Article Sphere Logo

Why Your Business Needs a Blog

By Expert Author: Scott C. Margenau | View Article Summary
Word Count: 454 words | Views: 91 view(s)
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.

For more information, please contact sales@imageworksstudio.com.
About the Author/Author Bio

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.

Article Source: http://www.articlesphere.com/Article/Why-Your-Business-Needs-a-Blog/131253

Article Submitted: 2008-03-19 | This Article has been viewed 91 times.

Comments on this Article


More "Blogging" Related Articles

 
 

Listed below are more articles related to the above article from the "Blogging" article category.

People interested in the above article "Why Your Business Needs a Blog" are also interested in the related articles listed below:

 
I know the word blogging itself can sound a little odd, especially if this is your first time hearing it. You might even be confused as to why people seem so crazy about blogging. But what is blogging anyway, and why are many getting addicted to it?
People have always looked for a good way to communicate, and through time the most important advances have always been better ways for people to talk to each other. Today there are dozens of different ways for people to get in touch with each other, but the internet is king for talking with many people at once.
Nowadays, everyone from celebrities to regular people are blogging like there’s no tomorrow. But if you have no idea what I’m talking about, I’d be glad to explain blogging to you! Fear not. You don’t need any special skills on computers or social media to understand blogging.
It’s easy to make money blogging. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a 9-to-5 worker or a full-time housewife. It doesn’t even matter whether you’re still in school or a dropout. As long as you have decent writing skills and access to the Internet, there’s no end to the cash-making possibilities.
You can make fast money online even when you can't write by outsourcing the writing to someone. A 500-word article will cost you about US$4. You can set a budget of US$50 a month for nine to 10 articles and this will last you about four weeks as you just need to post one article every three days on your blog. For topics, you can go to other bloggers and see what they write. Get ideas but don't copy their content!
It's important to get people to read your blog posts. Learning a few copywriting techniques can increase your readership. By applying just one copywriting technique, you can boost your readership by up to 100 per cent and more.
A blog is essentially an online diary where you can digitally write your views, thoughts, feelings and anything that you would want people to read. Web logs come in distinct styles, data formatting, and settings, contingent on the preference of the user. Many blogging sites, provide built in features such as hyperlink, direct texts, images etc. Many blogging sites, even allow for you to put video and mp3's on your blogs.
 
Article Directory Home All Categories Internet And E-Business Blogging
 

Can't find what you're looking for? Try Google Search!
 
 
Copyright © 2005 - by Larry Lim, Singapore - Article Search Engine Directory at ArticleSphere.com™
All Rights Reserved Worldwide. All Trademarks and Servicemarks are the property of the respective owners.
French Spanish Bulgarian Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Croation Czech Danish Dutch Finnish German Greek Italian Japanese Korean Norwegian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Serbian Slovak Swedish Arabic Hebrew Hungarian Thai Turkish English US