Tampa website design and hosting

Shawn - August 20th, 2010

The Benefits of Blogging

How can you connect with your client base today? You can blog with them. A blog is your brick and mortar storefront; it’s the next best thing to being there. 

Blogging gives business owners the unique advantage of real time dialogue with their current and potential clients. Just as you log onto MLB.com and vent your frustrations about a blown call or squandered trade opportunities, bloggers can voice their opinion directly to the people that are involved in something they are passionate about.

For your company, a blog is a literal porthole into the consciousness of the goods and services buying public.

SO…what are the benefits of adding a blog to your website? There are at least 10 of them:

1. You are creating a community – your blog can speak directly to interested parties and you can get as topical and granular as you want/need to.
2. Once you establish the blog you can actively solicit comments in your blog posts and ask your readers what they think. Their comments will spur those of others and you’ll create a conversation.
3. You can keep the conversation going; if someone takes the time to comment, make sure to get back to them via the blog so everyone else knows what you guys are talking about.
4. Try not to use your blog as a podium or a soapbox…stick to the key issues about your company and industry; unless you’re selling politics or religion, you may want to steer clear and keep the focus where you need it.
5. Neither your website nor your blog or anything written or video recorded should be all about you. You get one page on your website: About Us, that’s it. It’s more important that you post content that your target audience will find useful and informative.
6. It is not worth establishing a blog if you are going to neglect it. It needs to be maintained with a steady stream of fresh and compelling content. Post to your blog at LEAST once a month, weekly or daily is actually even better…
7. You can use your blog as a showcase for interesting projects that have either universal appeal or highlight a new trend in your industry; a blog is definitely the place to post case studies and featured projects.
8. Encourage visitors to come back to check for updates or do a three-part series.
9. You can re-purpose the content…take the month’s best blog posts and incorporate them into a monthly email newsletter so you can share the great info with your offline readers.
10. The more effective the content you post, the more opportunities you’ll have to get your website ranked better by the almighty search engines. Need I say more? What do you guys think? Any blog success stories?