Who let the blogs out? Savvy businesses using marketing tool
By Erika D. Smith
Knight Ridder News Service
AKRON, Ohio — So, you feel all tech-savvy now because you know what the word "blog" means. But do you know what a blog could mean for your business?
Sage Lewis does.
The president of Akron's SageRock.com swears by blogging as a marketing tool.
Because of it, more people know what SageRock.com is. More search engines are attracted to its Web site. More clients see the company as an industry leader. All of that, Lewis said, is because of the tech company's blog.
"It's really changing the face of what publishing and information awareness is to a company," Lewis said.
A blog is a journal published online. Most are run by one person, but sometimes several people contribute.
Some are silly. Some are serious. Some are quite personal.
For companies, blogs are an opportunity to tell clients and potential clients about your industry, products and services. And it doesn't matter how large or small your business is.
Blogs are a way to build an open relationship with customers, and make your company a resource on a particular subject. They're also good for spin.
"The first hurdle is convincing companies that it's a useful tool," said Debbie Weil, a business-blogging consultant based in Washington, D.C. "It's not just some silly thing for personal use."
The best blogs aren't blatant attempts at self-promotion but an informal conversation with opportunities for feedback, say some, advising that blogs be written with the reader in mind, and with an eye toward helping and informing them.
At SageRock.com, for instance, employees post links to articles about trends in Internet use and search-engine marketing — the company's bread and butter.
Clients visit the blog to feel informed, Lewis said, and they see SageRock.com as the authority that distributes that information.
"If a person reads our Web site and recognizes us as an industry leader, it's not a matter of convincing them whether we'll do a good job or not," he said. "It's usually a matter of whether our services can fit into their budget."
"Blogging can be a great marketing tool if it's used in the right way," said Shirley Shriver, vice president of marketing services for Hitchcock Fleming & Associates in Akron.
The "right way" includes several things.
First, companies must commit to maintaining a blog.
It sounds obvious, but a blog that isn't updated at least once a week is useless. It also may take Web surfers a couple of months to notice it is there. Sure, running a blog takes time and resources, but a lot less than many employers may think.
Second, business owners have to decide who's going to write the blog.
"The more important the person is, the more popular it will be right away," said Barbara Payne, a Mayfield Heights, Ohio, blogging expert and writer who runs www.blogforbusiness.com.
High-level executives may be ideal, but if that person can't string together enough words to form a sentence, don't bother. A poorly written blog won't win points with anybody.
If a midlevel employee is selected, employers should be clear about the limits of what the writer can spout off about. Don't want your trade secrets all over the Web? Make it clear in a written policy and review each entry before it's posted to the Internet.
"What are the boundaries? A company should think about what topic and how far they should go," said Steve Rucinski, operator of www.smbceo.com.
Third, companies must decide how their blog will be written and what it will include.
At the very least, every business blog should be useful, have a point of view, have a way for readers to post feedback and include links to articles from other sources, said Weil, who also runs WordBiz.com.
All that is the hard part.
Literally creating a blog is relatively easy and ridiculously inexpensive. Often, it's free.
Tools are available at sites such as www.blogger.com, www.blog-city.com and www.blogspot.com.
These Web sites offer templates for blogs and, in many cases, work with your Web browser so you can update your blog with a couple of clicks. "They're easy to use," SageRock.com's Lewis said. "You don't have to have any technical background."
Marketing a blog can be a little more complex.
Many companies let users find them on their own. They put a link to it on their Web site or let search engines such as Google and Yahoo! draw people in.
Search engines love new content, and just putting a blog on your Web site could push your company to the top of someone's search results.
Some blogging experts, however, recommend the more direct route of submitting a blog to a Really Simple Syndication feeder, such as www.bloglines.com, www.blogsearchengine.com, or www.technorati.com. These RSS feeder sites are basically search engines for blogs.
The how-tos aside, many companies are reluctant to start a blog no matter how easy or popular blogging is.
Twenty-seven percent of adult Web users read blogs, and 7 percent pen them, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project.
The number of companies that write them, on the other hand, is minuscule.
The reason, Weil said, is that companies don't see a direct connection between blogging and profit. "They say, 'Sounds good, but what's the ROI (return on investment)?' " Weil said.
The truth is, there is no real answer to that.
A blog, like a Web site, is a long-term marketing tool aimed at getting customers to trust and understand your company.
"The goal is to evolve your relationship with customers," Rucinski said. "How do you measure that?"
