
Should I Have a Blog?
By: Andrea Trapani
Interesting question. And one that we get a lot.
The answer, of course, is not the same to all who pose it. So dependent on a company’s goals, mission, audience and industry — as well as its capacity to take on the work of maintaining a blog — is the answer, that I would not knee-jerkedly assert “yes” to every company nor every individual.
However, in most cases, we urge clients to have a blog, if they can commit to keeping it fresh and interesting, and here’s why:
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1.) Search is the center of the Internet universe.
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Ptolemy was wrong. So was Galileo. The universe does not revolve around the Earth — nor the Sun — but rather search engines. This is where research begins, where buying decisions begin, where outreach begins. In fact, Google is many a person’s home page. As a result, you’re also wrong when you think that the Web revolves around your website. No one cares about it, until that very point at which they are ready to make a purchasing decision. In the meantime, how will your website stay relevant and current in search results? In many ways better than SEO (search engine optimization), consistent blogging about hot topics relevant to your industry, loaded (naturally!) with keyword-rich content, will keep your company, product or service among the search term winners for the searches you covet. Google et. al. “heart” updated, fresh content, and you will find it difficult to keep your website’s content fresh and current. But it will come naturally on your blog.
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2.) Dynamic vs. static content.
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Just as the search engine spiders that crawl and index the Web get bored with and ultimately devalue content that never changes on a given website, so too do humans. If you’re like most business-to-business companies, your website is (tragically) little more than a brochure online. Ask yourself: What compels people to come back to that site after their first visit? Besides, that is, your wishful thinking? They won’t — unless they have a darn good reason to. Without something like a blog, you’re not giving them one. Blogs by their very nature are fresh and interesting (if you’re doing it right). They have revolving and evolving content. If your goal as a company is to consistently engage an audience (clients, prospects, etc.), and I suspect it is, then you simply must give them a reason to want to stay engaged. Blogs can provide that.
E.G.: Our Identity blog’s traffic counts consistently outpace those of our static website by a margin of 3 to 1.
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3.) Constant contact.
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How and where else do you talk to your customer base? Not your customers, but your company’s customer base? How else and how often do you provide insight, analysis and consistent intellectual value to your clients, prospects and other audiences? If the answer is “we don’t,” or “our newsletter,” or “e-mail,” evaluate how those are working. I bet, to an extent, they are. However, they are only reaching a defined audience. Imagine opening that information to the world, and imagine what might come back as a return on the value you are providing. That is the power of a blog. And its instantaneous, it’s opt-in (as opposed to “push” or intrusive), and it’s being indexed by search engines. Your other communications are not.
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4.) Two-way communication.
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Blogs provide a forum for two-way communication that a simple website cannot. Don’t you want to hear from your clients, prospects and other constituents? Broadcasting as a communications vehicle is dying; replacing it is the conversation. Start yours today before your competitor starts one with your audiences. A blog is a great place to do that.
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5.) Your outposts need a home base.
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As you work so diligently to establish your social media outposts, such as LinkedIn, a Twitter profile, a Facebook fan page, you need a destination to ultimately drive these audiences back to — somewhere where business can actually get done…somewhere where online encounters can become personal discussions…somewhere where acquaintances can be converted into relationships. This is your “home base.” It may very well be your website, and that’s fine. But as noted above, a blog can be much more engaging, inviting, compelling, regenerative and interesting than a website; so maybe your blog should be the home base — a place to continue the conversation. Ultimately, it is finally something on the Web that you own and control — you can’t own Twitter, Facebook and the rest.
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6.) You’re published.
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Companies spend thousands of dollars in an effort to get their thoughts and wisdom published in trade journals, newspapers, business publications and industry websites. Results are not guaranteed; and they often come with a filter. A blog provides you the venue to say what you want, how you want, and when you want. I would never suggest that a post on your blog carries the same intrinsic value as placement in the New York Times, but it is a venue for you to publish your analysis freely. Driving traffic there is another story, but there are tricks to that as well. (Where else can you prattle on freely without someone telling you “Sorry, we don’t have space for that,” or “That doesn’t fit our editorial mission.”?)
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7.) Maintaining your share of the voice.
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The Internet’s a noisy place…and getting noisier. Conversations are happening; broadcasting and publishing are rampant; content is created and uploaded exponentially, megabytes by the second. Everyone is in a mad rush to get their content out there, and to get it front-and-center among the eyeballs that matter most to them. Every piece of information you publish or element of content you create takes a share of the online voice away from your competitors. Conversely, your competitors are doing the same to you. Your website cannot keep up with that competition, but a blog can.
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Now that you’re convinced (I hope), don’t rush into it without purpose. As with any communications objective, define your audience, goals and objectives first. Establish a niche mission for your blog, if you can. Construct an editorial calendar to compel you to keep the content fresh. Who do you want to talk to, and what do they need? Think about the value that you can provide to your audience, not the other way around. Sure, the advice you’re giving might be free. But the returns on that investment can be immense.