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 Unless you've been under a
rock for the last year, you've heard the term "blog"
once or twice.
To most people, a "blog" simply represents
a glorified online "diary" where geeks,
computer nerds, and lonely teenagers record their
thoughts in cyber-space.
However, many people don't realize that "blogs"
are quietly revolutionizing the way companies and
customers interact about everything from existing
products to new ideas and improvements in customer
service.
In short, "blog" style communication has
come of age and anyone with an online business
better sit up and take notice fast!
In the beginning, "blogs" were basically
an online diary to record your thoughts; but "blogs"
have now evolved into dynamic websites that
non-technical people can update immediately without
html editors or ftp programs.
Blogs allow their authors to make instant website
updates through a computer anywhere in the world
with a Web browser and Internet connection.
Blogs also allow readers to respond to the author's
posts, provide additional information, links,
expanded opinions, and more.
In short, an active "blog" creates an
interactive community with the author as the hub and
the readers as the spokes of the wheel that keep the
whole cycle turning round.
Unlike traditional "static" web pages
where content rarely (if ever) changes, an active
blog evolves in a state of constant and never-ending
renewal.
With blogs, smart online businesses re-discovered a
principal that small "mom and pop" stores
understood for years: know your customers and stay
in close tune with their wants, needs, and desires.
Large companies throw billions of dollars down a
black hole every year to literally "guess"
what people want to buy. Most call it the
"Marketing Department."
On the flipside, smart online businesses understand
that blogs allow you to avoid guessing what's on
your customers' minds and provide an active and
up-to-the-minute means for them to tell you exactly
what they do and don't like about your services,
products, and virtually any other aspect of the
market.
This lightning fast communication makes it possible
for small companies to literally snatch huge market
share away from more traditional companies.
Blogging also has a distinct advantage over
traditional email newsletters in that subscribers
can get updates without having to receive an email
message. Through the power of RSS (real simple
syndication), subscribers get notified of updated
content though an rss news reader.
Bottom Line: publishing a blog with an RSS feed that
your readers can subscribe to means your content
NEVER gets blocked by a SPAM filter.
Blog software basically comes in 2 flavors: hosted
and stand-alone. Hosted blogging solutions make it
extremely easy to get set up with a blog, often in
just a couple of minutes.
If you know how to type, you can create a blog. Log
on to Blogger.com
and you can set up a blog free of charge and start
posting in just a few minutes.
Blogger.com
(owned by search giant, Google) will even host your
blog on their servers.
Typepad.com,
which charges as little as $4.95 per month, is also
an excellent hosted service offering additional
features that enable you to quickly get your own
blog up and running.
The alternative is stand-alone blogging software
installed on your own website.
A very popular solution is Moveable Type, available
from moveabletype.org,
which provides a very versatile and powerful suite
of tools for creating a full-featured blog to rival
that of any size company in the world. Which ever
blogging solution you choose, if you plan to
successfully conduct any form of business online,
understand that a "blog" must form an
integral part of your overall plan for customer
communication and interaction.
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