Internet Coaching Academy

The next generation of the Web is here and it is called Web 2.0. Web 2.0 is the use of new technologies and old technologies combined to create the ultimate user experience of a media: direct interaction. Are you an expert on a subject? Write about it on Wikipedia. Have a great idea for a movie? Don’t wait for the movie studios, make your movie and publish it on YouTube so the masses can watch. Before making a webpage involved knowing code, now anybody can create a mySpace page or a blog in few minutes which is customized to their personality. Web 2.0 encourages people to take action and create the media that they want to see. Every subject matter how small can have a network in Web 2.0 and if doesn’t exist now you are free to create it.

What is a blog?

The term “blog” is a combination of web + log, or diary. This is first and foremost the place where people can write their memories, thoughts, ideas, feelings and save them as their own personal diary. What makes a blog different from a traditional journal is that it instantly published is updated frequently and allows for user feedback via comments and syndication through RSS feeds. Popular blogs can draw hundreds of thousands of readers. Business blog can also achieve a wide audience whereas the goals and uses of a business blog are much different from a social one.

What is a business blog?

A Business blog, is a very powerful tool which enables a firm to extend its communication level with certain segments of its target audience. The firm’s business blog is the place to communicate the “underground” materials from the firm’s headquarters – information which will usually not be put on the company’s website and only those who know people can know about it. The business blog allows its readers to access company information such as R&D, development and more giving readers a special insider perspective. Whether it is new ideas, developments, beta versions or sometimes personal posts by leading personnel like a CTO or R&D manager, or sometimes a simple as pictures from a company outing, blogs create a regular returning readership when written well.

The Goal of a Business Blog

The goal of a Business blog is to inform and connect with specific segments of target audience – whether potential clients, distributors, partners or potential employees. Business blogs are routinely used for PR by other sources greatly expanding a company’s marketability. Business blogs which offer industry wide information can help a company become more respectable and an authority, no matter what size of the market the company controls.

A great example of a business blog is the one used by Magic Software Enterprises, at www.magicsoftwareblogs.com. They offer hints and tips for making their products more useful. Plus the blog is well read by their software users who leave feedback and create positive free word of mouth advertising.

Another example, but quite different is blog at www.discount-engagement-rings.com. This blog is written by a company called Diamodns-USA however its content is much more general than helpful advice for buying a diamond but is loaded with fun and interesting fact and stories about diamonds & jewelry. This is a great example of an industry leading blog because of its style and wide ranging content.

The benefits of Blogging:

1. Blogs are the perfect public relations tool. Their personal nature gives you and your organization a unique voice online – a voice heard by the people who matter – your customers and clients, other bloggers and the media.

2. Blogs help to position you and your company as experts and leaders in your industry.

3. Blogs act as instant-feedback mechanisms. They allow readers to respond to your posts via the comments section or link to them on their own blogs which are read by other people who might be interested in what your business has to offer. These features provide near real-time feedback on ideas, opinions and issues that affect them, or highlight and address new or existing problems.

4. Their simplicity and addictive nature allow you to share more of your knowledge more often. Blogs are about sharing what you know, think and believe on an ongoing basis.

5. Search engines index your blog posts more often because of more frequently updated content. Your ongoing blog and knowledge sharing shows up in the search results, making it easier for your customers and prospects to find you.

6. You can have many conversations with many people at once – something nearly impossible in the brick and mortar world.

7. They’re automatic buzz-machines. Go ahead and try it. Blog about something new – a new product or service launch, an improvement to an existing product, or a newly appointed manager. See how fast the news spreads throughout the blogosphere.

8. They’re self promotional due to their RSS feeds being aggregated across the net almost instantly.

9. Feedback. You can track your RSS subscribes with tracking software and start to identify marketing trends and new markets.

10. Companies who blog are considered early adopters, thought leaders and “in”. Blogging is “cool” therefore companies who blog are “cool” and “up to date”..

But the most important thing to remember when blogging is that you’re not a speaker talking to an audience, you are sharing and interacting. You are one more voice to be heard and how powerful that voice is depends on how much interacting you do.

Readers of blogs make comments and other readers reply to those comments. Bloggers will commonly take posts from other blogs as ideas for new posts. A blog is more than an online journal it is an interactive communication platform. When done properly blogs can create authority, respectability, and marketing leverage for your company over the competition.

As Web Marketing Experts we advise companies and corporations on how to properly use blogs and blog tools like RSS feeds, web advertising, and videos as part of the holistic web marketing strategy. To learn more about corporate or business blogs visit http://www.compucall-usa.com or email info@compucall.co.il.

Ariel
http://www.articlesbase.com/seo-articles/the-top-ten-reasons-your-business-should-have-a-blog-113883.html