|
|
Like this article? PLEASE +1 it! |  |
|
Why Your Business Needs a Blog
Written by: Scott C. MargenauArticle Overview: This Article explains you about Why your business needs a Blog. Every business, regardless of its size, needs a blog.
 |
Free Download - Pump Up Your Product Branding – Steroids for Your Business By Scott C. Margenau |
Why Your Business Needs a Blog
- By: Scott C. Margenau
Every business, regardless of its size, needs a blog. I know what you’re thinking: “But I have a professional image to uphold. How can a blog possibly attract new customers and how can it provide them with the information they need?” The answer is simple: A blog can be one of the most decisive public relations tools in your marketing and branding tool kit. Read on and I’ll educate you on the basics of blogs.
What is a blog?
The term “blog” is slang for “web log.” Wikipedia defines a blog as “a web site where entries are written in chronological order and are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order.” The word can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog. To get a feel for the wide use of blogs, consider the following: In September 2007, blog search engine Technorati tracked more than 106 million blogs. Some notable corporations that use blogs are HP, Google, Microsoft and ImageWorks Studio.
Myths and Facts
No doubt the last thing you need is a lecture on the latest Web 2.0 strategies. However, I should correct a few common misconceptions about blogs, as well as why web design companies use them as an effective method for reaching out to their audience.
Myths
Blogs are used only by teenagers.
You need to spend many hours every day to maintain a blog.
You need to know HTML and have other coding skills to blog.
Facts
Blogs allow a company to control the editorial content of the web site while restricting/blocking users’ comments.
Blogs can be updated as often as you wish. But to make them more effective and valuable to your audience, update them often.
Blogs require no knowledge of HTML or special coding. There are numerous blogging software packages on the market that are free.
Blogs allow companies to quickly get information out to customers, unlike traditional communication methods.
Blogs are an inexpensive way to effectively communicate and share information with your audience.
Blogs comprise text and external links, making them search engine-friendly.
Benefits of Corporate Blogging
In January 2007, Forrester released a research study centered on “The ROI of Blogging – The ‘Why’ and ‘How’ Of External Blogging Accountability” by Charlene Li and Chloe Stromberg.
According to the study, some of the benefits of corporate blogging are:
Greater brand visibility in mainstream media on the Web
Word-of-mouth advertising
Improved brand perception
Instantaneous consumer feedback
Increased sales efficiency
Fewer customer service-driven PR blowups
The Outcome
Consumers are better educated today because of the vast amounts of information available on the Internet. Not only will a blog convey information to your target demographic faster and cheaper than traditional means, but when coupled with search engine benefits, brand visibility, and a value-based proposition, a blog should be an essential part of your marketing platform.
Scott C. Margenau is president of image works Studio, an award-winning website design agency, branding marketing firm specializing in online and off-line media in advertising, web development, brand development and promotion.
Blogheads
Blogging Income-How To Set Up A Free Blog And Make Money With It
How to Guest Blog
B is for Blogging
Blogging The Easy Way Is More Than A Trend
Article Tags: blogging software, common misconceptions, corporations, editorial content, google, imageworks, myths and facts, no doubt, professional image, public relations tools, reverse chronological order, scott c, slang, software packages, tool kit, traditional communication methods, web design companies, web log, what is a blog, wikipedia
|
About the Author: Scott C. Margenau RSS for Scott's articles - Visit Scott's website  Click here to visit Scott's website   Setting a Marketing Budget More Reasons Your Site Sucks Is helping others the best way to market your company What does a professional website design cost What type of price should you pay 7 Reasons NOT to try handling your design and branding internally |
Related Forum Posts
Re: Best Internet Marketing Strategy
- Hi David,
I agree about the Blogosphere. You have a smaller group that Blog, but do so on the premise that they think they should, but have never really considered the purpose of their Blog. Then I think there are a few SEO or Internet Marketing types that see Blogging as just another link building strategy. But the largest group of Bloggers, tend to be people who enjoy writing and discussing their topics of interest.
Blogging is good for link building, but the true Blogger is a breed apart from the rest. They want to dialog, to debate, to have feedback and they are very willing to link to other worthwhile conversations that are relevant to their topic. I agree with you. These group of Bloggers obviously are passionate about their writing and together, they create huge conversation trails interactive and travel from Blog to Blog. But the evidence is clear with this group that loves what they write about. With comments enabled on a Blog and having a Blog tuned to a specific purpose you already have the evidence of original Social Media.
My entry
- 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read
- this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody.
2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto.
3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book
Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.
Re: Alexa Ranking Goals
- That's great GT! What method did you use to put up the Entrepreneur Blog Network in your Wordpress Blog?
We're always looking for the easiest methods to help bloggers who are not techies get involved.
EvanCarmichael.com suggestion
- Maybe I missed it but I would like to suggest that a Blog be created to support the Forum.
The idea is that in the blog you put in snippets of some of the biggest conversations with a 'read more' link to the forum itself.
Setting up the Blog and clipping some conversations onto it wouldn't take very long.
Jen's Blog - Spam protection
- Jen, I like the Blog and just posted a comment to one of your articles. From my experience you need to implement some sort of SPAM capture tools. i use them on my Blog and it's been a life saver as I'm getting hit by spam atleast 5 times a day. I use Wordpress and they have plugins like Captcha and SPAM Karma installed.
Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.
Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.
by: 
February 2012 Top 100 Leadership Experts to Follow on Twitter
Please Stop Calling it Coaching!
Measuring the Quality of Your Hires
The fine line 
Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!
How To Calculate A Minimum Fee For Your Services
The Substance Abusing Employee
How To Become A Member of the Paparazzi
Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.