Can Blogging Help My Business?

The word “blog” is a short form of Weblog, which could be described as a journal or opinion piece on the Internet. Previously, if we wanted to express our opinion on anything, we would write an email message and send it to everyone in our address book. Now we can bring the world to our door and millions can read our opinion. This can be a huge asset to any business.

Setting up a blog is very easy. You can do it on your website or on a separate site. You can choose whether or not you want to receive comments and you can delete those that you don’t want.

The question arises as to why a company would need to blog if they have a website.

Duane Forrester, Manager of Advertising and Search Marketing at SportsDirect Inc., one of Nova Scotia’s jewel companies and described as one of the top 20 small businesses in Canada by the Globe and Mail, has done extensive research on corporate marketing. He explained that you can get some of the same information on the website but you have to go through several pages and searching before you get some of the information. Since we tend to be lazy at heart we want everything on one page. We also want to be able to have some interaction with the company.

A blog is self-contained and gives more information than the website while providing an interactive source for feedback and interaction with customers or potential purchasers. It’s a “soft sell” that provides a human touch to information sharing. The result is a competitive advantage.

Duane feels strongly that companies that don’t provide a blogging opportunity are missing out on promoting their product and are not getting valuable feedback on their products. He sums it up this way: “The Internet (blog) is your friend where you can talk about why your product is good, answer questions from possible buyers and obtain highly desired testimonials.”

The thought immediately struck me that this is an effective way to reach markets that are across the country or across the world in a cost-effective manner. If you want to see a good example of a business blog, Duane recommends Gizmodo, which is a fascinating display of new toys on the market. You can view it at www.gizmodo.com. My favorite personal blog (Plog) is Ahab’s Whale at http://www.ahabswhale.blogspot.com. This is written by James MacDuff, a lawyer at McInnes Cooper in Halifax and his blogging partner Tim R.A. Cooper located in London, England.

We will be discussing blogs in more detail in future issues. Meanwhile, get your business blog going and be sure to let me know your results.

By: John Campbell

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John Campbell is a Strategic-Partner with Schooley Mitchell Telecom Consultants, North America’s largest independent telecom consulting company. john.campbell@schooleymitchell.com 902-435-4578 www.schooleymitchell.com/jcampbell