The Business of Business-blogging

B-blogging, or Business-blogging, is a recent development and is fast growing.
A B-blog (short for Business Web Log) is in essence, a website but unlike a website which is a one-way static display of promotional content, a B-blog is a dynamic and highly interactive dissemination of informational content directed at a targeted audience. It is this fact alone that makes blogging a potent MarComm (Marketing Communication) tool.

Why B-blog?

• B-blogging promotes the products or services of a business by providing expert information to potential customers.

• Over a period of time, it can establish the company as the leader in the industry or a consultant as an expert in his field.

• It is an excellent platform for the CEO of a company to convey the vision of the organization.

• It has a very personal touch. Written in the first person, like any diary entry (unlike a website which is usually written in the third person and may not even be written by the owner of the site) it gives the company a human face – a big advantage in this era of giant corporations.

• Conversely, small businesses, including consultancy, can seem bigger and less personal by partnering with business bloggers and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) firms.

• Since blogging is interactive, it can provide instant customer feedback, avoiding tedious market surveys and data crunching, a good example being that of Bajaj Auto – “The first review of Pulsar was on our table within three hours of its launch, thanks to bloggers.” – S Sridhar, VP – Marketing, Bajaj Auto, as quoted in the Economic Times of 3rd March, 07.

• Quality standards like ISO 9001 prescribe alignment of process improvement initiatives with customers’ needs and feedback. B-blogs can be a great receptacle for feedback from customers.

Advantages of B-blogging

• Unlike email marketing, which relies on ‘push’ technology i.e., to push content unasked for, B-blogging is not intrusive and with an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed, it utilizes ‘pull’ technology which means, users ask for content.

• Blogging software is free or very cheap. WordPress is the most popular and can be downloaded at http://wordpress.org/download/. Another favourite is Blogger, which can be downloaded at http://www.blogger.com for free.

• You don’t have to buy web space – its free too

• No knowledge of writing HTML code is required – only good copy!

• You can even hire professional copywriters to write content for your posts.

• It enhances SEO, as it does not require complex HTML code which is the bane of search engines.

• B-blogging is not only far cheaper than advertising in traditional media like print and television but the material has a much longer life – theoretically, forever!

What’s in it for the customer?

• A B-blog simplifies the process of browsing in search of articles and any other relevant information on the products and services of the company
• Customers – potential share holders – can have a better insight into growth potentials and future plans of the organization much before the AGM
• Prospective employees can have a better ‘feel’ of the organization even before they join the company
• Readers have the option to leave comments, spurring lively discussions
• Readers have the option of signing up to receive new content via email or RSS (or Atom) feeds through syndication services

Things to do before launching your B-blog

• Define your B-blog’s mission
• Get corporate support from the start
• Research how customers want to read your blog i.e., RSS v/s email
• Test an internal blog first
Things to do after launching your B-blog
• Make sure you have got a great subject line, and get to the point in the first few sentences
• Blog what’s important to customers/readers
• Use visual elements if possible
• To get consistent traffic, be original. Don’t just echo what everybody else is saying.
• Write crisp, neat and natural – not structured like a newspaper article or advertorial, for that matter.
• Update or post at fixed intervals e.g., weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Better still, post on specific dates.
• Use keywords extensively, to entice search engine robots
• Syndicate your blog with RSS service
• Cross-promote the blog and the company’s eNewsletter

Other innovative uses of blogs

Blog to book projects – Personal blogs that attract a huge readership have been spotted by publishers and converted into books. There is even an annual Blooger Award for the best blogbook!


Crisis-situation blogs – Blogs to help people keep in touch with the latest developments, rescue operations and information about injured or missing people e.g., Tsunami blogs.

Education blogs could play a great role in distance education where students are spread over large geographical areas

Fiction-blogs (no, they are not called F-blogs) – As the name suggests, these are fiction novels in-the-making, where a number of authors and/or readers collaborate on a project.

It is surprising why politicians have yet not capitalized on blogs – they could call them P-Blogs!

Copyright © 2007 Noël Gama