Welcome to 2007. Now Engage.

By Tom Chandler on Jan 5, 2007 in Business Blogging, Engagement Marketing

The New Year always brings with it a flood of resolutions, predictions and other short-lived phenomena.

Yet, since this is a blog devoted to engagement marketing, it’s tempting to proclaim this the Year of Engagement, and in fact, that may actually come to pass.

Let’s hope for an intelligent adoption rather than the boom & bust experienced by the CRM industry.

Rather than the entire Internet ascending to engagement nirvana in a blinding flash of blue light - leaving behind only a pair of scorched routers - I think engagement will simply continue to grow.

I hope the growth comes in the form of business blogs for small and medium-sized businesses, whose ability to be authentic and real with their customers offers them a significant advantage over their larger competitors.

What They’re Saying

It’s time to begin talking about the growing number of Engagement blogs. The Granddaddy continues to be Communities Dominate Brands - an interesting read that helped crystallize my thoughts about when I knew that something new and interesting was coming into existence, but didn’t know it’s name.

The Copywriter’s Crucible started the New Year with a post proclaiming 2007 the Year of Engagement. Both of us are copywriters with similar takes on the genre, so naturally, I think he’s brilliant. <g>

Moving on to the “Hardest Working Engagement Blogger in the Business” we come to Converstations. He focuses on the nuts and bolts of small business blogs (a subject near and dear to my heart), and does so to the tune of several times a day.

More engagement blogs next week. But add those listed above to your RSS feed. Get engaged.

My Perspective

I believe 2007 will see substantial recognition of engagement marketing as an interesting subset of the discipline, and yet adoption will occur largely among people who may have never heard the term.

They’ll just know that connecting with the passions and values of their customers is a manifestly good thing.

Authenticity will be key, and yet everything I’ve learned in my 20+ years as a copywriter applies.

Is 2007 the year of engagement? Given the ability to create long-term customers, the paybacks are obvious.

I’m saying “yes.”

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5 Comment(s)

  1. Tom,

    Thanks very much for the mention and compliment. Its the continued support from experienced writers - such as yourself - which reinforces my belief that I’m doing the right thing.

    I will certainly be adding the two other blogs mentioned to my RSS reader and try and get involved in the discussions as much as I can.

    I wish you have a very busy and prosperous 2007.

    Matt aka The Copywriter’s Crucible

    Matt Ambrose | Jan 5, 2007 | Reply

  2. Matt; I too hope you’re doing the right thing. Becoming an expert in any marketing subject can’t hurt the copywriting gig, though be careful of over-specialization. It can be confining, both in terms of revenues and work.

    Keep in touch!
    Tom Chandler

    Tom Chandler | Jan 5, 2007 | Reply

  3. Good read, Tom. I enjoy your blog.

    In the space I work (blogs and podcasts for B2B financial services), I think Engagement is going to be a huge hit. These guys are tired of putting money into advertising and PR with nothing but the fuzzy metric of “brand awareness” to show for it. They like the idea of making the goal to engage at least some subset of an audience. I’m pushing it hard this year.

    Keep up the great work.
    Rick.

    Rick Grant | Jan 5, 2007 | Reply

  4. Hi Tom:-) Thanks for the great moniker and for including me here.

    Here’s to 2007 being the year of engagement - not because it’s hot, but because it’s right. Customers are hungry for it.

    Stay contagious with your message and have a great 2007.

    Mike Sansone | Jan 5, 2007 | Reply

  5. Thanks Rick!

    It should prove to be an interesting year. I’ve been quietly pursuing engagement projects in an unrelated sector, and can finally see a few cracks starting to appear in traditional media channels.

    The ROI of traditional advertising seems to be plummeting (not that most of these medium-sized businesses could measure it).

    I wonder if the second tier companies - with less to “lose” than market leaders - won’t be the first to leap into engagement.

    Thanks for coming by, and keep in touch. I’ve added you to my rss feed.

    Tom Chandler | Jan 6, 2007 | Reply

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