I've come to the realization that blogging is not a fad. It's often hyped by the mainstream media, but it is something that your business should consider.
Blogging is only done by a few of the nation's millions of small businesses, but it's a loud minority. SMBs are still getting their hands wrapped around producing a good newsletter and website; now they have to understand blogging.
Blogging is not something that should be done at the expense of a good website or newsletter. It should complement them. For example, a newsletter can point to a blog, and a blog can point to content in a newsletter.
Why blog? You might want to establish a blog to regularly post helpful information for your customers, the media or the general public – establishing yourself as an industry expert. A blog is a useful tool for any information that must be updated on a regular basis -- status reports, news, etc.
With this in mind, understand that blogging enables you to do three things easily:
- Quickly post fresh content to your website. With no hardware or software to install (or other complications), you can start blogging in about five minutes or less. No domain name to register, no website to build. It's all done automatically for you. Blogger.com,
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- TypePad, Yahoo's 360 (now in Beta), MSN Spaces and other tools are free or low cost and enable blogging. MovableType is a feature rich, business-class blogging service that must be installed on your Web server. Pricing begins at $70.
- Have a built-in search engine optimization tool. Syndicate your content to others via Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds. Most blogs allow others to display your content on other websites, using a technology specification RSS.
- Utilize search engine optimization. Search engines analyze content on a website, links to a website and links from a website to determine where to place your content in search results. Creating your blog with rich content about a particular topic, linking to other websites (a key characteristic of a blog) and having other websites link to you will enhance how search engines view your website.
IT concerns
Yet another hassle, you say? With blogging, one of the only IT concerns is that if your blog becomes very, very famous, it could be a drain on your internet connection if you are hosting your own blog. If your blog becomes very famous, this "headache" is like having too many customers. It's a good thing!
Like any public writing, you must be careful to not post inappropriate information such as intellectual property or financial information that should not be in the public domain on your blog. When you write for your blog, think twice and make sure that what you post, your boss (or maybe you are the boss), your customers, partners, etc. would not object.
Not so frivolous
You might think to yourself, "isn't blogging just for those who want a personal diary of their fishing trip?" Sure, blogging has been associated with more personal interests, but blogging is a business tool and can be a boost for your business. It's more than just writing about a celebrity or politics.
As an IT pro, you have an important role to play in helping your company successfully blog. Helping newbie bloggers set up their own blogs and guiding them on how to make it successful is vital. Setting up blogs is initially easy, but you can help ensure that the corporate look and feel is used (some HTML coding might be needed), RSS feeds are working and setting up other blogging features such as comments.
Should an SMB IT department blog? Maybe. You could establish an internal blog, keeping users informed of the latest technology information that directly affects your business or post tech support solutions.
When you finally do decide to allow blogging, be sure to have bloggers write in a personal but professional tone, and be honest with the reader. Make your blog a home and oasis of information, not a sales billboard.
Ramon Ray is a technology analyst and the editor of Smallbiztechnology.com. He is the author of the book Technology Solutions for Growing Businesses.
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