Blogs And Sales: A Natural Business Partnership? by Danny Wirken
As you can surmise, one of the principal reasons why businesses find blogs
effective as business tools is they help generate or increase sales. While
there is no quantitative amount with regards to the exact monetary significance
of blogging on sales, there are evidences of some sort of return on investment.
Increase in sales can be and often is one of the indirect effects of successful
blogging.
Blogs - Good for Business
Imagine sitting in front of your computer with millions of people
(shareholders, business partners, competitors, employees and the media)
conversing about business and the like. Now imagine if you can use all the
information you learned to establish what product or service your customers
want, why they want it, how they want it and how much they are willing to pay
for it. This is precisely what a blog is all about and much more. Definitely,
blogs are good for businesses.
A blog or a weblog is an interactive website that maintains an ongoing
chronicle of information. It is a regularly updated website featuring links to
other articles or other websites. Generally, a blog tends to have a main
content area with articles called posts or entries listed in reverse
chronological order with the latest on top. Typically, these articles are
organized in categories. There is also an archive of articles based on dates. A
blogroll, a list of links to other related sites is another feature of a blog.
A blog may contain one or more feeds. Most blogs publish feeds (RSS, RDF,
Atom). A feed is a machine-readable content that is updated periodically. A
feed reader displays the new post and a link to it. Most blogs also have a
feature that allows visitors to leave comments. With a blog, you publish fresh
content and your readers can add their own comments with links to their own
blogs. Easy to use blogging tools are available, often for free. A basic
blogging tool provides an interface where you can work in an easy and intuitive
manner while it takes care of the rest of the logistics involved in making your
blog presentable and available for the public.
Blogging, authoring or maintaining a blog, is one of the rapidly increasing
growth areas of the Internet. According to popular search engine Technorati,
there are roughly more than 40 million blogs on the Internet today and more
blogs are appearing at the rate of 75,000 a day. This is mainly due to the
numerous benefits of blogging for business.
A blog has a powerful marketing capability to grow your business, be it small
or big. You can now have a commanding presence on the Web, not one based on
size, capital, or Subscriptions but one based on quality of content, targeted
audience and useful products and services. With blogs as equalizers, the
blogosphere has become a truly exciting playing field for all businesses.
A blog is a constant source of valuable and up-to-date information. Setting up
a blog allows you to showcase your expertise and establish yourself as a
thought leader in your industry. A blog can be your vehicle for product or
service updates, company news and any other information you want to relay to
your targeted audience. A blog must contain relevant information, not just
sales pitches; otherwise readers are much less likely to return. As with any
part of a business marketing plan, a blog must contain information that appeals
to its targeted audience.
A blog is an effective method to communicate with clients and prospects. It
allows you to openly and regularly converse with them increasing credibility,
creating trust and forming relationships with them early on. A blog with its
conversational style is ideal for developing good customer relationships.
Readers will feel comfortable with you long before they call you to make a
purchase or avail of your service.
A blog is a great tool to get feedback from readers. Your readers can leave
comments or make inquiries. A blog is a great way to find out what readers are
thinking and in the process provides you with ideas or how to better serve them
thus improving your business. Forming business decisions based on reader
feedbacks can be one of the smartest business moves you can ever make.
Nevertheless, to be effective, a blog has to be updated frequently. Readers do
not visit blogs that do not feature fresh content regularly. Keeping readers in
the know with periodic posts about your business creates buzz and publicity.
There is work involved in creating a blog. It takes time and commitment to
write interesting and informative blog posts. But it may prove to be well-spent
especially if it helps generate sales.
Blogs and Sales - In Tandem
Sales require personal interaction. A blog is one such place where
communication thru conversations thrives and relationships are fostered. When
you give your readers significant information they can use through your blog
consistently, they will be satisfied. They will then return for more fresh
content on a regular basis. Overtime, you will be able to build a loyal
following. Readers will see you as an expert in your particular niche. Your
readers will come to trust you and a relationship is developed. Your readers
will perceive that it is less of a risk to buy from you or avail of your
service. If you can blog efficiently about your subject, they tend to believe
that your product or service will be worth it.
By blogging, you are sending the message that there is someone listening,
someone you can approach as can be gleamed from answered comments and fresh
updates. This will make your readers feel more secure and will take this into
consideration as they form a purchasing decision. Blogging is inherently an
ongoing conversation that in the long run builds trust and loyalty and breeds
familiarity. When they become satisfied customers, they will come to you for
more information and if given the choice will want to buy from you. This
strengthens the relationship between you and your customers and they may also
send other sales lead your way. The cycle goes on. Moreover, a blog is a
remarkably effective way to get high search engine ranking. In other words,
blogs can bring in more readers - more prospective buyers.
A much publicized example that highlights the natural relationship between
blogs and sales is the Stormhoek case. Blogging doubled South African wine
producer Stormhoeks's sales in less than twelve months. Aware of the vast
numbers of people who blog and read posts, Stormhoek decided to capitalize on
this by offering bloggers free bottles of the Stormhoek Shiraz 2004 and
Sauvignon Blanc 2005 to try and comment on. Sales went up from 50,000 cases to
100,000 cases. The wine became popular and earned it listings in prestigious
wine connoisseur clubs. What is more, Stormhoek gets feedbacks and suggestions
ranging from bottle color to label design.
Blogging is marketing to people in a less obtrusive and offensive manner, more
like a freewheeling conversation compared to an irritating sales pitch. It
truly is a good way to increase sales, albeit indirectly.
About the Author
http://www.theinternetone.net
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