Blog this!

Michael W. Thomas

 

A blog is a web page that consists of brief updated posts arranged in chronological order expressing a view, opinion or the posing of a question; a sort of an online journal if you will. How did the word “blog” come about?  Basically it is short for web-log. One could equate a blog to Instant Messages (IM’s) except the messages are posted to the web.

 

As far as technology is concerned the Internet is the venue that allows the author to reach an endless audience. Hosted services allow any person the ability to easily sign up, create a blog and write numerous postings without being a “techno geek”. Check it out for yourself:  http://www.blogger.com/start (it’s free!). Because of the common format that blogs share readers can easily skim through for information important to them. The interactions created by a post are referred to as “blogging”.  There are no rules to what you can blog about, the challenge is getting someone to read and respond. A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) blog created by your company could be used to solicit feedback on your customer’s marketing, sales and customer service experience with your company. The responses and interaction you receive could be invaluable to the profitability of your company.

 

Blog Categories

• Personal- You have a story to write? Perhaps some poetry that you want to share a blog will allow you to express your feelings. I have seen blogs discussing a High School reunion, a family reunion or as a journal detailing a vacation or wedding.
• Political- There was an abundance of blogs last year during the presidential election which were very effective in online campaigning or mudslinging about a particular candidate or bill. Lobbyist frequently employs blogs to gather support and awareness about their particular cause.
• Professional- Business owners, CEO’s and department heads are well known to use blogs to communicate to their employees and customers. It’s a very effective way of soliciting feedback and sharing ideas on a service, product or checking the pulse of their company.
• Entertainment- Blogs that detail happenings on a concert tour, or a release of a new cd or movie are rampant and garnish a very large audience of so call on-line groupies.
• Sports- athletes, coaches and fans keep up with their favorite teams or competitors by journaling the latest events and news.

 

I hope that you are beginning to see that there are really no set rules about who can start a blog or what one can express by creating a blog.

 

Blog$

The ($) is not a typo and yes you can get paid for writing a blog but there’s always a catch isn’t it? Well the catch is this, if you have something to say that will draw people to your blog there is money to be made. Depending on the topic and audience, advertising on your blog page will get you paid if an advertiser can see value in having their product displayed on your blog page. A blog can also be used to test the market for the effectiveness and feasibility of a new product or idea before making the initial investment. Another example would be if you are an entertainer and you gather up enough interest in your blog to have fans flock to it to read and respond an advertiser will see the value of having a presence on your page.

 

I hope that you now understand the popularity as well as the effectiveness of blogging. It has been said that having your own blog is equaled and as common as having an e-mail address.

In closing I will extend to you an invitation my blog page: http://crm2.blogspot.com

Read about our CRM² project and see how you can get involved; better yet create one for yourself and invite me to your blog page.

 

About the Author 

Thomas is a partner with CRM Essentials, a management consulting firm focused on implementing strategies and technologies affecting profitability through improved customer interactions. He can be reached at mwthomas@crm-essentials.com or www.crm-essentials.com