Rare Bird, Inc. | Articles : Building Business with Blogs

	Web Reviews From 1997 to the present, President/Creative Director, Jim Cota has been writing informative reviews of Web sites and other internet related issues for the Indianapolis Business Journal. If you've missed the articles in print you can catch up on past stories here. Articles are reprinted with permission of the Indianapolis Business Journal, copyright 1997 - 2005, IBJ Corp.

Building Business with Blogs

Weblogs (or "blogs" as they are most often called) are ubiquitous. Everywhere, everything, and nothing. Blogs are best described as online journals written by anyone, in an informal style, about anything they choose. Some have a narrow focus, some (like mine) have no focus at all. Some are funny, some sad, some tragic. In their most basic sense, blogs empower amateur "journalists" everywhere to use the largest forum imaginable (the internet) to inform, enlighten, and entertain. Though they've been around for some time, recent changes in their use are demanding the attention of businesses (and politicians) everywhere.

First, politics. The fact that you even know Howard Dean's name can be attributed in some degree to his campaign team's skillful use of the internet and his blog. Using the blog as a forum to address the issues, his supporters quickly began expanding its use and popularity by contributing their opinions. And before anyone could say, "Who is Howard Dean?", his team parlayed their online success into a sizeable warchest to help fund his campaign. Over the next few elections, as the airwaves continue to fill with clutter and voters are continuously bombarded by advertising messages of all types, blogs will take on a larger role for educating and informing the masses. Look for the internet and blogs to become an intrinsic part of every campaign from now until… well, from now until the next "big thing".

Now, business. Because blogs are usually informal and regularly updated, their voice can, at times, become more persuasive than other marketing communications. Almost every company on the planet has a writer on staff capable of running a company blog. To use one effectively for your company, find that writer and ensure they are intimately familiar with your corporate vision, your products and services, your policies, and your goals. Policies, in this case, should be carefully considered. We live in a litigous society, and you need to be sure that your "official" corporate blog doesn't wander outside the boundaries of acceptable practices. There's a reason that many large organizations forbid employees from talking to the media without a PR person present. So when choosing someone for this task, choose wisely. Finally, let them do their thing.

Let them discuss industry issues, product issues, and (if appropriate) world issues. Over time, if their writing is good and people find them relative, they'll strike a chord and build an audience. The audience will appreciate their views, add their own, and build online discussions on a variety of topics. In the end, their task is to offer the readers a unique perspective, personal and corporate commentary, links to useful resources, and frequent updates.

I can think of several or our clients who could easily translate what they do into an interesting, vibrant blog their customers would appreciate and enjoy. And I'd bet, if you gave it some thought, you could think of a way to put it to use for the benefit of your customers, too.

Where to begin? Blogger is a free weblog tool from Google. It's simple to use and has the added benefit of a close relationship with the Google search engine, providing increased incentive to get started.