Blogging The New Age Marketing Strategy

Does blogging serve business purposes, or is it just an outlet of self-expression

Blogging to many is just an online journal, where the writer expresses his thoughts on topics of his interest. Unlike Websites and e-zines, blogs neither pay for the money nor for the efforts invested on it.

According to Deb Weil, a corporate blogging expert, he has yet to find a single marketer who says that a business blog has gotten him a positive return on investment. However, he agrees that a business blog is a platform from which to lobby, network and influence sales. Also blogging can be done instantly, in real time, at a fraction of the cost of using traditional channels."

User Problems

There are two major problems associated with employing blogs as a business development tool:

One, blogs are basically tools of self expression on matters that interest the author. They generally lack the practical approach to the topics presented in them. They are more like ones personal memoir with an emotional touch to it. Unless the writer is somebody with a mass appeal, blogs are not much of a reading item. But yes, if the writer is an icon whose ideas can be idolized, then blogs can attract some attention.

Second, there is problem with the marketability of the blog content. Unlike e-zine magazines, where the reader receives electronically delivered newsletters on a weekly or monthly basis upon subscription, the blog readers have to manually look out for information. Also, the content addition on the blog is generally unscheduled and is merely at the discretion of the writer.

However, there is one advantage of having blogs on the website. According to Paul Chaney, principal of Radiant Marketing group, blogs are the best way to increase the viewership of the website plus the ranking of ones webpage.

Blogs as marketing tools

But how effective are blogs as a channel to market ones products or services According to Weil, with the passage of time, blogging can prove to be an efficient marketing tool that maintains adding content on the website within ones reach without any need for technical expertise.

Blogs are gaining popularity among small business entities that view them as an inexpensive marketing tool that costs little or nothing to use. Businesses with small marketing budgets find blogging as an effective tool to stand out the competition from their bigger market counterparts.

According to Chaney, "Blogs are a way for you to tell your story over and over again, and do it in a personable way. If you are blogging and your competitor down the street is not, then it can be a competitive advantage.

"Blogs are tailor-made for small businesses, and they are a better tool for them," says Anita Campbell, editor of the blog Small Business Trends. In her view, small businesses have an advantage over the larger ones in making blogs work for them. This is because large businesses have to bear in mind the SEC regulations in deciding what they have to say in blogs.

While only a few Fortune 500 companies have launched blogs, such as Boeing, Sun Microsystems, and GM, smaller businesses are employing them more rapidly.

Risk involved

Businesses should understand that they shall be held liable for the information posted on the blogs. Small businesses, however, dont face many problems while employing blogs as marketing tools, but they can prove hazardous if used recklessly. Businesses need to be diligent enough in deciding what can be said in the blogs. They should remember that they can be unnecessarily placed under a scanner if questionable data is posted.

Yet popular!!

Regardless of the risks, blogs are assumed to be an essential source of data by the net users. According to a survey conducted by Hostway, out of 2,500 respondents, nearly 45% of them see blogs as more reliable than television commercials, 45% consider them as more reliable to internet advertising and about 40% feel that they are more reliable to radio advertising.

Considered that blogs are seen as viable sources of information by most internet users, businesses can employ them as a tool to foster corporate relationships and build brand awareness among the consumer society.

Finally

Its now been established that blogs can form an essential part of business marketing strategy provided they are used cautiously. As Campbell puts it Blogs can help in networking and creating industry contacts and business partners. They can also be excellent selling tools, particularly with affiliates.

However, blogs are yet to be proved as a good direct marketing tool.