Often times, to a business, a blog may have an undeserving negative connotation. By now, most of us are aware that it is no longer exclusively for teens Tommy and Tina to hobnob about their weekend events. Blogging has become a powerful internet and business tool, when used properly.
Maybe a blog on your site still makes you a little squeamish. Do you prefer a newsletter, events page, industry articles section, or a press release section? Well, in all honesty, a blog can act as all of these. While it may take some time to properly implement a blog on your domain with the same look as your site, there are quite a few blogging services that are free, including Blogger and WordPress. Both these services offer article categorization, archiving and handfuls of other goodies to turn a blog into a dynamic business tool.
Posts can be archived by category and date, or searched. Users can subscribe via an RSS feed. Have an upcoming event? Create a short blog post. Something important happen to change your industry? Blog about it. Take $100 from Larry Bird in a golf outing? Write a blog. Well, your company environment may dictate the nature and scope of blog posts, but it certainly can be used as a less formal way to communicate with your customers.
Before taking on a blog, consider:
- Is there somebody at the company who writes? If there isn't somebody or a group of somebodies to cultivate the blog, it will neve reach its potential.
- Do you have patience? A post may not shoot to the top of Google, but original, industry specific articles and posts are good ways to strengthen your site. It builds out the total number of pages and keeps the site current.
- Don't blog angry. Matt Cutts once posted about blogging angry. It is always smart to consider your audience, re-read your blog post and understand that once it's posted and indexed, it is public - forever. Sometimes jokes do not translate in type form. If your blog is open for comments, be ready to field some...in a professional and respectful manner. Blog fights may not be the best for business.
If you're not sure what to blog about...blog about blogging. So if it seems right, commit yourself. Re-read and if you're new, have somebody read your posts before you push them live. Keep it light and have fun. - Happy blogging and since it is Halloween, Happy Halloween as well!
Tags: blog, blogging, post, business, benefits