Blogging All The Way To The Bank - Corporate Blogging
August 17, 2006
The 12 million people who are writing blogs have become influential fixtures in cyberspace. While some marketers have scoffed at the idea of blogging for business, those 12 million people have more than just opinions to offer. They also have money to spend. The trick is to learn how to harness that power and to direct the right segment of those bloggers to your ecommerce business.
Debbie Wells, of Blogwrite for CEOs puts it this way: “Corporate blogging is not about being cool. It’s about following your customers where they’re going. And where they are going is online and in massive numbers. You must be there in order to interact with your customers. Blogging enables an instant (or almost instant) conversation with them. And that’s what people want. They want to be heard. They want to be acknowledged. And if they are given the opportunity to be heard and acknowledged they are far more likely to do business with you and your organization.”
Before launching a corporate blog, companies must determine their target demographics and what they expect out of the blog. A company that makes high-end kitchen appliances should present their story in a way that appeals to the 35+ female who owns a home. A structured approach works well with that demographic.
If you are dealing with the younger generation (teens and twenties) the approach changes considerably. These young people have been exposed to an overload of information since they were toddlers. Consequently, they have become very adept at picking out the information they need and ignoring the rest. This generation responds well to spontaneity, so a blog targeted at them needs to be more abstract in nature.
Louis Columbus of ECT news network puts it this way. “Let’s face it, blogs have overtaken many other traditional forms of media as the primary trusted source of news and opinions on products. Some members of the so-called marketing elite came out and blasted blogs as being nothing more than a stream of consciousness on a collective scale. What they fail to realize is that those bloggers are also prospects and customers. “
Derek Gehl of Enterpreneur.com is a strong believer in the power of blogging as a powerful marketing tour for business. Both online and offline businesses can use blogs to take their products and services to a wider audience, increasing their web traffic, leads and sales.
A well-planned blog can:
- Drive traffic to your main website
- Generate more product sales
- Create an additional stream of advertising income
- Be a great customer service tool
One of the most significant ways that a blog can help your online business is by improving customer service. Your blog can function as an interactive FAQ, allowing your customers to submit questions and allowing you to answer them. You can also provide product updates, how-to articles, and other information that is meaningful for customers. Prospective customers who see your blog will be impressed by your dedication to customer service.
A good way to maximize your credibility is by regularly posting valuable and relevant information on your blog. This is an effective way to establish yourself as an expert in your subject area which will encourage your visitors to feel much more comfortable about doing business with you.
If you are starting a business blog, it is critical that you keep your content fresh and relevant. You may be pleasantly surprised about how easy it is to find subjects to write about. It could be news articles about your industry, product updates, interviews, or personal insights into topics of importance to your target audience. It is essential to post often and keep your audience coming back for more. Keep them intrigued because attracting new customers is more expensive than keeping the current ones. Regularly adding fresh content to your blog allows you to boost your search engine rankings. It is also important that you write in your own voice. A blog is no place for corporate jargon.
Rebecca Blood, author of Weblog Handbook, said corporations must strike a balance if they want blogs to work. “”Setting clear standards for employees who operate blogs is important as is protecting proprietary information and the confidentiality of clients.” Still, Blood contends, any corporate blog must contain a “human voice” that avoids the marketing lingo found in press releases. “Companies can install all of the controls they want on the company blogs, but they are not going to get the value out of the blogs unless they let people really talk about real things.”
According to Debbie Wells, the new world of PR practitioners, marketing strategists and other consultants are touting is here. If you’re not providing personal value, they’ll go elsewhere. And even worse, they’ll take other bloggers with them when they leave.
Marketing Sherpa.com is a website that offers advice and personal case studies.
They recommend the following:
- Look like a blog, not a company web site
- Hotlinks are your friends
- Tag every posting with search-friendly keywords
- Let other bloggers know you’re out there
- Let the press know you’re out there.
Nina Burokas of Digaterial Marketing works with entrepreneurs and corporations to “leverage this emerging trend in technology and maximize their brand value.” She refers to blogs as “PR on steroids.” “The internet has changed our culture and the way we do business,” said Burokas. “Blogging is the next evolution of that.”
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