Article Surfing Archive

"Everyone is too scared to use the Internet to buy things".

Remember when they said that? It's not that long ago.

Look at us now. People can and do buy anything and everythingfrom the web. The fear, really a fear of change has gone.

They said TV would destroy the cinema. That didn'thappen. The movies are a completely different form to TV but wedidn't realise at the time. TV and cinema both survived and nowboth feed off each other.

In hindsight we all see what was perfectly obvious.

Now they're saying that Blogs, or weblogs are taking over theInternet.

A blog is effectively an online journal where you, or a group,can record their innermost thoughts and make comments about atopic. Anyone has access to read your journal entry (known as apost) and can comment on it.

For much more detailed information about blogging look at theentry in wikipedia for "Blogging."

You get over 474 million search results if you enter "blog" into Google.

Part of the reason for the blogs attraction is its ease of use. It takes only a few minutes to begin "blogging".

First you sign up with a blog server, like Google's Blogger, SixApart's TypePadblog or use Wordpress.

You choose a page template you like. There are a number of very good ones available completely free. Then post your firstentry.

The final step is to let a blog directory know each time youcreate a new post (this is called pinging). Services such asPingoat and Pingomatic are sites that can ping a numberof other directories on your behalf.

People search these directories using blog search enginesand browse the blogs in a similar way to web sites.

Do Companies Really Use Blogs?

Company executives use blogs. For example Bob Lutz, VicePresident of General Motors has his own blog. Other people fromGM contribute to it as well. IBM Vice President Bob Sutor andVice President of Marketing for Boeing Randy Baseler write theirown blogs too.

Employees from corporates like Microsoft, Google and HewlettPackard blog.

When blogging is used in a positive way it shows your customersand prospects your corporate personality and helps build rapport.

What Are The Blog Downsides?

The company CEO shouldn't blog. That's because there may bepressure to flag future events. Or worse, if they drop a clangerit can be spread world-wide very quickly.

A further potential blogging downside is that you've no influence overwhat others put in their own blogs about what you've written.

You only need to look at some of the comments that General Motors got on Bob Lutz's blog when they started a discussion on seatbelts to see how heated things can get.

Companies may be concerned that employees will spend too muchtime blogging or reading blogs. That means a blogging policyshould be in place to prevent such abuse.

What Is The Advantage Of A Blog?

A blog can position someone, or a company, as an expert. But people can easily pass other people's work off as their own. So it really is a case of "buyer beware" when reading blogs.

So are blogs going to be a knock-out for attracting and retaining customers?

The short answer is it depends, and the reasons are:

1) It's just another marketing communication channel - it can be used well or not. Rather like PR is used.

2) For some companies it's just too public

3) It's completely without editoral control

4) It requires commitment to update regularly and to check and respond to comments

It's been said that consultancies and other organisations thatdeal in knowledge and intellectual property benefit most fromblogging. That's because they can demonstrate their ability andexpertise to their market in a different way from other marketingtactics.

But really why should it stop there? General Motor's blog isuseful for communicating new model launches and answeringcustomer feedback.

In fact there really is no practical limit to the who can useblogging to communicate with customers and prospects.

But in the end is blogging a dead-end?

The business blog is definitely an important communication toolthat every company should seriously consider as part of theirmarketing arsenal. But it must be looked at as another businesstool whose ultimate measurement is: "does it get more sales orreduce company costs?"

If it can't deliver at least one of those measures businessblogging deserves to fail.

I've been blogging for over a year now and I've found that I've had thousands of hits. Intentionally I don't get any sales from it. But that's because I'm writing mini articles and will eventually use them as a basis for my next book.

So in the final analysis blogs are another communication channel so companies have the ability to take theirs and make it do the PR, word of mouth, viral and Internet marketing for them.

Internet advertising has grown into big business. Expect blogging to do the same.