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Blogging for Business. Monster Technologies Lunch & Learn Program By Ted Demopoulos, co-author of Blogging for Business, www.demop.com. I finally got his attention. “Your customers are talking about you and you’re NOT listening?” . What are your customers saying?.
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Blogging for Business Monster Technologies Lunch & Learn Program By Ted Demopoulos, co-author of Blogging for Business, www.demop.com
I finally got his attention • “Your customers are talking about you and you’re NOT listening?”
So, what’s a blog anyway? • A blog is a simple Web site: • written in a personal style • frequently updated • most recently added information shown first • allows for feedback and interaction (comments)
What’s the Big Deal? • Transform the Web from read-mainly to read/write • Anyone can publish content - as easily as sending email
Benefits to Businesses • Communicating with your customers, potential customers, partners, competitors, and more • Getting feedback quickly and inexpensively • Adding personality to fairly impersonal “Company” images
Benefits to Businesses • Establishing yourself as an expert • Driving traffic to your Web site (search engines love blogs) • Attracting a regular following of readers as blogs are dynamic and interactive • Building familiarity
A tale of two blogging job seekers • #1 Bob Cargill • I’ve known him for about a year. • I KNOW he’s great and passionate about marketing because he blogs about it. He also has no problem finding both freelance and fulltime work. • We networked through blogging and have worked together professionally since.
A tale of two blogging job seekers • #2 Anonymous (another marketing guy) • I’ve known him for thirty years, but don’t know if he’s any good or not. • He obviously enjoys blogging, especially the networking aspects, but they are all done in a non-professional environment. • (still unemployed . . .)
Characteristics of Successful Blogs • A somewhat experienced blogger: Read a few blogs first, before you start! • Planning: "Driving to work naked is like starting a Biz Blog with zero planning. Both might start out ok . . ." • Consistency: e.g., don’t blog on nuclear power for two months and then switch to clean water for the next month • Conversational: Not formal business writing
Characteristics of Successful Blogs (2) • Honesty: Builds trust – plus, it's easy to be honest • Personal: Photo and an "about me" link are great ideas • Patience: Unless you're already famous, don't expect massive and instant traffic!
Should every company have a blog? • Of course not! • Blogs are simply tools, and are appropriate in many circumstances • Some corporate cultures may not be “blog friendly,” e.g. top-down authoritative regimes • Some corporate cultures may not want (or perhaps trust) their employees to talk directly to customers
The ROI of Blogging • Demonstrable ROI in some areas, e.g. SEO, customer feedback • Every business decision involves risk, including to blog or not blog • “If everyone sat around and waited for demonstrable ROI, Amazon wouldn't be selling books on the Internet, Google wouldn't have a search engine, and Henry Ford wouldn't have tried to compete with horses. Where was the provable ROI there?" - Jim Curtin, President and CEO Win4Lin
The Future • Podcasts and Videoblogs – the next big thing? • Business blogging becomes far more accepted. • Blogs become more Website-like, Websites become more blog-like. • The term “blog” disappears?
Thank You • Ted Demopoulos, www.demop.com • www.BloggingForBusinessBook.com • Blog more profitably and effectively. Subscribe to the free BizBlog+ Newsletter for in-depth coverage of Business Blogging and more Web 2.0 topics. Click here or send an email to bizblogplus@demop.com Thank you!