Note to Self: Business Blogs

At the Gilbane Conference on Content Management this past spring, there were a couple of speakers that discussed the benefits of blogs as a content management strategy; or, how blogs can be used in business. I have an archive of activities from the conference. One of the primary uses discussed was to share information and collaborate about projects, or customers. In the one instance, project members added content about customers as the project rolled out, allowing all members to keep current. It also allowed managers to watch the customer and project, as well as the project team and their activities and participation. It seemed like a good case for internal blogs.

A colleague of mine forwarded an article called Why Business Blogs are Important. It provides a more marketing approach to blogs, and isolates some additional reasons for a business (external) blog.

• You know your field of business best....write about it
• Reach more people (your customers and potential prospects may learn more about the company and its products or services).
• Let your employees compete with their blogs (sounds like this might be a disaster in the making, though)
• Learn while doing (getting staff to write blogs, and the reading of others' blogs will be a learning process as communication/collaboration within the organization increases).
• Coverage (press may begin to follow the company by locating and reading the blogs).
• Will the idea work? (run it up the flag pole and see who salutes).
• Customer Relationships (lets customers join in with comments).
• Get the best employees (a blog may locate other like-minded individuals that may then reach out to join the team).
• Host your blog on your main web site (it's more accessible, plus any links to it will increase your web sites Google rating).
• Google loves bloggers (it doesn't take too long before a blog is indexed, again driving more business to the blog/website).

Just a few reminders for the future.

Comments

[panasianbiz]

I am an avid blogger myself, so I admit I may be a tad biased in saying that I truly do believe business blogs serve a vital function! Perhaps it is the educator in me who loves to share my knowledge with my readers, just as I love to read other blogs as I feel I am constantly learning as well.