What are Blogs?
Having heard the term previously but not having paid much attention
most are just to afraid to show their ignorance and ask the question,
what is a blog? Lets face it; the term blog does not conjure pleasant
images.
Blogs are web logs that are updated regularly, usually on a daily
basis. They contain information related to a specific topic. In some
cases blogs are used as daily diaries about people's personal lives,
political views, or even as social commentaries. The truth of the
matter is that blogs can be shaped into whatever you, the author, want
them to be.
Where Did Blogs Come From?
The roots of blogging can be traced back to the mid 1990's. Who the
very first blogger actually was is unclear, as the art of blogging did
not really take hold until 1999. The original "weblogs" were
link-driven sites with personal commentaries. The very first blogs were
human guided Internet web tours. While initially thought of as diaries
or online journals, blogs have evolved into the latest fresh web
content.
The Future of Blogs
A buzz word in techie circles, "blogging" is the wave of the future.
Whether its a fad, or proves to be a new way to communicate with
existing and potential customers it deserves at the very least a
cursory look.
Why is Blogging Helpful to Businesses or Individuals?
Just as animated .gifs were once cool, blogging is the trendy thing to
do. That does not mean that it is not beneficial to businesses.
Webmasters struggling to keep fresh, attractive content on their
websites to lure visitors back, have found blogs the answer. Content is
a necessity for online businesses, both for purposes of being found by
search engines but also because it gives visitors a reason to come back.
Now that we have established that blogs are not only trendy but also
beneficial to businesses, its important to understand how they can be
used to your advantage. We currently manage and update two blogs on a
daily basis.
This professional business blog allows us the opportunity to tell
potential, or existing customers industry news, updates, or generally
how mobile or paging software can be used in specific situations to
alleviate problems. The bottom line is we control the content. Its
updated daily, which increases the chances that search engines will
spider on a regular basis and it helps with page rank because it's been
submitted to all the blogging directories. Initially started on a whim
we've found it beneficial to report tips, tricks or make visitors aware
of new regulations related to the mobile or paging industry.
This blog is less formal and contains marketing tips, or promotional
advice for software developers or online marketers. We found that we
had overflow from our monthly newsletter. Generating a daily blog would
require very little effort and would assist us in creating fresh
content which our readers told us was of significant interest.
Blogs & Your Business
The bottom line is you need to determine how a blog will benefit your
business, determine a schedule and adhere to it. Let your readers know
what to expect and when to expect it. Blogs provide great supplemental
content and direct attention to areas of your business that you want to
showcase; you direct the content but let your readers guide you.
Creating a Blog
There are numerous online tools that can be used to create a blog. We
found that because of security concerns, it would just be best to use a
standard html program. In our case we used Dreamweaver and create daily
posts. Its really not much more complicated than typing an email. The
content is then sent via FTP to a web server. If you want to test the
waters there are online web-based tool that helps you publish to the
web instantly. The most popular web based tool is likely Blogger
Other Advantages to Blogs
While you may initially create a blog for your existing customers, you
may find that you can attract new customers by illustrating your
expertise in a specific field. There are numerous websites that act as
"blog search engines", be sure to submit your sites to these websites
to increase your exposure. This will also help with your page rank and
possibly increase the likelihood you will receive decent ranking with
Google. You can also create an RSS feed in order to syndicate blog
content and gain additional exposure.