What are Blogs, and Why Your Business Should Use One
By Richard Zwicky
A few weeks ago I was involved in a very strange conversation
with some pretty bright people. One publishes a widely circulated
industry magazine, another was an industry consultant, and the last
was the CEO of a major corporation in the same industry.
I'm not sure how the conversation evolved, but towards
the end the consultant mentioned that another journal had done an
excellent job syndicating their content through blogs and RSS feeds.
The comment was quite unremarkable in and of itself. What happened
next was not.
"What is an RSS feed?" asked the publisher;
"I keep hearing the term 'blogs' and 'blogging' but have not
paid much attention to them, what is a blog?" asked the CEO.
A deep moment of silence ensued, it was broken by the consultant's
almost sardonic voice "Jeez man, an RSS feed means Really Simple
Syndication you should know all about it, it is core to your business."
The CEO got off a bit easier.
You know what? They are not alone in their ignorance.
Most people don't have a clue what blogs or RSS feeds are. Most don't
need to, but a lot of people who use blogs on a daily basis don't
even think twice about them, how they work or how powerful they are.
So, before we go any further; here's a definition
of what a blog is:
A publication of content and Web links, sorted in
chronological order, with the most recent at the top. The content
reflects personal or corporate interests, and is almost always written
by an individual. Blogs were originally called web logs or weblogs.
However, as "web log" can also mean a server's log files,
the term was confusing. To avoid this confusion, the abbreviation
"blog" was coined, and became the common term.
Blog content varies dramatically. While often it reflects
what is happening in a person's life, there are many blogs used by
companies to distribute content. Some affiliate / reseller programs
use them as a way to control what is published about their company
and its offerings on partner sites.
There Are Literally Tens Of Thousands Of Blogs
On The Internet Today.
The natural question for most is, who started the
first blogs, and when? While I have been unable to discover who the
first blogger actually was, it does appear that they first appeared
in the mid 1990's. However, they only really began to emerge from
the 'underground' in 1998. Even at that, they only started to become
broadly used in 2001/2002.
Originally, blogs were simply standalone web sites
dominated by links and peppered with personal commentaries and observations.
They were little more than a person maintaining a personal web site;
much like someone would keep a diary, with links pointing to items
around the World Wide Web that had caught their interest along the
way.
Today, blogs are much more dynamic. Some major corporations'
web sites contain internal blogs, where employees can post their thoughts,
ideas and more; sometimes they are public, sometimes not. But mostly,
blogs are hosted on independent web sites. When using one of these,
the diary keeper, or blogger, logs in and starts posting his or her
thoughts in real time to the Internet.
Witnesses to events can comment on breaking stories
faster than the mainstream media, which usually are at least one hour
from being 'live on the scene'. Thus, bloggers can publish reports
and commentaries live on the Internet, and provide information to
the world faster than traditional media, all without a publisher or
editor to review or approve their work.
Think about it, Monks used to have to handwrite lengthy
text to record events. Then Gutenberg came along, and revolutionized
the publishing industry by making it possible to mass produce their
work. Systems got faster and faster for a few centuries, and then
along came the Internet. It became possible for anyone with a computer
and a web site somewhere to publish their work and have it visible
anywhere around the world in seconds.
Now, anyone can spread their message, instantly. Aspiring
and established writers alike can bypass the traditional publishing
industry, and disseminate their work directly to the public.
Of course, this lack of editorial supervision means
that writers, good and bad, no longer have to fear rejection. No one
has control over how or what they write and there's no one looking
out for them to keep them out of trouble.
As powerful as this may seem, the real power lies
in syndication, which gives any writer the ability to broadly distribute
their writings by plugging the content into an RSS feed: Really
Simple Syndication.
Imagine the possibilities. You can now have your content
spread through the entire network in the twinkling of an eye, to build
an audience overnight. You've just tapped into the ultimate in viral
marketing and branding. This ability has brought forth a whole new
type of guerrilla marketing.
While at first blogging was simply seen as something
neat to do, when the concept hit the mainstream, people realized that
they could be used to build personal and corporate credibility that
would attract customers. If you are thinking about using a blog for
your business, the key to remember in making a blog work for you is
to focus on a topic that relates to your work and or expertise.
Like any other communication medium, blogs' effectiveness
depends upon quality of content and execution. If you plan on starting
one for your business, below are some easy steps to follow:
1. Keep it up to date, a blog which people will consider
relevant should be updated every few days. Concentrate on providing
the most current information on issues facing your industry, or information
of interest to your marketplace at large. Also remember to post any
breaking news you come across as soon as you find it.
2. Ask for Feedback: Successful blogs encourage reader
participation. If you are afraid of criticism, or don't want to host
a debate forum on your ideas, or your company policies, stick to publishing
informative articles on your website.
3. Link to numerous outside resources and to other
weblogs with like content. It shows your readers that you are keeping
up to date on what is going on elsewhere too.
4. Keep it Simple, use very few graphics, and simple
color schemes. Focus on the text; that's why people come and read
your content anyhow. If you discuss many topics, use categorical sections,
and keep archives of older material.
5. Remember, you too were clueless about blogs, possibly
not all too long ago. Many of your readers are probably clueless regarding
blogs, XML, RSS. In fact, many may not know when they are even reading
a blog.
6. Be Patient, expect a small readership initially,
and allow your audience to grow organically. The better the content
you provide, the quicker your audience will grow.
Whether blogging turns out to be a passing fad, or
if it proves itself to be a whole new way to communicate with existing
and potential customers, you owe it to yourself, and your company
to examine what the potential is for you.
Another good reason to consider blogging is most businesses
hit a wall at some point, wherein they have posted so much information
on their business online that they struggle to find new items to post
about themselves which keep their web site looking fresh and attractive,
and encourage visitors to come back.
For any businesses that have reached this point, blogs
may prove to be an answer. Content is a necessity for online businesses,
because it gives visitors a reason to come back.
There are many ways to build a successful blog. What
it really comes down to is offering readers relevant, interesting
information, and providing links to resources and news. To succeed,
it is essential that your blog provides readers more than just facts
and links.
You need to insert observations and commentaries.
Your readers can probably get all the information you are presenting
elsewhere. What they can't get is your commentary or analysis. If
it's good, or humorous, people will remember it, and soon come to
consider you an expert in your field.
In part 2, we'll
examine blogs at work, and how they are a marketing goldmine.
Richard Zwicky is a founder and CEO of Metamend
Software and Design Ltd. Metamend's cutting edge Search Engine
Optimization (SEO) technology and software has been recognized globally
as a leader in its field. With successful clients on 5 continents,
and over 50 countries worldwide, the company has experience in a broad
range of markets and marketplaces. Metamend's client web sites rank
near or at the top of the search engines for their respective search
terms.
