During the last two weeks I have been bombarded with advice and tips on how to blog for business. Last weekend I took part in a debate about using only Facebook as your buiness online presence. This blog entry will explain the link between the two.
Blogging started a several years ago with people deciding to publish their thoughts online so that more people could read about them and their lives. Some 'bloggers', as they became known, were successful enough to start earning a living from this activity and other people would employ the blogger to write and publish stuff rather than do it themselves. Blogs have featured in search results for a number of years and are often a very good source of reliable information on just about any subject.
Facebook has grown over the past 5 or 6 years into the biggest social network on the planet. If Facebook were a country it would be the second largest country in the world. Businesses have started to use Facebook to connect with their customers and prospects. Some companies are good at this and others try but often end up looking foolish.
Last weekend a business owner asked what the down sides are to using Facebook as your only business presence on the Internet. One of the main downsides is that your business will lack credibility. If you are using only Facebook then your prospects will have nowhere to go to check you out, read about your products or services or check reviews. There will be no substance to your presence.
Adding a blog to the mix begins to add some form of substance to your business online. You will be telling visitors all about your products and services, where they can buy them, how they will be delivered and by whom. In fact, you will quickly build a full blown website just from your blog entries. What is more, people will be able to comment on your blogs, rate your products and services and let other people know all about you.
What is more important to you as a business owner is that you can see what people are saying about your business and you can respond to that. If people are saying negative things you can address the issues directly without waiting for your product or, even worse your business, to fail through lack of sales.
Facebook alone will not help your business but using Facebook as one channel through which to attract customers is vital if you want to stay ahead. Blogging helps you to add credibility and substance to your business and you can feed that through to your Facebook business fan page.
If you want to know more about blogging for your business then call (+352 621 173 272), email me (ptaylor[@]wsimarleting.com) or leave a comment on this blog.