Blogging isn't just for geeks and techies, or web consultancies for that matter. Everyone who has a website should have a blog. Here are five good reasons why...
- It shows your customers that you're still alive. So your customers know that you're alive already. Sure they do. What would you think if you kept going back to a company website time and time again, and it hadn't changed? Do you really believe that nothing of interest happens to that company or organisation? OK, you might not immediately assume that they had come to a sticky end at the bottom of a high cliff, but I bet you start thinking that maybe they don't care enough to tell you the latest news. Or perhaps they don't really know enough to write an opinion? Or maybe they are just way too busy, in which case they are probably way too busy to take you on as a new customer...
- Google loves you. It's a nightmare, isn't it? Trying to keep up with search engines. Paying out for clicks which don't seem to result in more business. Wondering why your competition keeps leapfrogging you in the search results. It's enough to make you want to take a couple of aspirin and lie down in a darkened room for a few hours. Why is it that Google won't seem to rank your site, even though you know it says just what you do?
You may not know, but Google and the other search engines just love change. They love things to be dynamic. It shows that your business is buzzing and active, and they would much rather serve up a website to a searcher for a company that is still in business, than one that isn't. And it isn't just Google. With a blog, you are opening your business up to valuable links from other bloggers, blog lists and networking sites. And none of that can do any harm to your search engine placement either.
- You're answer is out there immediately, before any damage can be done. I'm sure you have never received any bad press before. I'm sure you have never had a dissatisfied customer who posted their experience on the internet. But what if you did? Can your current website handle that? Or do you have to go through the process of calling your web company (who are on a three day team-building course, making mud huts in Cornwall), waiting for them to respond, telling them to put a reply on your website, waiting until they have created a page specifically for that reply (because you have never had to face such a thing before), approving the page, waiting until after the weekend for them to load it up, and then receiving a nice fat bill for the emergency work done on your behalf...
It doesn't have to be that difficult. Nor that negative. With a company blog, a response can be made immediately (I could mention several big corporates who were immensely grateful for this facility!), ensuring that the bad press is addressed before it can do any damage. But it can also allow you to be proactive rather than reactive. How much more comfortable will your customers feel if they go to your website and their complaint or issue has already been addressed?
- But it's so easy! Updating your blog is as easy as opening a Word document and typing. Actually, it's easier - because there are fewer buttons to come to terms with! And you don't have to worry about FTP or XYZ or any other confusing acronym which you might have come across. You just write. And publish. Just like that. Once your blog has been set up, there is nothing scary about it at all.
- It's good to talk. In the past, the only way you could have two way communication with your customers or potential customers was talk to them on the phone, send out a letter or press release and then wait and hope that they might respond. With a blog, you can publish your news, and immediately begin to receive comments, not just from the people on your mailing list, but from potential customers in parts of the world you may never have been able to reach before. No postage. No waiting for calls. No piles of unsent letters. Customers can also provide feedback, ask questions and give suggestions which you can see immediately. Suddenly you have a two way conversation with the people who matter most. It's almost as good as sitting with them having a cappuccino and a pastry - with fewer calories!
If you haven't thought of setting up a business blog yet, what's stopping you? Depending on your hosting package and current website, you can either set your blog up on your own server (better for Google of course), or use one of the many hosted blog sites such as www.blogger.com or www.wordpress.com. In no time at all you could be projected out into the blogosphere, generating your own roar.