Should Businesses Have Blogs?
A blog by definition is a web log or a personal diary on the web. At least that’s how it started off. But slowly the purpose of a blog has changed – from a fun, pointless jumble of personal information it has now become a serious marketing tool. Yet, I find that many businesses have still to grasp the ropes of blogging. Many business blogs lie unattended like waifs in a graveyard. This gives the wrong signals to visitors. There is a reason for leaving business blogs unattended and forlorn. When there is no palpable result from a blog even after a couple of months, businesses are likely to abandon their plans in keeping with best financial practices. Is couple of months sufficient to draw conclusions about the success or failure of a business blog? Of course, not.
Identifying the reason for a business blog
Before actually commissioning a business blog, the management should identify the reason for the blog. This may vary according to circumstances. Large businesses have blogs only to manage their online reputation. This is called reputation management. More and more customers are now relying on informal channels for getting information on products. Traditional advertisements no longer carry the authority they used to. In fact such ads are looked upon with suspicion. A blog is an informal channel and likely to impress visitors.
Another good reason for having a business blog is to provide an interactive channel for sharing information about products and services. This blog can be an added online resource in addition to a regular website. While comments and feedback is restricted on a website, blogs can act as a great channel for communication.
The third reason why a business should have a blog is if they cannot afford a regular website. You may say that managing and hosting websites doesn’t cost much, but I beg to differ. A good website may cost a bomb and may not fulfill its purpose if it is not designed well. A blog on the other hand can be hosted free of cost. Small businesses do not actually need a website.
Designing a business blog
There is no one way in which you can design a blog. Each blog must be designed to fulfill certain business objectives. If it is for reputation building, you must have several customers commenting on different issues related to it. If you are designing a blog for information about your products and services, you must have one thread each for them separately. A standalone business blog (where there is no website), must be designed to look like a website.
Hosting a blog
There are two very good options – Blogger and WordPress. If you want a free blog with many attendant features, you can go with Blogger. If yours is a blog trying to fit into the shoes of a website, WordPress is a good option.
Conclusion
Businesses need blogs for different reasons. Identifying the purpose of a blog is important. The design and hosting a blog will totally depend on the purpose of a business blog.
Nitin Aggarwal is a young businessman. He owns the company Offshore Ally, which is the leading provider of dedicated virtual assistants and link builders online. Nitin has been guest blogging for over two years now. Connect with him via Twitter.