Saturday, April 07, 2007

Blogging: why corporates need to consider this


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It would be so easy to say that blogging was just a passing fancy. Or, that as a marketing communication tool, there is very little value in blogging.

If this were so, wouldn't you wonder why companies like IBM, Microsoft, GM and other Fortune 500 companies are blogging? Why these companies not only invest time in their blogs, but promote the blogging culture within their companies.

So, as an executive in a company, should you consider using blogging as a communication tool?

Definitely.

Why? Consider the benefits:
- a two-way communication tool that allows feedback, without expensive market research
- instant upload of your posts
- communication on a personal level
- a means to influence the market easily
- a way to establish yourself or your company as an industry/opinion leader

And, cost-wise, it's hard to beat. Very little in actual dollars and time invested.

Plus, you can take advantage of the viral nature of this communication means. This aspect cannot be under emphasized.

You have word-of-mouth going for you. And, the easy means of passing your post around via the net.

With these links going around, you get more backlinks, which can help you improve your search engine rankings.

Still not convinced?

You should, at least, consider starting. Look at the cost and time involvement. What have you got to lose?

If you find this just too hard, give me a call. I'd be very happy to discuss the pluses and minuses of this marketing communication and show you just how easy this can be.

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Will blogging overtake standard websites


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I recently came across a prediction that blogging will eventually overtake conventional websites. I wonder.

In the Web 2.0 world, a lot of changes have occurred on th internet. Blogging is one such phenomenon. Communication, with comments going back to other way--to the blog writer--has been made that much easier.

What a difference to static websites. Of course, there are sites that allow the viewer to order stuff on-line. E-commerce is now an established mode of marketing. Something that has expanded in the Web 2.0 world.

But, what about blogging? Will it take over standard sites?

Personally, I see a greater increase in blog sites. Both for sites that are standalone and those hosted by providers like Google. And, with this growth, I see an increase in popularity.

Users will not just read through stuff put up in blogs, but will get more involved.

From just another thing that techies did on the web, blogs are now mainstream. Again, Web 2.0, with the start of Blogger.com changed the blogosphere.

And, on a personal level, blogs has been the go for sometime now. We should note that the corporate level is also very active in the areas with CEOs of many of the larger companies (Fortune 500) having their own blogs.

In Australia, blogging in the corporate world is still in its relative infancy. I see this slowly changing and blogging becoming more popular for the corporates--whether this is for personal blogging by executives or corporate blogging.

And, like a snowball rolling down a mountain, gathering more snow with it, as it rolls, blogging will only get bigger.

And, yes, this could well take over from standard websites.

When, I would say in a matter of one to two years.

There will still be websites and they will still perform the tasks they set out to do. But, blogs will proliferate and possibly take over in popularity.

It's going to be very interesting to watch just how this unfolds.

Until my next posting.