AdWords Technology Business-to-Business Newsletter

Blogging for business

Blogs have come a long way since the term was coined in 1999. Once the realm of tech-savvy diarists and intrepid reporters, they're now gaining popularity as business communication channels. MarketingSherpa's 2006 Business Technology Marketing Benchmark Guide listed blogs among the top five business-to-business lead generation tactics. In March 2007, Melcrum found that 55 percent of the 2,100 communications professionals who responded to its social media survey are already using blogs to communicate with customers or plan to do so within the next 12 months.

Why should you blog? It's an easy and informal way to keep people abreast of company activities and perspectives. While website optimization should remain a core part of your communication strategy, blogs can help you get the word out as quickly as possible. If you think you're ready to jump on the blogwagon, check out Blogger, Google's free blogging tool. It features drag-and-drop template editing, activity reports, and privacy controls – and it only takes minutes to get started.

Here are a few best practices for all the newly minted bloggers out there:

• Educate current and potential customers about your business – how you got started, what your philosophy is, who your employees are.
• Post breaking news about your products or services when it's hot off the press.
• Make the experience more engaging and interactive with photos, videos, and RSS feeds.
• Feature links to other blogs about your industry – they may even return the favor.
• Include a link to your blog on your website (and vice versa) so visitors can access the full range of available information.
• Use Google Analytics to keep track of how visitors are finding your blog and where they're coming from.
• Stick to a regular update schedule.