Blogs
Blog – short for Weblog – is an online site where authors craft entries or articles. Topics can range from news, personal stories, industry trends, product information, and everything in between. Generally speaking, there are three types: personal blogs, genre-specific blogs, and corporate blogs.
Top Transit Usage
Written Blog
Post entries which position your organization as an expert and provide system-wide info.
Personal blogs serve as an online journal where users document their lives. These blogs can contain important information about your organization through the eyes of the consumer.
Genre-specific blogs focus on a particular issue. These bloggers are seen as experts in their particular field and are often key influencers. It’s helpful to have a connection with the major blogs in your organization’s particular field.
Corporate blogs are run by corporations. Corporate blogs serve as a forum where companies can discuss their products or services, react to public opinion, or clarify policies. These can be a great way to start your organization’s foray into social media and can also be an excellent source for monitoring competition.
Blog posts should include at least one form of multimedia. While your organization’s blog post may be well-written and insightful, it’s just a block of text until someone starts reading it. Pictures and videos break up the text and serve as bait to get readers interested in what your organization has to say.
Visitors can subscribe to blogs, and communicate with the author through comments. It’s important to acknowledge comments from time to time, but it's not necessary to respond to each comment. Blogs should be updated frequently, and reflect the personality of the author.
Some print publications are using blogs to create web-based versions of their established print publications, like newspapers and magazines, where readers can comment and rate articles.
Why create a blog?
While social networks allow your organization to engage with its audience, establishing a blog is a way to disseminate information centered more on your organization. Detailed descriptions about new services or explanation of changes within your organization can be posted. It’s a more professional and elaborate means of communicating serious topics in comparison to a note on Facebook® or a post on Twitter™. Your organization may also be in a position where blogging would be beneficial in responding to customer complaints. Additionally, this tool can be used to help address frequent concerns and then direct further inquiries into that subject by sending a link of that post to your organization’s consumers.
