Business Blogging - A unique online Marketing tool!
According to Jupiteresearch consumer survey, 47% of CEOs use blogs for external
communication and 83 % corporate bloggers saw an increase in the traffic on
their site since the time they started blogging. Blogging is the word of the
hour in the corporate world today and is being taken seriously for effective
online marketing and public relations. Business Blogging is the new marketing
tool and is being used comprehensively by everyone, whether it’s a non
profit organization or a corporate house.
Until a few years back, Blogging was a platform that was used by individuals
to interact comment and share their knowledge. However slowly marketers have
realized the importance of this medium and have picked up blogging to address
prospective customers and clients.
The Blogging Scene
For the uninitiated, blogs or weblogs are dynamic web pages that can be updated
regularly with new articles, thoughts and opinions. Most blogs can be accessed
by everyone and anyone can comment on the articles or discussion in the blog;
however some blogs only allow registered members to comment on their articles.
Various facts and figures have reinstated the prediction that business blogging
is soon going to be standardized just like the yellow pages listings and all
businesses will exploit this innovative tool to increase their sales. Blogging’s
remarkable growth has made all the difference. Technocrati, the blog search
engine has estimated that a good 4.8 million blogs exist on the web today and
this figure has increased from a mere hundred thousand two years back.
This compelling and mighty blogging scene has made marketers realize the potential
of the emerging market in the blogosphere. More than 58% of internet users today
are regular blog readers, and compared to the average internet user, these blog
readers are more likely to have wealthier households and are more likely to
shop online, the Backbone Media Blogging Survey has revealed. This insight into
the blogging world makes business blogging all the more preferable for marketers
to streamline their online communications through this medium.
Some other interesting revelations that have convinced the marketers to use
blogging an online marketing tool to leverage businesses are-
- More than 51% corporate bloggers take less than 1-2 months from initial
concept to launch of blog (Reports Backbone Media Blogging Survey)
- An increase in sales was experienced by 62% corporate bloggers within 3
months from the launch. (Source- Backbone Media Blogging Survey)
- 42% of bloggers live in households earning more than $50,000 a year (Source-
Intelliseek Survey)
- 39% of bloggers have college or graduate degrees (Source- Intelliseek Survey)
Value Addition Through Business Blogging
Business blogs are sweeping the entire business community. Business blogs are
being increasingly used as a corporate tool to interact and share knowledge
with employees and clients. They can be an excellent means to share a company’s
expertise, connect with customers and attract extra traffic to your website.
Here are a few value additions that business blogging brings for you-
- A low cost alternative for web presence- Blogs can be your
cheap alternative for web presence that requires less investment and can bring
in great results. Unlike a website you don’t really need professionals
to handle your blog if you are familiar with the World Wide Web. Blogging
offers an inexpensive way to promote your company’s name on the internet,
without spending the money or time to hire a designer or developer.
- Blogs are search engine favorites – Blogs are full
of content and search engines love pages that are full of keywords and key
phrases. A Backbone Media Blogging survey revealed that 88% of business bloggers
experienced increased search engine rankings within 3 months of the launch
of the blog. Blogs are indexed faster by search engines as they are updated
regularly, are full of fresh content, use tags within the sites to make it
easier to search pages and search engines pick up these tags instantly, which
further increases search engine rankings.
- The hook to your website – An interesting and dynamic
blog adds a repeat value to your website. Everybody likes to read fresh content
and regular website content is not regularly updated, unless it has a blogs.
The new content and articles on the blog help you keep your visitors hooked
to your blog. People love reading interesting and relevant content.
- Increased credibility- Blogs can help you increase your
credibility in the eyes of your visitors. If your blog is well maintained
and consists of relevant and informative content then it portrays you as a
concerned and helping entity rather than a business entity whose only concern
is to promote their products.
- Build rapport with your clients and customers- Blogs provide
you a one on one communication channel with your clients and customers that
help you get further insights and strengthen relationships. For instance,
on one of Google blogs an employee expressed his views about the work culture
and how it was better at his earlier employer, Microsoft. He received tremendous
support from all other Google employees. Even though he was fired, but Google
HR made the necessary changes to cater to employee grievances. Hence a blog
not only helps you to interact and get feed back from your clients but also
aids you in getting an insight into your own work force and motivating them
for organization growth.
- Builds trust – Blogs are a great way to build trust
amongst clients and prospects as it is an instant and direct mode of communication
that doesn’t let any misunderstandings or hard feelings arise.
- Media limelight - An interesting and well maintained blog
can get you the much needed media attention. These days journalists refer
to internet for latest stories and dopes and if you have a buzzing blog that
is popular and visited by many readers then who knows your blog name might
end up in the next day’s newspaper. Regular postings on industry related
news and products can help you get the desired media coverage, that too for
free. A Blog can work as a great tool for your PR.
Search Engine Marketing Through Business Blogging
It is quite evident that search engines love text and they e fresh and dynamic
content. Hence there are no second thoughts about the fact that search engines
prefer blogs and this leads to business blogging being an important part of
the search engine marketing strategy. There are many factors and blog characteristics
due to which search engines are attracted towards them. One of the very first
reasons is that business blogs have a very keyword rich and streamlined content
that is to the point and not junk which is ideal for search engines because
that’s what they are always looking for. Secondly, business blogs are
dynamic and always have updated information. This leads to faster indexing by
search engines as they give priority to web pages that frequently updated. This
makes business blogs a more effective search engine optimization tool than dormant
websites. The third characteristic is the abundance of links. Business blogs
usually have inbound links for their websites and search engines give a lot
of positive weightage to inbound links.
Starter’s Tips for Business Bloggers
Business blogging can be a boon for your business. Here are few tips to start
the right kind of blog and leverage your business.
- Identifying target audience is important – Just like
any business it is essential for you to chalk out your target audience. Identifying
your target audience is important as it streamlines your communication process
and helps you say the right thing at the right time. An insight into your
reader’s mind will help you decide that what message should you write
that will help you hook them and catch their interest.
- Have a standalone Blog – To begin with, your business
blog should be hosted either as a standalone or with your business website
as it not only increases the credibility of your blog but also makes catches
more attention as all the visitors who visit your website also visit your
blog and get aware of its presence. A standalone is better than on a hosted
system as it gives you better control over your blog.
- Aim for a fresh unique take – At this time you need
to strike the right chord with your audiences and lure them. A business blog
tat is always talking about its products and services, is bound to fail. Bringing
your blog live and talking means a little more than expressing your own thoughts
and ideas. You need to keep readers interest also in mind. To kick start your
blog traffic don’t just talk about how big your business is or what
all you offer. Stop marketing and make people read your blogs. Write what
they want to read, take afresh take by judiciously blending informative content
with your marketing and sales strategy.
- Set your ‘blogrolling’ - You need to get into
the habit of blog rolling as maintaining a blog is not just about having fresh
and innovative content. You need to build a network and building traffic between
blogs can help you attract more visitors. This is where blogrolling tool comes
into picture. This is a way of setting links of other i8ndustry related blogs
and websites on your blog. This practice encourages constant back and forth
between blogs and this can help you build a network in the blogging circuit.
Use your blog as a forum to discus and exchange ideas with other business
blogs that are of value to your business.
- Focus on Keywords- Remember that your business blog is
also a part of your search engine marketing strategy; hence ensure that the
content on your blog is rich in keywords and key phrases related to your business.
Keywords in your copy as well as headline will facilitate your search engine
optimization, for instance if your article is on offshore outsourcing then
use the words ‘outsource’ and ‘offshore’ frequently
and in different permutations. This will help you move your blog up in search
engine rankings.
- Give a perspective – You are an industry insider
and nobody can comment on the industry better than an insider. Hence give
your writings a perspective and a conviction so that readers look up to your
writings and visit your blog again and again.
- Update regularly- You need to ensure that your blog content
is updated regularly so that readers come to read repeatedly. Having a stale
content on your web log is a cardinal sin and will surely sink your boat.
Your blog needs to be engaging, so be ready to keep yourself abreast with
current topics and trends in the industry to provide fresh content to your
blog. Making your blog engaging doesn’t mean writing regular lengthy
entries. They are a big turn off. The most engaging blogs are made of short
and concise messages.
- Keep a tab on your traffic- An acknowledgement or comment
after every user comment helps you build a rapport and cordial relationship
with your users. Hence keep a close watch on your traffic and monitor the
amount and quality of traffic that you receive. Your job doesn’t stop
as writing content but you need to act as a moderator as well. If your blog
seems to look stuck or stagnant then come out with new interests and themes
to keep the show going. But don’t loose sight of your business theme
and objective in order to make it very interesting.
Trends in Business Blogging
Business Blogging is soon becoming standard and the much asked question about
whether your business requires business blogging or not has disappeared now.
Almost every business is banking on this marketing tool and this has lead to
the rise of professional corporate bloggers. Most corporate houses today are
hiring professional bloggers to maneuver their business blogs. Another emerging
trend to be seen in business blogs in future is that they would offer more than
just an opportunity to comment for the visitors. They will turn into Business
lounges where corporate connections and ties will be built.
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