Business Blogging: To Blog or Not to Blog?

Here at Manifest Creative, one of the many things we do for our clients is design and create unique websites. When we sit down to meet with new web clients, one of the reoccurring questions we get asked is, “Will I, or one of my employees, be able to update the website on a regular basis?”

Now from a developer standpoint, traditionally the answer is almost certainly no… unless the client or their employees have at least a basic concept of programming languages, or your company is ready to invest in a database driven website. That being said, at Manifest Creative we do not particularly like the word “NO”. In fact, we are not a “NO” kind of company. Instead, one of the ways we are able to say “YES” to this question, is by offering something that many business owners haven’t even heard of yet… a blog.

WHAT IS A BLOG?

Well a blog can be almost anything… a news outlet, a diary, a collection of memos, a newsletter, or even a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) with answers at the ready. A blog can take on nearly any size, shape, or form – ranging from a simple virtual postboard of messages, to a complex interactive forum with multiple users and groups. There is no real set way of running one, and there aren’t specifically any rules to follow either… a blog can be what ever you want it to be!

We realize that saying a blog can be anything is a little vague, so after a little research we’ve been able to discern the word “blog” was actually derived from the term “web logging” back in the early 1990’s. Even though we now call it blogging, the concept itself has actually been around for quite some time. Blogging as we know it today has been gaining in popularity and momentum over the last several years, and we happen to think the business world has only just begun to grasp what a powerful tool a blog can be.

WHAT CAN A BLOG DO FOR ME?

What ever you want to say, a blog can help you say it! A blog is your voice on the world wide web, and the best part is that it’s available 24 hours a day… 7 days a week! It allows you the availability to post messages, answer questions, share images, publish recent news, and offers a whole variety of other uses and applications as well. Most importantly, it gives you a unique opportunity to connect with your customers, and provides a venue to receive valuable feedback.

As part of a complete website, a blog allows individuals who may not be well versed in computer languages an easy way to update the content of their site. This makes it possible to update a website with current news and fresh relevant information… without having to employ a web designer. This also means changes to a blog can be made or added when ever the administrator finds time, and it is all completely customizable and relatively easy to edit.

That being said, the author or administrator of a blog has complete control over who can read and who can write to a blog. The information within a blog can then be set to be viewable by anyone and everyone, or perhaps limited to only a select few. A certain portion of a particular blog might only be able to be viewed by employees or specific users with a password, while yet another section might be available to anyone for review and comment.

WHAT KIND OF FEEDBACK CAN I EXPECT?

As with any form of feedback, the response is something that nobody can predict. Some blogs get very little response or even nothing at all. On the other hand sometimes the feedback can be nearly overwhelming! The feedback is all dependent on the information posted and how those who read it react in turn. Either way, it can provide tools to help measure the impact and effectiveness of a particular message, while giving valuable insight as to what makes customers respond.

Speaking of feedback, what if you get comments or responses that you may not have expected or that you may find offending or harmful? The beauty of blogging is that you can choose whether you want to allow comments on a post-by-post basis, and in case of a worst case scenario… you have the option to delete any comments you don’t like.

HOW DO I GET STARTED?

Well that is the easy part! Usually a blog can be easily added to, or even posted as a link on a website that may already be online. It might all seem confusing, but if you are interested in running a blog, please feel free to contact us. Here at Manifest Creative, we are always looking for innovative and cost effective measures of communicating the messages of our clients, so we’d be happy to answer any questions or to schedule a consultation.

Feel free to check out the blogging scene for yourself! You can click the links for some of our favorite blogs as a start. There are also many free blog sites that are incredibly easy to set up and use, Blogger.com, WordPress.com, and Blog.com are just a few worth mentioning. So go ahead… give it a try!

In closing, blogging is a simple, effective, low cost way to further convey your message and increase your methods of communication. The advantages of running a blog as part of your web presence can easily be justified. When used correctly, a blog can help increase brand awareness/loyalty, be used as a tool to educate consumers, and be a useful means of connecting with your customer base. We see it as an distinct advantage to any business or entity, and that gives it great value as common sense marketing… which is what Manifest Creative does best!