By Katrina Lennon
 Bloomfield, CT, February 9, 2011 -- A blog is for someone that wants to share with the world why they love their bunny rabbit or why they need to lose 10 pounds right? Wrong! Yes, some bloggers like to talk about their sometimes boring and irrelevant thoughts but there are others who are utilizing it as a business tool.
Blogs are incredibly powerful tools that can help people, especially businesses, position themselves at the forefront of a particular industry. They are becoming an essential corporate tool that communicates knowledge and expertise to target audiences. They are also a great way to show people that there are actual human beings working behind that logo; people will feel much more comfortable and connected to your company if they have a sense of who you are. Michael Wiley once said that “blogs can help bring humanity back into the workplace. We have become so concerned with communicating numbers and processes that employees have forgotten how to build relationships…blogs help create a culture that supports those behaviors”.
- Creates a community - When you allow people to comment on blog posts and share them through various social media channels, you are stimulating and encouraging a conversation to take place and therefore creating an online community around your brand.
- Acts as a drawing board – As you prepare to write a blog post some research might be involved. The whole process allows you to gather thoughts, plan out what you are going to say and then reflect on it all in your post. It might just give you an idea for your company’s “next big thing”.
- Keeps you connected to your audience - It can be easy to lose sight of your audience’s needs. Sometimes you think you are giving them what they want when really you are headed in the wrong direction. Monitoring the conversation that takes place on your blog will provide you with the insight needed to stay on course. Think of it as free research!
- Increase web traffic – Search engines love blogs because of their search engine optimization tools. By creating tags for each post you are creating opportunities for your company’s blog to show up on search engines like Google. The more you use those tags, the higher up in the searches you will find yourself.
- Connects you with potential customers - With great search engine optimization, people searching for ____ might just stumble upon your company while conducting a search. Long behold they love your blog and decide to get in touch with you!
- Advertising and marketing is changing - Traditionally, advertising and marketing basically threw information in people’s faces, saying “hey listen to me! I have something to say”. With technological advances people can now block out unwanted advertising (think TVo and call waiting) meaning people are searching for information rather than being told. When people read blogs it is because they want to be there reading what you have to say. It is a great way to connect with audiences and adopt this new way of advertising.
- It’s free - Well, for the most part. Some blogging platforms offer upgrades for a price however this is not necessary. There are plenty of features that come with a free membership and will work just as well as an upgraded blog.
Head spinning yet? Relax; blogging does not have to be that difficult. There are a handful of sites that offer an easy interface where you can quickly and easily write down your thoughts and publish them for the world to see. Check out Blogspot.com, Typepad.com and Movable Type for straightforward blog templates. Feeling adventurous? Take a look at Wordpress.com for a more comprehensive blogging platform.
More and more businesses are jumping on board with corporate blogs. Do you want to be left behind? Create one today and start realizing the benefits so many others are enjoying.
About The Author
Katrina Lennon is an account coordinator at Andrea Obston Marketing Communications, LLC where she manages the firm’s social media, including the Online Newsrooms. In addition, she is responsible for the organization of client material, logistics on projects and all social media both for the firm and select clients. She is currently pursuing her MBA at Quinnipiac University.
Andrea Obston Marketing Communications, LLC helps businesses grow through a B2E (Business to Everyone) marketing communications strategy. The firm’s expertise includes strategic marketing audits, brand development and marketing, public and media relations, media training, websites and social media. Its subsidiary, Andrea Obston Crisis Management (www.crisismasters.com), provides public image crisis planning and management. The firm, which celebrated 25 years in business in 2007, is based in Bloomfield, CT and can be reached at www.aomc.com or (860) 243-1447.
Media contact:
Andrea Obston aobston@aomc.com
(860) 243-1447 (office) (860) 803-1155 (cell)
(860) 653-27612 (home)
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