Are you missing out on the power of a blog?

A blog (which stands for web log) is a marketing tool that can further position your company as the expert in your industry. Your prospects and clients want information about your products and services. They are hungry for it! And a blog gives you the opportunity to share your expertise with people across the globe.

Once they are designed (contact Kinesis for more info about our blog design and Web 2.0 consulting services), blogs are easy for you to update. The typical blog entry is short and informal, making it easy for you to write - and easy for your customers to read.

Because blogs are filled with a bunch of little blurbs, your readers are more likely to visit on a regular basis to read your latest commentaries. Blogs also feature a search function, which your readers can use to easily find blog entries on a specific topic.

Readers can subscribe to your blog so that they get e-mail updates or an RSS feed. In this way, they get ongoing posts from your company, which keeps you well positioned on their radar. Blogs also feature a comments section so you can also get instantaneous feedback on concepts and questions that you post to your readership. This can be extremely useful in refining a new product or service for your target audience.

Another enormous benefit of a blog is its ability to attract new traffic to your website. Because the search engines consider each new post of a blog as a separate website page, these are all indexed under different key phrases. Therefore, be sure to incorporate keywords in your entries to help people find you. For example, an insurance company in San Francisco should incorporate the terms "San Francisco insurance" into their posts with a link back to their website. In this way people can easily get more information. Be sure to include your contact information on your blog so people can get in touch.

Like every form of marketing, a blog requires you to lead it in a strategic direction. Before you start your blog, make a decision about the blog's theme and "voice." Once you determine your goals, stick to the topic. You can weave your personality and stories into the blog, but always keep these relevant to your target audience.

A blog that is really a sales pitch or advertisement will NOT garner a wide audience. Make your blog a tool that provides helpful advice, tips, and musings to your readers. Better yet, create compelling posts that engage your readers. You can easily add pictures and videos to enhance your blog entries. Post at least a couple of times a week to keep your readers coming back.

KINESIS TIP: So, ready to start blogging? This week, sit down and decide on your blog strategy including who in your company will write it and how you will schedule regular blog updates. When you are ready, contact Kinesis to customize and set up your blog. Then...Blog away!!!