Uh… What’s a Blog?

No such thing as a dumb question…

Blog is short for “web log”. This is a blog – a web page consisting of entries that can be tracked and commented on. With over 50+ million blogs on the internet today, there’s something for everyone. And the best part is that you can create one too (yes, for free).

There’s a number of way’s to track your favorite blogs, but the most common is via RSS feeds (if your next question is “Uh.. What is RSS?”, Click Here.)

Blogs represent a new way for people and companies to communicate online though blog postings or entries, and readers who comment on them.

Why should you have a blog? Well, you can have one simply because you want to discuss or share something online, or better yet – as a marketing strategy. Blogs provide a dynamic way to engage your market. It’s a safe bet that someone, somewhere is discussing your industry out there, or maybe even your brand and blogs allow you to take part in those conversations.

Aside from engagement, blogs allow you to build your personal brand. Blogging is an ongoing process, so your audience will be checking back to see your updates (or better yet, subscribing to your blog) – this is much different from a standard website that is relatively static.

Lastly, blogging is search engine friendly and will allow you to pop up in more searches because of the volume of content posted online.

So there’s a lot that blogging can do for you if you are ready to leverage it. Some basic blog sites to get started with are WordPress.com (this is a WordPress blog), Blogger.com. They’re free to sign up for, and you can get started in minutes. But… before you start blogging, especially for your business – you need a strategy.