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Is Blogging the Next Great Thing?

by Keith Thirgood

From what you read in the business press, you’d be forgiven if you believe that without a blog, your business is doomed. Blogs, vlogs, podcasts and other mysterious escapees from the geeky side of the Internet are all the rage. Stephen Baker and Heather Green wrote in Business Week, “Blogs are a phenomenon that you cannot ignore, postpone, or delegate. Given the changes barreling down upon us, blogs are not a business elective. They’re a prerequisite.”

Let’s step away from the hype and self-serving prognostications of columnists with an axe to grind. The fundamental question is, as a small business, should you care?

The short answer is, it depends.

Let’s start with some basics. Blog is short for weblog, which is, at its heart, a web page, frequently updated, usually with personal comments and links. Blog entries are usually short and pointed, often with a link to a longer entry. The author’s bias is rarely hidden.

Blogs began as personal pages where individuals would rant on their pet peeves or preach about their personal beliefs. It wasn’t long before some forward-thinking marketers saw the potential in using business blogs to reach customers in a new way.

Large companies were among the first to jump on the blog bandwagon. Starting in technology companies, where individual employees created blogs where they began dialogues with customers. These early corporate bloggers disseminated the latest technical and business information, collected customer insights and tested ideas.

Soon the executive class took notice and realized that blogs were a way to “humanize” large, cold corporations. From this insight, the executive blog was born. This is where senior executives of corporations gets down and dirty with their customers.

The corollary of the enthusiast blog is the blog that slags the company. Former employees spreading lies, present employees giving away secrets. All things to make the executives of mid and large companies lose sleep. From this new reality, came an entire industry of blogging consultants, who will help you monitor and counteract what is being said about your company in the blogging world.

Tremendous power is yours if you can track what’s being said about your industry in millions of blog conversations daily. Think of it this way, in the web, you see what the world has learned; in the blog universe, you see how the world is thinking.

But what about small businesses? Where do you and I fit in the world of blogging? Should you start a blog?

Here, I think you must tread carefully. A blog may be cheap to produce and disseminate, however, it’s a major commitment of time. To be effective, a blog must be updated every day. Audiences expect constant change and renewal or they won’t come back. A blog’s not the answer for someone looking for a low-cost, low-involvement marketing tool.

Ask yourself, “Do I have what it takes to read my subscribers’ comments and write new copy every working day?” “Does my business lend itself to ongoing dialogue?” “Is my industry undergoing constant change and upheaval, where I could become a trusted provider of distilled insight?” “Do I have a reason to communicate nonproprietary information every day to my audience?” “Do I have an audience that would care if I do any of these things?” If yes, then a blog might be a tool for you.

If you’ve lasted this long, you deserve to find out a bit about creating a blog. It’s dead easy. Go to www.blogger.com and you can set up a blog on their free blog service. It’s as simple as that. They will guide you through the process and even have templates you can use to decorate your blog. Your content? That’s for you to decide. Just make sure you don’t bore your audience.

If you’re in an industry where blogging can be of value, you can be sure that your competitors are already thinking about their own blog. Waste no time and get to it. If you’re amongst the majority where blogging would be a hobby, not a business necessity, ask yourself if you need another hobby before you proceed to blog.

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