This is the first post in a four-part series on “Blogging for Business: Everybody Benefits.” Today’s blog post covers “Part 1: Why Blog?”

If you haven’t started a blog for your business yet, you should definitely consider it. The popularity of blogs is soaring throughout the Internet, and for good reason.

• Blogs allow you to communicate with your target audience in a more “personable” and friendly way. Sure, your website may be of a corporate nature, but the person behind the business is often a determining factor for those looking to put a face on that company. Rohit Bhargava of Ogilvy PR has put this very eloquently in his guest blog post on Strumpette.com about Corporate Personality:

With the rising influence of blogs and personal media, all of a sudden previously “faceless corporations” are finding an outlet to build trust and show customers what they really stand for…Many internet startups would not even consider launching without having a company blog. The power of the individual voice within enterprises is finding its place.

• Blogs allow you to understand what your audience wants. A blog is generally created to encourage community interaction. When you allow comments, you can get feedback about your product offerings or services. You can encourage healthy communication with this method — and even learn what may be missing by allowing responses to your comments. (Don’t worry — you have the ability moderate posts, thus allowing only appropriate and on-topic comments to be published.) You can respond to feedback, showing your customers (and prospective customers who may not have had the courage to post) that you are genuine.
• By using a blogging system, you’re opening yourself to networking, which in turn drives traffic. Consider this free advertising, as long as you’re genuine about what you’re writing about.
• Blogs are easy to set up. Many of them are easier to set up than a website. Most blog services are free. Others cost a nominal fee. The only cost in blog development from a service provider point of view is usually for design and upgrades.

As long as you keep your blog updated regularly, you are likely to get a great following from your blog — and you can reach out to an audience you may never have known about.

More on blogging for business will be featured in Part 2: How Do I Start?

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