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.