Why Blog?
Blogs are now officially more widespread than Starbucks, and, just like the ubiquitous high street homogeniser of the same name, their offerings come in all shapes and sizes, designed to sate humanity’s seemingly unquenchable desire to provide and ingest knowledge, gossip and general nonsense. Technorati currently monitors over 91 million of them and estimates that 17,500 are started every day, with enthusiastic “bloggers” creating almost 658m articles (or ‘posts’) per year, or one post every 17 seconds. Such phenomenal output suggests that there is some benefit to owning a blog, and in this article we show you how to turn an informal communication tool used by millions into a powerful channel which enables you to interact with your clients in new and engaging ways.
Old dogs, new tricks
Many of the most prominent global brands have realised that a blog can provide a useful insight into work in progress for casual visitors, and a glimpse of things to come for information-hungry surfers looking for clues about the latest development. Company blogs, typically found as sub-sections of larger sites, open up a new type of dialogue between you and your customers, and, because the content is relatively unstructured compared to the more austere forms of traditional B2B/B2C communication, information can be presented in new and appealing ways.
General promotion
We recommend that a blog should be a useful addition to your site, rather than the focus of it. This is an opportunity to reveal the human side of your operation and to forge a bond with your clients, albeit in a different manner from that to which you may be accustomed. Using a blog to talk about your products in a new, less overly commercial manner can also appeal to visitors who have grown immune to the relentless ‘pitch and sell’ of modern marketing.
Newsletter
Blogs can be transcribed to an easy to read newsletter format, which your visitors can choose to opt into with no future obligation. We suggest sending out a newsletter perhaps once every two to three months which will ensure your content is varied, up to date, and contains articles and content which is fresh, and hopefully therefore of interest to your subscribers. Newsletters continue the relationship with your customers that started when they first bought from you, and will maintain an important line of communication even if the recipient isn’t currently a regular client.
Development
New Product Development is always received well by clients, and letting your visitors see how your product offering is changing or evolving is a good way to build a rapport without giving away too much information to your competitors! Information like this which may not normally be a feature of your sales portfolio can be a diverting interlude for visitors, and will encourage long term interest rather than the brief and isolated interaction of one-off sales.
In the pipeline
Similar to new product development announcements, blogs can be used to trail events, products or services that you may wish to introduce in future. The interactivity of the blog format means that you can canvas your visitors for their opinions, giving customers a sense that their feedback is genuinely sought and valued, and giving them further reason to invest emotionally in your organisation.
Conclusion
The blog format is changing the way individuals and companies are interacting, and can be an exciting way for companies to sell to clients without encountering the restraints associated with more static forms of selling. With the right tone and structure, a blog can be a new and subtle weapon to sell to your clients, and as we move towards an increasingly competitive and interactive business future, the importance of building lasting relationships with your clients can only increase. Blogs are a cost effective and engaging way to start.
