Blogging an Internet Marketing Strategy
Benefits of a Blog
A blog gives customers a chance to connect with companies in that they are able to make comments, as well as rate and/or review the companies’ products or services. Customers are able to do this in the comment section of blogs. Blogs are an inbound method of marketing versus the traditional marketing of television, radio, newspapers, magazines, etc. Customers are not able to connect with companies through these traditional channels. Blogging gives customers the ability to interact with the company. Conversing with potential customers builds trust over time; therefore, when the marketer does talk to them about their product and service offerings, the customers will be ready for the offering (“Get Found in the Blogosphereâ€Â).
The Architect of a Company’s Blog
Quality blogs should have a comment section; so, that customers can connect with the companies through their comments, as well as the company connecting with the potential customers by responding to their comments. Blogs should also have a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed. RSS feeds allow the readers of the blogs to subscribe to the blogs. What the subscription does is it will let the readers know when the author of the blog has published a new post without the reader having to visit the blog to check for new blog posts. Blogs should also have social media sharing icons, so, the readers can share the posts on their favorite social networking sites with their followers and friends which, in turn, will drive traffic to the marketer’s website.
Blogging for Marketing
Blogging for marketing has influenced marketing strategies in numerous ways. A marketer’s blog can change their website from being an online brochure to a hub for their marketplace (“Get Found in the Blogosphereâ€Â). It can dramatically improve search engine rankings because of the inbound links.
As mentioned earlier, if a blog has the social media icons located on it, site visitors are able to share the blog posts to various social media networks generating more exposure leading to more traffic. In addition, users on social bookmarking sites, for example, Digg, Delicious, and StumbleUpon, can vote for and share the posts with their followers.
Guest Blogger
Another blogging for marketing strategy is to invite guest bloggers to write a guest post for the marketer’s blog. The guest blogger adds the link to their article, which is on the marketer’s site, on their website and, in turn, the guest’s blog readers will follow the link back to the marketer’s blog generating even more traffic.
Overall, blogging is a form of inbound marketing. If implemented correctly, the marketer does not have to blast the potential customers with their marketing messages. The customers will find the marketer through using specific keywords as search terms or perhaps through social media networks. If the content is remarkable, the potential customers will subscribe to the blog using RSS feeds in order to be informed when a new blog post is published.
Works Cited
Brian Halligan, Dharmesh Shah. “Get Found in the Blogosphere.” Inbound Marketing – Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2010. Web. 20 September 2014.
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About The Author
Rita Cartwright
After graduating with a degree in marketing, Rita knew she wanted a career in the marketing industry. However, she took a detour and worked for Sears as a retail manager. When that didn't work out, Rita decided to launch her own business offering word processing services. These services eventually morphed into digital marketing services. Her desire to be a provider of professional digital marketing services led her to earn an Internet Marketing certificate from Art Institute, which reinforces her marketing degree from Arizona State University. Twenty two years later by the grace of Father God, Rita is still in business assisting her clients with their digital marketing. She also shares ideas and advises them on digital marketing, social media marketing and business operations.
