BLOGS
What's a blog?
A blog, which stands for 'weblog,' began as an online diary or journal where an individual would give frequent updates on just about any topic. It became a convenient vehicle for individuals and businesses to provide frequent thoughts, news, photos, videos and more. The key aspect of blogs is that they are (or should be) updated frequently with new content. I would say relevant content but many personal blogs can be pretty random. Today, there are blogs on any subject you can think of and countless more that you would never think of (like a blog on the mustaches of the 19th century - no kidding!).Why is blogging important for my business?
First of all, no matter what business you are in, there are probably several blogs related to your industry or niche market. As the old saying goes, customers are the lifeline for any business so you should become familiar with these virtual water coolers where your customers are hanging out. Find out what the latest trends are, what they like and dislike, what products are hot, etc. Since one important aspect of blogs is that they allow for commenting, there may be long and interesting discussions on topics of interest to your business. They may even be voicing their opinion about your company or your competitors.It also provides an opportunity for you to get involved in some of these online conversations by commenting on blog posts. If, for example, you sell car audio products, there are countless blogs on this subject. A quick Google search for 'car audio blogs' leads you to one particular blog where the blogger has recently written about car amplifiers. Since you know quite a bit on this subject, after reading the post, you submit some advice on choosing the right one for your vehicle. You can mention your website for anyone interested in more info. Your name and web address also appear with your comment. You don't stop with just one blog, you become familiar with as many as you can in your specific industry and you start getting your name out there. Not only might it drive some potential customers to your site but it may increase your ranking with the search engines since your name and web address will show up with more frequency and relevance.
Maintaining a company blog is a great way to communicate on a more personal level with your customers. It's also easier to update and articles, photos or videos can be added quickly and with no special programming skills.
How do I start a blog?
Blogs are fairly easy to set up as opposed to a typical website. Blogger (a Google product) and Wordpress.com are the most common sites that allow free and easy blogging for basic use. For more robust blogging, Wordpress.org contains more options - mainly customization - where all you pay for is the web hosting but you need to be a bit computer savvy to set it up.What else do I need to know?
Before taking the blog plunge, however, make sure you have a clear objective and a specific plan:• What are you trying to accomplish?
• Who will be doing the blogging?
• How often will it be updated?
• EFFECTIVE BLOGGING REQUIRES A SERIOUS TIME COMMITMENT!
There is much more information I can cover on this subject but I will leave that for my blog. See, blogs are the perfect tool to provide timely and relevant content.
by John Carranza
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