The Rising Demand for Business Blogging

Large and small companies alike are adopting blogging into their marketing strategy in increasing numbers and for very good reason. A well maintained blog creates loyal readers, works as a search engine optimization tool, and puts a voice and a personal touch behind a brand. A sharp looking blog with fresh content is a powerful tool and although blogging is "ancient" when compared to popular social networking services, it's proven to be an effective way to create community and communicate with customers. It's not uncommon for a company to receive feedback regarding a product or service via a blog. A blog can act as a conversation platform and a medium for customer service.

Recent projections by eMarketer predict that 43% of US companies will be blogging for marketing purposes by the year 2012. Technorati, a website that indexes blogs, estimates that over 133,000,000 blogs have been created since 2002 and 68% of blogs have been around for two years or longer. It's not uncommon to see a blog generate new business by drawing new and repeat traffic to a website. Companies like SEOmoz and HubSpot sell services and a lot of their attention can be credited to their popular blogs. Some business will put a blog front a center on their website and some will opt to build an entire website using a blogging service.

Services like Wordpress, Blogger, and Tumblr have made blog ownership and maintenance a lot more attractive than it use to be. Wordpress is one of the clear favorites due to its popular themes and limitless options for customization. Blogger usually appeals to a more casual blogging audience and Tumblr continues to grow in popular due to its ease of use. Specialty blogging services are also gaining traction in several industries. Real estate agents can use a service called Activerain to create a professional looking real estate blog. Activerain gives agents a platform to blog on that is easy to use and is search engine friendly. Lexblog offers a similar service for lawyers and attorneys. Clients who use Lexblog have an edge over their non blogging competitors.

With all the advantages to blogging, why are so many still choosing not to do it? There are a lot of reasons, but the most common ones tend to be a lack of time, commitment, or writing ability. All of these concerns can be dealt with and get easier with time. Almost anyone can find time to post once a week and the commitment issue becomes a non issue by sticking to a strict posting schedule. Although some people may have a knack for writing, anyone can improve with time. Blogging is one of those things that becomes easier the more its done. There's a good chance that business blogging will become the norm within a couple of years and those who have been at it longer will have a clear advantage. Businesses that haven't already should start getting proactive and strongly consider jumping on the blogging bandwagon.

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