Is It Time for You to Blog

By Barbara Weltman April 8, 2005
Barbara Weltman First there was the Web pages with fixed content that could be changed periodically, usually through or by means of a Webmaster. Now there’s the blog, a fluid online means of interactive communication that is now beginning to be used to enhance business.

What’s blogging?
The term “blog,” a contraction for “Web log” first coined in 1999, became mainstream in 2004 when it entered the Merriam-Webster dictionary. A blog is a collection of self-published pieces of information stored on the Internet for access by the web community. Blogs were started in 1997 by tekkies providing technology-related information to one another in an open format. Today there are an estimated four million bloggers worldwide (there were only 50 bloggers five years ago).

Blogging has been made available to non-tech types through the introduction of tools that enable instant postings in an easy-to-access public response format. Unlike typical Web pages that are read-only, a blog lets the reader respond and become part of the blog for the public to see. Blogging tools are available at Movable Type (www.sixapart.com/movabletype), Blogger.com (www.blogger.com/start) , MyBlogSite (www.myblogsite.com/?sid=GOOGLEblog) and Radio Userland (http://radio.userland.com).

Blogging has had its greatest success in alternative journalism, where amateurs can comment and provide information. But blogging can also be adapted for your business use.

How can blogging help your business?
Blogging is a means of communication and, as such, can be used to introduce your products and business to the public. Here’s how.

  • Inform consumers of a new product or idea. Use blogging to spread the word. Readers will gobble up information, which hopefully you can then turn into sales.

  • Obtain customer feedback. Use blogging to improve your products or services by soliciting customer ideas.

  • Become an industry “expert.” Use blogging to enhance your credibility as an expert on a particular subject. This creates “positive buzz’ in your field.

  • Obtain an Internet presence at a fraction of the cost of a Web site. You don’t need to pay a Webmaster or learn HTML to gain a foothold on the Web.

  • Leverage your search engine ranking. Use blogging to ratchet up the number of hits on your site, which improves your listings in Google, Yahoo!, MSN and other search engines. Every new posting by a viewer is treated as another Web page containing key words that will be noticed by search engines.

    Keep your blog short and entertaining. Typically blogs are written informally in the first person. They are usually only a paragraph or tow in length. Include links to your company site.

    Caution: Before making a commitment to blog, be sure you are up to the task. You should be prepared to update your blog regularly (some are updated daily; others several times a day!).

    To see how small businesses are using blogs and get helpful information for your business blogging, go to:

  • Blog Business World (www.blogbusinessworld.blogspot.com), containing blogs in business, marketing, public relations and search engine optimization for successful entrepreneurs. It also offer links to blog resources.

  • Small Biz Advisor (www.small-biz-advisor.com/news/blog/default.aspx), providing information on how to maintain the image of a big company without spending a lot of money. It is an offshoot of Neodex Press, a small publishing company in Seattle, WA.

  • Business Blogging Bootcamp (http://windsormedia.blogs.com/businessbloggingbootcamp), a place to receive basic training in what the site calls WMD (weapon of mass communication). The blog is provided by marketing expert Yvonne DiVita of Windsor Media Enterprises, LLC.

  • The Small Business Blog (www.sbblog.com).

  • Dane Carlson’s Business Opportunities Weblog (www.business-opportunities.biz), a moderated list of business opportunities presented in chronological order.

    What’s Your Brand Mantra? (http://brand.blogs.com/mantra), containing musings on branding by Jennifer Rice, whose company Mantra Brand Communications does brand strategy consulting. Copyright © 2005 by BWideas.com, Inc.

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