SCOUT Corporate Blogging

Indium Corporation, Rick Short

posted: October 28, 2006 10:31 PM

1.1.9 Company: Indium Corporation

Blogger: Rick Short
Student Interviewer: Annemarie Martel
Blog: http://www.indium.com/rickshort/

Rick Short is Indium Corporation’s Director of Marketing Communications.  Indium Corporation provides materials to the electronics assembly materials industry.

Rick Short started blogging with a goal. Rick states it’s important to have a goal, a very well-defined, clear end state that you’re desired, and then work backwards to current situation to determine what you’ve got that can you can help reach your goal with.  And, so, our goal was always to gain market share, improve our brand and our image, learn from our customer base, and let them talk to us. That’s something that we’ve always had as a goal. We do that traditionally through seminars and educational sessions, online question and answer type things and knowledge based things, face-to-face meetings. So, I saw blogging as a chance to listen, and that addressed one of our existing goals. And, always start with a goal. Always begin at the end of what you want to achieve.

Listening was one of Indium's goals and so Rick was looking for someone who can listen when the company started blogging. Rick went on to say, "if one of the goals is to learn from your audience, then you need to have a person that’s a good listener. Not somebody who’s all about me, and wants to blab on and on about themselves, but someone who’s good at putting a couple of ideas, and then sitting back and hearing what people have to say."

Rick listed the four Ps of blogging.

• Point: if your blog doesn't have a specific point (purpose), then don't even start
• Passion: if you don't have a burning passion about the topic, then don't bother
• Personality: if you don't have the personality for blogging, then find something else to do with your time (here Rick means that a blogger’s personality must come across in their writing, there must be opinion, likes and dislikes, not just a dry, dull review of the facts.)
• Perseverance: if you won't be able to stick with it once the blogging becomes routine, after you've battled with writer's block, after numerous distractions beckon, then find a new hobby

Rick's story about how his company started is very interesting and in part illustrates how his company was able to reach his customers through blogging. Two people blog at Indium, Rick and Dr. Ronald Lasky.

Rick blogs about Marcom, however, his customers don't buy Marcom, they buy electronic assembly materials.  Rick’s blog does not have all that much affect on his customers.  However, Dr. Lasky's blog covers the topics Indium's customers are most interested in reading, what the customers do.  Dr. Lasky is an expert in the industry. Dr. Lasky’s blog has the content Rick Short’s customers are most interested in reading.  Indium can build better relationships with Indium customers by having Dr. Lasky blog rather than Rick Short. Rick explained the biggest reason their blogs were successful was because of the stature of Dr. Ron Lasky in the industry. He also said that controversial subjects get more interest on the blog, but that's not what the Indium blogs aim for in terms of content.

Rick explained that Dr. Lasky had grown in his blog writing; he is now more comfortable writing in this style of writing.  His posts are longer and more detailed.  Rick thought he was more comfortable because Dr. Lasky had a better idea of what people wanted to read on his blog.  Rick said, "You need to know what people want to hear. You know, you need to know what interests people. You need to know what success means to you." Relevancy or your audience’s interests depends upon your audience.

Rick leaves commenting open, even to the extent of allowing spam comments to remain on the blog.  The reasoning behind this is transparency.  Rick said, "You need to be believable and credible. Well, you know, we already are, but when you start acting in another way you sort of degrade your existing image. We’re very well known as a technology company, and as a very high integrity, sophisticated market resource. If I go to market with some filtered, manipulated set of information that takes us backwards. Our customers are smart enough to go through our comments, and see an ad for offshore gambling and realize that it’s just spam, and then overlook it. Or, if some guy starts ranting and raving about how he’s my competitor, he’s the man, my customers are smart enough to realize."

Rick explained that during the first two years of blogging Indium concentrated on developing content for the blog. The company has a lot of opportunities to speak, and present good content.  However sometimes the events don't have enough audience to justify a personal appearance.  Blogging was an alternative where Indium could reach customers constantly through the web.

Describing the characteristics of his industry, Rick said that his company is in an industry where customers what to discuss legislation to ban the use of lead in solders, and other electronic assembly materials.  There's a lot of dialogue from customers on these industry topics.  However not very much of the conversation from customers comes from comments on the blog. As most of Indium's customers don't want to let their competitors know what they are doing.  Instead customers send emails to the blog authors.

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