Blogging For Business

You may think that blogs and other social networking platforms are used mostly by teenagers who like to discuss their lives online with their friends, but it turns out that businesses are becoming part of the blogging trend as well, and finding big benefits along the way. Blogging has become a global phenomenon that is increasingly being used by businesses as a part of their overall marketing strategy, and the numbers are impressive.

According to Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere 2008 report, almost half of all companies in North America have a blog – almost half! If your company doesn’t have a blog, it means that up to half of North America’s businesses could already be ahead of you when it comes to reaching your target audience. So which half is your business in?

If you don’t yet have a business blog, it may be time to consider the benefits that this technology can bring to your business. Your customers and potential customers are already online, participating on blogs about the products and services that they’re interested in. And although you may be putting it off, your competition could be taking advantage of business blogging already – or at least thinking about it – as a way to communicate effectively with the same target audience that you would like to reach.

Business blogs are different from the stream-of-consciousness journaling previously associated with blogging (like the teenagers online with their friends!). So if you’re thinking about a business blog, here are some ideas for what that could include:

- Short articles – if your company puts out a newsletter, re-publish your articles on your blog, or write informative new articles that would be useful to your customers

- Industry news – keep your customers posted about new technology, upcoming events, additional products, or industry announcements

- Current News – comment on news stories that relate to your business, your customers, or both

- Tips & Suggestions – keep readers coming back by offering them something of value that they may not be able to get elsewhere on the web

- Upcoming Events – blogs are a great place to publicize your upcoming events and get some extra publicity for free

A blog can help your business in a number of ways. Practically speaking, a blog can make a huge difference in your search engine rankings. Adding a blog means new, fresh content is being added regularly, increased web traffic is being sent to your site, and new, valuable inbound links are being built all over the web as customers and other bloggers read your blog and begin linking to it – all of which helps boost your rankings in the major search engines.

Another useful purpose for your blog is cheap market research. It’s pretty common for small businesses to be limited by budget constraints when it comes to market research and customer response data. But a business blog can make it easy to get an up-to-the-minute snapshot of what’s on your customers’ minds. It can also be helpful in tracking the success of advertising campaigns or initiatives, especially if there’s a promotional tie-in with your blog or web site.

Perhaps one of the most attractive things for your customers, though, is that they can become part of the ongoing conversation about your business, with you and with others on the web. This not only provides you with added publicity, web exposure, and web traffic, but also brings increased customer interest and loyalty. Blogs give your customers more power over their consumer experience, and an added sense of how much your company truly values them.

So if your business could benefit from more customer engagement and participation, better search engine positions, and getting ahead of your competitors, it may be time to consider adding a blog for your business!