Blog. It’s an Internet buzzword/phenomenon. Google the word “blog” and you’ll get over two billion results returned. Everyone’s talking about them, and it seems everyone’s got one. But what good are they to your small business or organization? You might be surprised to know they can be a great addition to your Internet marketing campaign.

First of all, what is a “blog”? Wikipedia defines a blog (also sometimes called a “Weblog”) as “a Web site where entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order.” Entries can be anything: from events listings, to commentary/opinion, to news or personal journal logs. You’ve probably seen many blogs if you’ve ever searched for information on the Web.

Blogs are a great way for businesses and organizations to connect with and keep their customers/supporters up-to-date on events and news, build traffic to your main site, and share your expertise.

But what if you don’t even have a Web site yet? A blog can be an easy way to “break into” Internet marketing and get your name out there on the Web. Let’s take a look at some advantages to having a blog.

LOW COST

Blogs can be maintained at very low cost. Updating most aspects of a blog is like working in a word-processing program. Since they don’t need to be updated by a Web professional on a regular basis, blogs can cost considerably less to maintain vs. a static website. You can input your own events and update pages at your convenience. This can be an advantage or a drawback, depending on your staffing, but if you know you have someone sitting around with a few minutes of extra time every month, why not have them write up a few blog posts?

SEO

Blogs are great for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Everyone wants to be on the front page of Google when someone searches for their name or type of business. Besides buying Google Adwords, one of the best ways to get your name up there is content, content, and content. The more quality, up-to-date content you create for Google to find, the more likely it is that your site will show up in searches towards the top of the list. With blogs, you can come up with a wealth of timely and relevant content over the course of several months, instead of trying to generate all of it up front.

ALTERNATIVE

Blogs can be used as an alternative to a large site. Most business blogs are used in addition to a main site, but in some cases a blog can be modified and customized to perform almost like a larger site. With a wealth of add-on options, you can now set up a blog that has normal static web pages, event calendars, e-commerce, contact forms and more. Also, a blog site may be a starting point to help discover what content and features are important to your target market.

So if a Web presence is in your future and you’re not afraid of being a little more hands-on, you might consider using a blog either as an entry point or as a valuable addition to your site.

Cas Johnson is a web development specialist at Absolute Marketing Group. Feel free to call 218-284-1111 or e-mail cas@absolutemg.com for more information about blogs.

Absolute scores 10 ADDYs

Left to Right: Luke Petterson, Aziz Usmanov, Brian Meckler, Mark Huesman, MacDalton Berns, Adam Weidman, Cas Johnson.

The Advertising Federation of Fargo-Moorhead presented Absolute Marketing Group with seven Gold ADDY Awards and three Silver ADDY Awards at the 51st Annual ADDY Awards on February 29 in Fargo. Read More on our Blog »

5 Things to Blog About

1. News and Events happening to/within your business/organization or industry niche. Is your business adding new employees? Participating in a local fundraising event? Did you win any awards lately?

2. Industry Insights you've just come across/learned. Maybe you've found a more effective way of serving your customers, or learned about a new technology that helps your employees be more productive? Either way, share!

3. Top News Stories, as they pertain to your business/organization. Did some recent medical breakthrough or major corporate merger relate to something you do? Don't just think nationally, but draw off of local and global news stories as well.

4. A Feature Story on someone/something interesting. Have a dedicated secretary that's been with the company for 20 years? Did you just attend an engaging seminar with a fabulous guest speaker? You can really get creative with an engaging story.

5. Your Biggest Fear or Biggest Elephant in the Room. Controversy is always engaging, and talking about your vulnerabilities can humanize your writing. Write about how your company just offered employees incentives to join that weight-loss challenge or how you rescued a project that seemed hopelessly lost. The more you can poke fun at yourself and endear your reader, the more they'll want to actually read what you have to say.

Upcoming Events

March 6 • 4:30pm West Fargo Area Chamber Business After Hours at West Fargo Speedway
March 8 • 8:00pm Bill Brasky's 6th Annual Mardi Gras Party at Fargo American Legion
March 9 • 4:30pm Spaghetti Benefit for Dorinda Anderson at Faith Lutheran in West Fargo
March 12 • 7:30pm FM Chamber Young Professionals Network Social at FM Jets hockey game
March 18 • 7:30pm Monthly Speaker Meeting - "How to Market to People Who are Not Like You: the New Market Segmentation” presented by Alejandra Puerto, McDonald Marketing at Holiday Inn of Fargo
March 28 • 4:00pm Absolute Marketing Group presents Rootin' Tootin' Chili Challenge 2008 at Absolute Marketing Group