Thursday, November 22, 2007 Toral: Companies embrace blogging By Janette Toral Digital Filipino
IN the past months, I’ve been getting inquiries from companies that want to explore the possibility of having their own blog sites and gain understanding of how this can benefit their business.
I find that corporate blogs can be of value in the following ways:
Extension of a website. A typical corporate website is usually formal or shown in a brochure-type manner. A blog is used to share information casually and to converse with the reader. It provides an opportunity for them to respond and share insights as well. I always suggest that corporate blogs provide a link to all the pages of the company’s website so that it will aptly serve as an extension.
Beyond the product. Every company product has lots of beautiful stories behind them. It can be satisfied customer experiences, product creation journey, events where they participated, and people behind it. I find blogs to be useful in creating a closer connection with readers/customers. When coming up with new ideas, one may be surprised about the number of product suggestions that one gets through blogs.
Take control of negative information. In unique situations, negative stories or bad publicity can spread about the company. Having a blog allows the company to respond to these concerns in an informal way and be a source of information on these certain issues. The company can also inform readers about how they can communicate with the firm if they have concerns.
Be the source of new information. Instead of relying on other blogs and media to be the source of stories on developments about their services, companies can create blogs where new announcements are made and where bloggers and the media can visit and refer to. This also relieves the pressure on having to woo bloggers and media for exposure, in which the company may be uncertain as to the kind of reaction it will get. When relying on others for publicity, one’s motives may be misinterpreted.
Be visible. Blogs can be updated as often as possible and use content management that is search engine friendly. As such, it is possible that blogs can contribute to the com-pany’s visibility in search engine rankings, especially if the right keywords —those that are popular and relevant to the industry— are used.
Cost-friendly. A blog is easy to set-up. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that are still trying can experiment with free blogging tools available online and use standard templates. Once comfort level is reach, one can invest in a full-blown site. However, if budget is not an issue, it is ideal to invest on having the look and feel that reflects your company right away.
Increase product revenue. SMEs that have used blogs often find themselves being able to promote their products and services online, which later translates to actual revenues. Of course, attraction to purchase goes beyond just stating the product information. It should be shared in a story-like manner that gives an idea on what is great about the product and its limitation as well.
So if your company is planning to start blogging, please don’t forget to have an assigned blogger or content creator. An active blog is important for it to be successful. If possible, strive to have no less than 20 stories a month that may contain product tips, customer stories, frequently-asked question, events where you participated, photo sharing, CEO thought leadership, latest news shared casually and online contest, among others.
