Monday, November 12, 2007

26 (Plus) Reasons To Blog


I Googled the phrase "reasons to blog" over the weekend and took the first ten Web pages of results, weeded out sites that didn't return the specified information, and organized what I found into the following list of why the experts believe businesses and organizations should blog.

I had to perform some editing, as a couple of sites offered lists of over 100 reasons, and I wanted to get this done before 2008. I also separated out the first two reasons you'll see below because I think they're among the most intelligent and accurate I've found. And at the end of the entire list I've included links to the Web sites I used from the Google search.

The number after the reasons in bold refers to a rough count of how many times that reason appeared in the search. The phrases under each are from the posts and explain the headline in a bit more detail. So, here are 26+ Reasons A Business Or Organization Should Blog, as identified by the blogging community:

TOP TWO (from Smart Money Daily):
1. You have a thorough understanding of business and you recognize the business models that are in play with blogs and you know you can make money in this area.
2. You love blogging and/or you love a narrow topic enough to do it even if you never had a single person visit your website and you never made a penny from it.

26 MORE REASONS:

1. BLOGGING GIVES YOU NEW, DIRECT, POWERFUL CUSTOMER AND PROSPECT CONNECTIONS AND CONTACTS - 18
(speak directly and candidly; create a new marketing channel; communicate with my audience quickly and efficiently; audience decides what they want and when they want it; fan the flames of customer evangelism; facilitate the spread of buzz; great marketing device; help engage customers in conversation; build personal, long-lasting relationships; because professionalism is more than consumption, it is contribution; offer a "Buy In" that increases customer satisfaction)

2. GOOD TOOL FOR NETWORKING - 15
(I've built professional connections world-wide that would not otherwise exist; comment on ideas I see elsewhere; puts you in touch with Industry Leaders; interactive; allow you to have more simultaneous conversations - more than you could ever do in person; you’ll hook up all over the place; blog to leverage opinion leaders' influence.)

3. HUMANIZES YOUR BUSINESS OR ORGANIZATION - 14
(put a human face on the company; success depends on the ability of its author to come across as honest, credible and down-to-earth; a business can show themselves as a group of "real people" who have a certain knowledge and expertise to share; fosters trust, over time that can mean contacts from prospects and customers.)

4. IMPROVES SEARCH ENGINE RANKINGS - 10
(search engine spiders love blogs for the simple reason that they constantly seek new content; search engines index your ongoing knowledge-sharing, making it easier for customers and prospects to find you; Google will love you; BLOG stands for Better Listings On Google.)

5. HELPS YOU BECOME THE INDUSTRY EXPERT -10
(they help position you as a knowledgeable expert in your industry.)

6. ENABLES FREE MARKET RESEARCH - 9
(comments from readers are akin to free market research; generate discussion about new concepts, ideas, opportunities, news, and competition; To share my expertise and passion in Knowledge Management with those interested both inside and outside of IBM; great way to get feedback on what my division does.)

7. GIVES YOU OPPORTUNITIES TO SHARE KNOWLEDGE - 6
(it’s a swap meet for the mind; readers can leave comments and respond to each other.)

8. ALLOWS YOU TO PUBLISH INSTANTANEOUSLY - 6
bogs give you the power to publish at an instant; if timeliness is a critical element of your publishing plan, it’s an irresistible platform; function as an instant-feedback mechanism; provide an additional channel to put your brand in front of the customer and keep shaping its unique identity in real-time.)

9. BLOGS ARE EAST TO SETUP UP -5
(easy to start; build a new website without training; most blog service providers offer good-looking templates to use if your existing website design is embarrassing or non-existent; blogs require no technical skills; if you can send an email or use Word, you can blog.)

10. IMPROVES INTERNAL COLLABORATION - 5
(exchanging comments on posts has led into discussions with IBM executives, customers and industry analysts; it will keep your employees informed of company news; connect with Co-Workers/Employees.)

11. IMPROVES YOUR WRITING SKILLS - 5
(blogging improves your writing skills; codify your thoughts; blogging hasn't made me indifferent to revision or accuracy; it just makes the process of generating words less susceptible to the inner critic.)

12. IMPROVES YOUR MEDIA RELATIONS - 5
(the media relies on blogs for source material - as a result, journalists call you, not your competition; traditional journalists read blogs; bloggers read traditional journalists; journalists get good ideas from bloggers; blog items respond to a rapidly changing media landscape.)

13. PROVIDES A CREATIVE OUTLET TO EXPRESS YOURSELF - 4
(express yourself; an outlet for your creative writing; it has helped me find myself again as a reader and writer.)

14. BECAUSE IT’S FUN - 4
(the real thrill is composition.)

15. ALLOWS YOU TO CREATE ANSWERS TO MANY COMMONLY-ASKED QUESTIONS ALL AT ONCE– 3
(answer common email questions so everyone can see them.)

16. ENHANCES JOB RECRUITMENT - 3
(recruit employees by posting your want ads.)

17. BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE IS BLOGGING - 3

18. EXTENDS YOUR REACH – 3

19. BUILDS/STRENGTHENS YOUR BRAND - 3

20. HELPS YOU MANAGE YOUR CONTENT - 3

21. HELPS STAY ON TOP OF INDUSTRY NEWS - 2

22. POSITIONS YOUR AS DIFFERENT/UNIQUE TO PENETRATE UNDERSERVED NICHE MARKETS- 2

23. INEXPENSIVE TO SET UP AND RUN - 3

24. GIVES YOU POWER AND WINS YOU AWARDS - 2

25. MAKES YOU MONEY - 2

26. AND A SLEW OF OTHER UNIQUE REASONS - 15
Blogging can grow your business.

Blogs are Infectious. a blog gives you the power of a syndicated columnist.

Prepare for a Book.

Adding video and audio to a blog also significantly enrich the learning experience, allowing for various learning styles.

Blogging gives you knowledge.

In a blog, I can be as opinionated as I want.

Blogs enhance reputation management.

Blogs are great crisis handlers.

Harness the power of publishing.

Blog to gain on the Big Dogs.

Because your job depends on it.

Blogs help you show the world that you have nothing to hide.

Blog because Fortune Magazine says there is no escaping the blog.

Drive traffic to your web site.

Pull instead of push.

Thanks to the following sites for the original lists!
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