7. Blogs are Enjoyable. There are many sound business reasons to blog, but let’s not forget how much of a pleasure they are for both author and audience. Seriously, the fun factor should not be underestimated. Most blogs are quick and easy to absorb, and a refreshing change of pace from typical marketing riffs and age-old corporate-speak. Bloggers aren’t just writers, they’re also publishers, opinion-leaders, risk-takers and entrepreneurs. They’re people who are inclined to live by the mantra, carpe diem. They’re passionate about their craft and evangelical about their content. And in many cases, their readers are just as fanatical.
8. Blogs are Authoritative. We’re not talking about those cathartic, diary-like blogs kept by moody, meandering teenagers. We’re talking about the most sophisticated among the blogosphere, the ones owned and operated by today’s savviest business people. Written by the heaviest hitters in their fields, these blogs go a long way toward formalizing their authors’ knowledge, insight and overall sphere of influence. Ideally, your blog will provide readers with plenty of fresh, premium content they can’t find anywhere else. But you had better think twice before posting. If you haven’t done your homework, your readers won’t hesitate to call you out. On the other hand, if your commentaries are consistently on the mark, your blog may soon become a frequently visited destination and raise your industry profile to unprecedented, new heights.
9. Blogs are Valuable. A blog is tailor-made for storing and managing your intellectual capital. It’s a centralized repository for experience and expertise, an incredibly easy way to disseminate key, timely information to an audience of readers who are already interested in what you have to offer. The cost to set up and maintain a blog is practically nil. And the dividends – for those on either side of the equation – can be priceless. As Jeremy Wright, author of the business and technology blog, Ensight, says: “Anything which can get the right info to the right people at the right time, empower your company to become a thought leader and let you know what your customers and the industry are thinking about you in real time is something that has massive value.”
10. Blogs are Popular. As recently as five years ago, there really weren’t that many blogs in existence, but today the blogosphere is growing so rapidly that it’s only a matter of time before this revolutionary, new medium reaches the tipping point. If you use press releases, newsletters and bylined articles to promote your products and people, blogs are the next better thing – now. In 2004, the word, blog, topped Merriam-Webster’s list of the ten most looked-up words. And blogs received wide acclaim in The New York Times Magazine’s recent Year in Ideas issue. Blogs are here, there and everywhere to stay.
Note: Written by Yellowfin Direct Marketing’s Bob Cargill, this is part three of a three-part series on the many reasons why advertising, marketing and public relations professionals should blog. Parts one and two appeared on December 7, 2004, and December 14, 2004, respectively, in A Fine Kettle of Fish.
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