To blog or not to blog?

It seems to be the accepted wisdom these days that a business needs a blog, but that’s not necessarily the case. Here are a few of the great thoughts and tips I came upon from Amalia Agathou in her post ‘Luxury online. Where are we?’

Harnessing brand ambassadors
Talking about the power balance between bloggers/end users and brands, she says that brands need to wake up to the fact that they don’t own their brand any more. They now need to find out the best ways to select and nurture their ambassadors among their fans, not only to make the most out of their love and criticism, but also to focus on their products and not just their “name”. That way they’ll achieve broader impact.

Crowdsourcing
Collaboration with end users not only solidifies the bond a brand has with its customers, but is also provides valuable insight on what matters to them. Don’t be scared of asking their views.

GenY
If you don’t cultivate the younger generation, you’ll turn your brand into a museum. (Scotch Whisky was sooo close to doing that until a few years ago.)

To blog or not to blog
Having a blog is a waste of time for a brand. Instead they should focus on their Facebook page and work with bloggers.

What about your store?
A store is a place you train people to love your brand, look at Apple stores with their Genius Bars.

Think relational not transactional!
The transaction is the result of everything else, not the aim.

And just the day after I wrote this I came upon a brilliant example of a luxury brand getting it so right. Jimmy Choo’s treasure hunt  campaign using Foursquare is just inspired – AND it produced sales transactions as well as engaging with its target audience. Classy stuff.