Blogger Q&A: Rentokil

Name: Dr Danusia Jolliffe
Company: Rentokil
Blog Name: deBugged – the Rentokil blog
Blog URL: http://www.rentokil.com/blog

Why did you start blogging? Honestly? Well it was a project given to me on my return from maternity leave as part of the then new Rentokil social media strategy. And once I got started — I was hooked!

What is the main goal of your blog? Our primary aim for deBugged is to educate people about bugs, creepy crawlies and pests. Of course our main website can offer advice and solutions to specific pest problems, but the blog takes a more light hearted look at the nature of pest control.

Do you enjoy blogging, or has it become just another thing on your to-do list? I love it! It’s the main part of my job now.

Who is your audience? Anyone and everyone. From those people who hate pests, to those who have come into contact with them involuntarily and want more info, to those are fascinated by all things bug!

How do you market your blog? I try and get involved with online pest communities, leaving relevant insightful comments where appropriate taking time to get to know people.

What type of social media integration, if any, are you using with your blog? Twitter mainly. I use Google reader to monitor interesting pest related stories for inspiration and also to tweet out deBugged blog posts.

Do you host your own blog, or is it hosted by a blogging platform (wordpress, blogger …)? WordPress. Plus there are some really useful free plugins that you can get for it as well.

Do you read other pest management industry blogs? If so, which ones? Pest Cemetery is great and so is the Probestblog, plus I do keep an eye on this blog too

What non-pest management industry blogs do you read on a regular basis? They are mainly more copy writing and marketing based blogs such as Copyblogger and the 60 Second Marketer.

What tips would you give to other PMPs who are thinking about starting a blog? To quote Nike, just do it. You will never find your true original on-line voice until you just get on with it and start writing regular blog posts. Make them honest and personal avoiding corporate speak and sales-y language like the plague (pardon the pun!).

Social Media Overload

I was recently invited by a PMP to connect with him on Naymz.

I know what you’re thinking: “Oh great! Another social media site to figure out and occupy my time.” I know this because that’s what I thought too. In fact, that’s almost exactly what I said when I was invited by a friend of mine to connect on Google Buzz.

Seems everyone is jumping on board with social networking, trying to develop the next Facebook. Interesting that I should say, “the next Facebook,” eh? After all, wasn’t Facebook really just the next MySpace or the next Friendster?

True, but recent research shows that Facebook seems to have pulled ahead of every other site in terms of popularity.

My initial impression of Naymz is that it’s similar to LinkedIn, whereas it’s more for making professional contacts than it is for to keeping up with friends and family.

Navigating your way through all the different sites out there, making connections and maintaining relationships via the Internet can be difficult. I encourage you, however, to do your homework on each site before you throw yourself in full force.

Figure out what you want out of your involvement in each site first, an it’ll be easier to steer yourself in that direction. And, if you find you’re not achieving your goal on that site, then you need to either rethink that goal or get out before it’s too late.

It doesn’t hurt to spend a little bit of time getting to know the lay of the land, so to speak, when it comes to social media. Like anything else, it’s best to have some kind of plan before move forward. Test the waters, though, and find out how other people in similar situations are using social media to benefit themselves and their businesses.

Become a Fan of Me!
Some of you who are on Facebook may have noticed a new Pete Grasso fan page. Yes, it’s true … you can now become a fan of me. Now, before you go accusing me of being big-headed or full of myself, let me explain.

I started the fan page after a discussion with a friend of mine. We laughed about how there seems to be fan pages for just about anything, and just about anyone will become a fan. We also noticed that many celebrities, who had regular Facebook accounts, were switching over to fan pages.

We wondered, if given the opportunity to become a fan of Pete Grasso, how many people would actually do it?

So, why not run with this? I have no plans to shut down my personal Facebook account, but I am going to begin to migrate all industry information to the Pete Grasso fan page.

I know this sounds egotistical, but I encourage you to become of fan of me on Facebook

Rodent Misconceptions

Enjoy!

LIVE from Legislative Day

The National Pest Management Association’s (NPMA’s) Legislative Day 2010 is underway here at the historic Mayflower hotel in Washington, D.C.

Now in it’s 23rd year, Legislative Day gives PMPs an opportunity to learn about developments in industry legislation and communicate with their members of Congress. PMPs’ involvement in the legislative process is a vital part of this industry’s success on Capitol Hill.

I’ll do my best to post updates throughout the day on what’s going on here in our nation’s capital.

Here’s a preview: the first two sessions I’m attending this morning involve speakers from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – on both bed bugs and green opportunities in pest management.

Giant Tarantula

Enjoy!

Welcome to Misery Mansion

The Misery Mansion seminar, presented by Forshaw Distribution, has been extremely informative so far.

I’ll post a complete recap on here tomorrow – including some video. Until then, I’ll leave you with this photo of the seminar’s hosts …

Misery Mansion Seminar

I have the privilege today of attending the Misery Mansion Seminar in Cincinnati. This is the first seminar in the nation to incorporate scenery, costumes, special effects sound and light (OK, the second, because there was one in Louisville just the other night).

Presented by Forshaw Distribution, the program will follow two naïve technicians as they are escorted through a house of pestilent horrors by a cordial but peculiar host.

I’m not gonna lie, all this build-up definitely has my interest piqued. I’ll be sure to blog a full report tomorrow (and, perhaps an update at lunch today).