The Best Damn Marketing Tool ..

To Blog or Not to Blog?  Are you still contemplating this question? Then read on ..

This post really started out as a re-post of the snippet we featured nearly a year ago.  In it,  Seth Godin and Tom Peters talk of the personal and business benefits of blogging;   the formulation and expression of thoughts enabling conversations.  If you missed it –  here it is again:

Why Blog?

If you are contemplating a blog for your business – the following post details some other benefits.

It is likely your customers are reading and participating in  blogs. For business, blogging is  a means of engaging your customers, sharing information and feedback, and most importantly, building relationships.

In his best selling book ,  The New Rules of Marketing & PR, marketing strategist, author and conference speaker, David Meerman Scott describes blogging as ‘his front door’ and ‘his most important marketing and PR tool’.

Debbie Weil, corporate blogging expert, and author of the bestselling The Corporate Blogging Book says blogging, as part of social media marketing:

‘…creates long-term value  for your customers that ultimately drives sales.’

Great Corporate Blogs

The following are just a few examples of engaging corporate blogs:

McDonalds (Open Discussion Blog)

Richard Edelman (Edelman PR)

Alan Meckler (Web Media Brands) (A summary of his microblogs)

Bob Parsons (Go Daddy) (A video blog)

How to Blog?

Blogging can be integrated into your business’s marketing communication strategy. Establish objectives, confirm your target audience then put together a blogging plan setting out potential topics, information to share and frequency of posts. The tone of your blog should reflect the personality of your company/brand.

To assist, Debbie  shares two excellent e-books which you can download here: 7 Blog Tips and  Beginner’s_Guide_To Business_Blogging

If you are looking for tips and information about any aspect of blogging Problogger provides an absolute wealth of information. Problogger is fellow Aussie Darren Rowse who has been blogging since 2001. His site is dedicated to helping other bloggers learn the skills of blogging, share their own experiences and promote the blogging medium and contains more than 3500 articles, tips, tutorials and case studies.

And if you need help in your writing (don’t we all!) Copyblogger provides a wealth of online copy and content resources.

If Shakespeare had blogged ..

So imagine if Shakespeare had blogged.  Think of  the writing – the sneak previews to poems, plays and sonnets. In spreading his ideas  -  am sure he’d agree with Tom Peters and believe blogging is:  ‘ the best damn marketing tool’ he’s ever had.  What do you think?

The Little BIG Things by Tom Peters, Linchpin by Seth Godin, The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott and  The Corporate Blogging Book by Debbie Weil are  available  here .

Related Posts:

The Beautiful Benefits of Business Blogging

What is Your Online Marketing Strategy?

The 1-2-3 of Managing Your Social Media – A Beginner’s Guide

In Memory of Netscape – The Transformation of Business Marketing

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