After footing bills for advertising and company Web sites, Rhode Island businesses are using a new medium to catch consumers’ attention on the Internet: blogs.
Business owners are finding that the online diaries, which often welcome reader feedback, make good tools to address their target market while promoting their company.
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However, it’s anyone’s guess how many local businesses are posting their thoughts on blogs (an activity called blogging). But those who are blogging believe the online medium could serve as a low-cost and easy way to boost businesses’ profiles on the Internet.
For about five years, Anne Holland has been blogging on a weekly basis about her Warren-based company’s research on marketing and advertising. Since it has become an integral part of business marketing, Holland has recently blogged about blogging.
“It really gives (businesses) high visibility on the Internet,” said Holland, president of MarketingSherpa Inc., a publisher of marketing and advertising research.
As the Internet becomes more interwoven into the fabric of everyday life, businesses are eager to optimize their presence in cyberspace. Basically, businesses want their names to appear prominently on search engines like Google and Yahoo.
Blogging is a way for businesses to maximize their presence on the Web without paying for advertising with Internet companies. In fact, business owners can start their own blogs for free at sites such as Blogger.com (owned by Google) and WordPress.org.
It’s also easy. Creating a blog can be done within a few minutes, without requiring knowledge of computer codes or HTML language.
“Anyone who can operate a VCR can blog, so you might want your teenager to help you,” cracked Holland.
Business blogs are becoming more common among small businesses and Fortune 500 companies alike.
General Motors Corp. has what the U.S. auto manufacturer calls the “GM FastLane Blog.”
The company took feedback from consumers after a Sept. 22 interview with GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz was posted on the blog.
Stonyfield Farm, a national producer of yogurt, links its “Stonyfield Farm BLOG” to its Web site. Posting areas encourage consumers to write messages on topics such as diet, parenting and organic farming.
Locally, Hasbro Inc. executives can view customer feedback on the many blogs focused on toys. Here, consumers opine regularly about the Pawtucket-based toy maker’s popular lines such as G.I. Joe, Nerf and Star Wars action figures.
What started as a sounding board for technology buffs has evolved into a viable venue for businesses to reach their target audience, experts say.
“Blogging started out with people that are into technology and that spend a lot of time on the Internet, but it has started to bleed into the mainstream,” said Janet Prichard, assistant professor of computer information systems at Bryant University.
The word ‘blog’ is derived from the term ‘Web log.’ Blogs are like traditional Web sites but often enable readers to post commentary and feedback about its content, according to Wikipedia.com, an Internet encyclopedia.
According to Internet search engine Technorati.com, there are a total of 18.7 million blogs on the Web.
Blogging has taken place on the Internet since the mid-1990s. Known for their coverage of the last presidential election, news blogs gained national media attention for breaking stories ahead of major news carriers, according to Wikipedia.com.
Yet blogs, primarily updated by amateurs, often lack professional editing and are not beholden to the same content standards as, say, The New York Times.
This uncontrolled world of blogs, known as the blogosphere, has drawbacks for private businesses.
“From a public relations standpoint,” said Holland, “you want to keep track of what bloggers are saying about you. You want to track your reputation.”
Businesses can register at Pubsub.com to get real-time updates about every time their company name appears on the Internet.
Those bloggers are sometimes your employees, Holland said, adding that Microsoft and Google have fired employees who blogged about their work lives. To avoid this, employers should document rules that employee bloggers must follow.
Business owners should also follow some guidelines when blogging, experts say.
“You don’t just want to advertise,” said Prichard, of business blogging, “because people want to read something that is interesting. Usually what people will do is write something interesting about their profession or industry.”
Holland agreed. However, she noted that business owners want to include some important information in their blogs, such as their phone number, address, hours of operation and key words that consumers may enter into a search engine.
More than half the time, online shoppers use Web search engines to find local goods and services, Holland said. “Therefore, it’s very important to show up on those Internet search results for Rhode Island.”
