The opportunity that is given by the Blogs is ignored by many businesses. This will be the great challenge to use and integrate the Blogs into the business. Someone once said that blog stands for Better Listings on Google! The challenge is in determining how a blog best fits your business goals. The goals can be marketing focused, or they may be about project management, or they may be about customer relationships. Whatever be the business goals it is important to determine that a blog can help to meet these goals.
1. Blogs and Business Interrelated
There are 600+ corporate bloggers at Microsoft. They use blogging as one of their greatest marketing assets, generating an astonishing amount of online and offline word of mouth interaction. Microsoft takes blogging seriously and these blogs are all linked to the corporate site. A blogs or 'weblog’ is a regularly updated internet journal of organized personal thoughts made usually by an individual. In the business world this may be either as an official corporate blog or in an unofficial capacity. Business blogs usually incorporate news, issues, and ideas and speak to customers, vendors and employees. There is something in the blog that makes it unique in the process of internet marketing. Blogs are inexpensive, easy to set up and use, and require no technical skills such as HTML. The collective term for blogs is the blogosphere. News travels very fast through the blogosphere. In times of disaster such as Hurricane Katrina or the London terrorist attacks, blogs were instrumental in getting news, photos and opinions out at a remarkably fast rate. They often beat journalists for the scoop on news or scandals. In fact you can be sure that these days’ journalists keep a close eye on blogs and use them as a source for stories.
So we can imagine how this Blogosphere can help us in the means of business. So a serious consideration should be given for adding a blog to your business.
2. Make yourself available on the Web.
If you have an established online business you can add another vehicle to communicate your message and pass information on to your clients. Because blogs continually have new content they are indexed regularly by the search engines. It is another way to get your name and your products out into the search engine space. You can also use your blog to target additional keyword phrases.
3. Unremitting Customer Interaction.
A blog at your site can build the stronger bonds with your customer. The opportunity to exchange information and expertise is one of the main reasons that explain why corporate blogs have grown in popularity in recent years.
4. Blog as a measure for branding
Use your blog as a branding means for your business. It’s an effective way to get your brand message out there. Brand of your company represents the exchange of views of you and your customers. It is a relationship.
5. Communications in Corporate Sense
Blog can be used as the medium to communicate directly with the media. There has been an ongoing debate as to whether blogs should replace the press release as the main corporate communications vehicle. As far as I am concerned both will do a good job and each has their own unique value.
6. Business Marketing
Blogs are being utilized more and more as a business marketing tool. And this is creeping into more and more business areas. Word of mouth advertising and independent testimonials are two major benefits of running a marketing focused blog. This is a great alternative to advertising. Blogs can also attract and develop a regular audience for your message and foster an atmosphere of trust.
7. Blogs of CEO of the company
A CEO Blog is a way to speak directly to customers and vendors. And it can be used to advance industry issues. There are pitfalls of course. Saying something controversial may be picked up and reproduced in many locations. However some controversy is good as it gets people engaged.
A blog does require a commitment from you. Remember that writing and maintaining a blog take time. You should really have an interest in writing and communicating with your readers. A blog also requires an injection of personality.
Blogs are a increasingly common way to communicate about your business. As Business Week Magazine said in their article on business blogs – ‘catch up…or catch you later’.