The 21st century’s online buzz is all about the blog, or Web log. In its latest count on February 16, 2011, the Nielsen Company tallied more than 156 million public blogs worldwide. Blogs enable companies to reach people, promote products and services, be recognized as consumers in their field, and get consumer feedback. It’s important to realize that blogs are not a panacea for your online business communication needs, but rather a part of a holistic marketing strategy. That is, you must consider the entirety of your marketing toolbox. Here are the basic tools you must consider:
A Web site. Your company’s Web site must engage visitors with interesting content that is regularly updated. If your blog will be your only form of online communication, you can have your blog also serve as your Web site. If you’re not sure whether this sort of merge would be best for your company, ask your customers what they would like to see and which media platforms are best for them.
Regular e-mail marketing campaigns. To drive interest in your Web site and blog, keep in touch with your customers. Give them incentives to stay involved with you, such as offering coupons or valuable company news updates. Helpful e-mail marketing services can be found through companies such as email-marketing-options.com.
The right blog platform. You can produce your blog in one of two ways: Host your blog for free on a public site such as WordPress.com or Blogger.com, or download software that you can install on your Web server and configure yourself. There are also a number of blogging platforms that reflect the different types of multimedia available on the Web, including text, photo, video, and podcasts. If you don’t want to go that far, consider microblogging sites such as the seemingly ubiquitous Twitter.
Subscriptions. Many Web sites offer Really Simple Syndication, or RSS, feed options. Including an RSS feed on your blog or Web site allows your readers to automatically receive your new blog posts in programs such as Microsoft Outlook or Web sites such as Bloglines.com and Google Reader. Be sure to have the RSS icon in a conspicuous location on your blog, keep inviting customers to read your blog (such as in your e-mail newsletter), and keep your readers coming back by writing valuable information on a regular basis.
Finally, remember that online marketing tools are just an extension of getting out and talking to your customers. If your customers can’t get a personal connection from you, they’ll look to your competition.
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