I’ve been a fan of Fast Company Magazine for a long time, and have recently been invited to be one of their “Expert Bloggers”. My first post is up, taking a look at reasons companies should be in the blogging business:
1. Build Relationships
2. Build Reputation
3. Build Customer Loyalty
4. Build Authority
5. Build Traffic
Check it out, and be sure and subscribe to the feed while you’re there!
Hey!
Great article
i think, we can buy links to our site too, as seo methods.
I am forwarding this blog to two prospective web clients who can’t understand why they might want a biz blog, because:
a)It is plain & simple and doesn’t require much reading on their part
b)I found this blog by searching for “reasons your business needs a blog”
That ought learn the naysayers!
P.S. The link to fastcompany is not working here(I was going to use it for follow-up)
Whoa, simple and straight to the point!
I’m gonna keep them in mind ^^
Thanks!
I think it also helps to broadcast any updates or news that you need your customers or reader to know.
There’s no doubt about it, blogs are hot. With their interactivity and their ability to position even micro-business owners as niche experts, blogs are the “it” marketing trend.
Business blogs are undoubtedly a great way to increase the strength of the website by including backlinks etc…
I have to agree with the above… I used to work for a website design company that would insist that all employees take an active part in keeping the company blog updated.. We would write tutorials, case studies of projects we were working on and stuff like that.. It was really successful and generated about 75 percent of the business.. Im not sure it would work for all businesses but definately worth a shot… I think it adds that personal touch that many consumers like.
Great, except blogging implies ‘work’ and big companies (or even small ones) just aren’t internet savvy enough to be bothered to do it… also there’s a lot more to ‘blogging’ then meets the eye… meaning you can’t just write about anything.. good useful content takes a lot of time and building up the traffic and readership takes even more time (even more if you’re new to it) so yea… unless you’re a one man business and on a tight budget, I don’t see busineses giving blogging a fair go for a while.
A blog certainly increases traffic and has improved our Google rankings.
I certainly agree with Katie’s comment that there is more to blogging then meets the eye and the amount of time it consumes is unbelievable!
I agree. Its a great way to keep customers up to date.
Thats five steps to a successful businesses…I also feel that you should have a blog supporting your business, primarily as it is a cheap mode of reaching target audience…
I think there are two more points that should be included on this list:
Interact with the Public
Very important. CEOs don’t often have a chance to interact with the public and rely on stats to make decisions. With a blog, they can interact with the public and get real feedback, not just stats.
Competition is Doing It
Now it isn’t always the best idea to follow your competition blindly, but it is an even worse idea to ignore what they are doing.
Thanks for this! Sometimes when trying to pull ecommerce sites kicking and screaming into the blogosphere, it’s nice to have a second, third, or even forth opinion to bounce off of them. Like Karl said above, This is a great resource – clear, straightforward, and logical and a great one to sent potential clients to.
I agree that every business should have a blog, if nothing else but an industry rag. However, I need a post that can help me with my conundrum:
My blog needs a business! If nothing else, It’d be nice to score a cool job because of my blog.
Josh
http://www.MyAuntIsHot.com
Creating a blog for a website also helps brand the website.
It’s a no-brainer to communicate new product announcements and get feedback on things consumers have purchased, even if it is bad news
These are some really good reasons. Blogging has done a lot for my brand. I have learned about branding and link building through the help of my fellow bloggers and now my company is starting to reap the benefits. The consumer feedback and making connections with people from the blog community also really helps.
Hi, I am new to the blogging seen. For a website would it be better to have a blog on your website, or a blog on a blogging site linked to your website?
Very good reasons as usual. It’s a no-brainer in today’s business world
I am new to blogging, but your website has a wealth of information on the subject, thank you.
Great post.
Its nice to see that all small businesses at least have websites these days, but I think they underestimate the value of a blog.
I think bloging has proved its worth already, but taking full advantage with this, need bit more of knowledge and understanding. Its the best medium to communicate and taking feedback.
Hi Randy,
I did read your blog on Fast Company. I particularly liked that you emphasized the importance of knowing your target market. Helping businesses do that is my main business.
I offer a free trial of my automatic target market analysis at the link above.
I agree with everything and in particular on ” Build Customer Loyalty”.
Great post
Stefano
It IS really very simple and common knowledge…. well I guess not as common as you would think. I think that soon for companies having a blog will be as essential as having a web address… you simply just wouldn’t be in business without one. This will probably take a few more years though.
A lot more Norwegian companies should start using blogs. It’s a great promotion tool.
Blog is something that every serious business should be doing.
We converted our standard html site into a WordPress site, just for the SEO effect alone. Although we have our own CMS, we find that Google just eats up the blog postings in their SERPS. Let me know what you think about our blog at http://www.automotiveseoblog.com . I know we have a few graphics to clean up but we feel it looks good so far.
Great post Randa, problem I’ve been having is with the amount of work it takes to produce content for both my main site and a blog at the same time. I usually end up neglecting the blog most the time which I know I’ll end up regretting down the road, anyways keep up the good work.
Hi Randa – great topic. There are a hundred reasons each of our businesses could use a blog and you kicked it off. My favorite: to show people beautiful pictures of what they could be EATING !!! Cheers all -
I blog therefore I am… but seriously every company should have a blog.
I’ve always had issues with the idea that all companies should have a blog. Would you really read the Target blog or the Walmart blog? Even if they established themselves as experts in a field, some companies are just too large to be looked at as an objective source of knowledge.
(yes, I see that a retort to this might be: “Then what about news networks?”)
I’ve worked with tons of small businesses and they all doubt blogs initially. They are always shocked at how much blogs can actually help them.
A blog can be a great tool but it is vitally important to blog regularly, at least once a week. There are too many blogs that get started with great enthusiasm but then slowly fade out because success is not visible immideately. It takes a long time and a lot of effort to be successful. And you need some interesting topics to write about. If you dont start with at least 20-30 good ideas about possible articles then the propability that you run out of ideas fast is very high.
Short and sweet, just as I like.
Very nice.
It sure is a great way to communicate with your readers, & that’s how you can build up the relationship with the customers ;p
Well, if you want to standout from the crowd, then you must equipped your business by a well written blog!
Thanks for this! Sometimes when trying to pull ecommerce sites kicking and screaming into the blogosphere, it’s nice to have a second, third, or even forth opinion to bounce off of them. Like Karl said above, This is a great resource – clear, straightforward, and logical and a great one to sent potential clients to.
Short and sweet. Though I wouldn’t mind the post to be expanded in some way.
Blogs can be very useful for designers as well.
In the beginning when the whole blog thing started, I was very sceptical, but a few months later I started my own blog and now I run 4 blogs in total.
It will still be a while before people see having a blog as a mandatory part of doing business.
Yeah I think the same, thats great for a company make a blog and is very easy and cheap.
Great Article. Blogs can be very useful for many people as well.
every company should have a blog
i’m with everyone with that idea that every company needs a blog
Some good points you make. Congrats…not everyone gets invited to write an article for such an authority site/magazine like Fast Company.
every business must have a blog, a blog can be a great tool to express comapany’s personal stuff as wel they can share their feelings towards their clientel
business must have a blog. It looks like to me a report be enough to you well. Yu site(place) will have many visits
Hi
I am working as a social media consultant in Denmark. I offend have a hard time explaining the benefit of blogs breify. You pst gave me a couple of good ideas, thanks
Quite agree with you on all those points.
But one key one not mentioned is “To improve SEO ranking” which turns round subsequently as a further boost to traffic.