, and other aggregating sites that often dig up a blog posting on your community or organization before your official site. That’s what’s changed within the last year, and there’s no turning back. The best way to manage your resident communications is to be there first, and provide an outlet for community comment that you can easily monitor and respond to. Lurk a bit, then try it.
At Word Work we have only one client blogging, but we aim to boost that number in 2009. Because we serve a half-dozen municipalites, we are considering how to manage blogging and content–especially because community officials often fear what the medium can do to them. Take a quick look at my hometown’s manager’s blog at The City of East Lansing, MI: http://www.cityofeastlansing.com/Home/Modules/CityBlog/CityManagersBlog/ . Informative, fast, and a quick pic of what’s going on in East Lansing!
You could do that, I bet!
