I’ve been in the web design and SEO business for a long time. So long, in fact, I know what fads look like and I know what trends look like. I also know how to differentiate the two.
Back when MySpace was around, all I could do is roll my eyes. I swear, I saw the downfall of that one, even as every last disk jockey had just finished up their latest theme. This was about the time Facebook really came on the scene and stole all their traffic. At that point, it looked as though pictures of individuals, pets and families had taken over. Surprisingly, Facebook has hung around a lot longer than I imagined. But much of that success is due to business.
Facebook now has a marketing area built into their service. While, what seems like, most of Facebook’s traffic comes from the casual user, most of their funding is either now, or will be coming from business. Look in the right side column ads for evidence of this. Rarely do you see an ad to drive traffic to a personal profile.
Anyway, my point is this – if there were no business interests in Facebook, Facebook would have a much more difficult time surviving. True, they hold much of the market share for profile information and demographics for much of the world, but if virtually every online and brick and mortar store didn’t have a Facebook page, things wouldn’t be so rosy. Those local businesses are paying a lot of money to advertise on Facebook.
Just some thoughts about online trends.
Just as “trendy” as Facebook, is the blog. Blogs have been around for a good long time – longer than Facebook, in fact. I remember writing on my personal blog back in 2005, long before the onslaught of happy couple pictures came onto the scene. I’ve blogged about houses, websites, travel adventures and I’ve blogged about blogging. It never gets old. And blogging is as vibrant as it’s ever been. Actually, blogging has become a career for many people.
So, what has kept blogs and bloggers around for such a long time? Well, there are a few things and these things mesh very well with the reasons you should get into blogging. And if you run a business – any type of business, you really need to listen up here because you definitely need to get into this.
I’m going to target a few entities with what I write below. I’m going to target business, the entrepreneur and the individual. The individual who needs a reputation.
3 Reasons You Need To Start Blogging
1. To build your online reputation. I’ve seen a few individuals turn what was once a hobby into a very lucrative career. Blogging has transformed these folk’s blogs into trusted online sources of information that huge amounts of people search for every day. It’s actually quite remarkable and I am not ashamed to say I’m a bit jealous. I’ve watched them organize throughout the years into what currently seams like seamless operations.
What did they do? They blogged about something they were experts at and formed a strong online reputation. In the process, they gained thousands and thousands of links to their domains from individuals who trust them. Without all the blogging, there would never have been any posts, any reputation and certainly any money. They formed their virtuous circle from the ground up and it continues to grow. It will as long as they stay at it and continue to get better.
So what’s the point? Start small and keep going, going, going.
2. To initiate and encourage communication with customers and clients. This is huge. How many times have you been involved with an organization that you needed to find timely information on? I would venture to guess quite a few. How many times have you found that information? I would venture to guess not so much. If you didn’t find what you were looking for, either the business or organization didn’t have a blog or if they did, they didn’t update it very often.
Blogs are tools and should be thought of as such. They are the means of getting your message across to those who rely on you. They are the means of building long lasting relationships with those who pay your bills. Blogs are the way any business can attract and keep those who really matter. But what really, really matters is that your blog is updated frequently. If you are wondering what the word “frequently” refers to, I’ll tell you that you aren’t updating it enough. When you think that you’re becoming annoying with the amount of posts you’re writing, they you’re on the right track.
So what’s the point? Blogs are the message boards between you and those who matter most.
3. To develop business. Many content management systems are created by developers who are smarter than you and me put together. They are also built with the input of communities that, when combined, are smarter than all of us. The entities that create these systems are akin to a giant brain. Think of the Borg from Star Trek. And in being so, they can add features and advanced controls that would cost us a fortune to add. That is, if we ever had the idea to add the feature in the first place. These features allow the blogs that are built on these systems to be very search engine and social media friendly. Both of which can help your bottom line. Any time you are popular in the search results or social arena, you’re in good shape. You just need to know what to do with that popularity. If you need help with this, just ask.
So what’s the point? Use the genius of others to help you attract the right audience.
I hope these suggestions gave you an insight into why you might want to get into the world of blogging. As always, if you have any questions, please leave them in the area below. Also, if you would like more great tips on blogging, be sure to check out the Web link above.
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