Before blogs were blogs, they were called online journals. Soon, people began to realize the benefit to using them as something more—ways to create unique, easy to use websites that were more than just daily activity logs. Individuals and even businesses have found ways to make money on blogs through advertising and investors. Blogs and the people who write them are often looked at by the media as sources of information and opinion. Blogging is popular because content is not limited to anything; there are blogs on just about any topic imaginable. Blogging platforms and services are also extremely user friendly, and best of all, free.
Many companies have blogs attached to their main Web sites because they bring levels of interactivity to visitors and customers. Blogging is all about content and interacting with your readers; the more interesting your blog becomes, the more people will flock to read it. The main goal of blogs is to get comments; the comments people leave are often the truest expressions and opinions they have. For businesses, this provides a way to get feedback in the best way possible. They also enable businesses to locate potential customers.
For small businesses without any IT help, setting up and running a blog is a perfect way to connect with customers and find potential leads for free. There is no coding or design required. Here are some useful ways you can let the blogosphere grow your business.
Design
A well-designed blog usually signifies a company with a professional attitude. Readers assume that if you have enough time to make your blog look good, there is usually more useful information to be found. All blog platforms (Blogger and WordPress are most popular) provide users with multiple templates to choose from and multiple add-on tools for each.
Polls
For really strong customer feedback, add a poll or survey tool to your blog, asking customers specific questions pertaining to your company. This is for people who may be reading but not commenting. At the end of each blog post, ask a question to readers and allow them to respond via comments.
Media
Add media such as photos, slideshows, videos and music to add a personal element to the page. Let your readers get to know you and what you are like outside of your office.
Network
Promote your blog on other blogs related to your industry. Ask them to follow you to your blog, and do the same for them. There are all kinds of networks on the Web for bloggers in various industries to get together and have discussions.(Ning.com is popular for this). Collaboration encourages the spread of effective business strategies.
Analytics
Using an analytics tool for your blog not only enables you to see how many visitors you have, but where they are coming from, how they found you, how long they spend viewing your site, and how often they make return visits. With this data, you are able to target specific groups of people and add to your customer knowledge base.
If you are using a Web-based CRM platform, it is easy to integrate blogging into your everyday business routine. You have total control and access to the most important services all in one place. Leveraging a blog does take work. Content must be updated often and there should be someone on the other end managing the operations, responding to customers, and recording feedback. A static blog will go nowhere quickly. Blogging is a great way to connect to your customers in a personal, non-threatening way. With time and patience, the blogosphere can be a powerful and effective way to grow your business.
