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Weblog Best Practices - Seizing Business Benefits

Weblog readers currently comprise only four percent of the online community, and Weblog creators, only two percent. Although the Weblog audience is small, several businesses including Groove Networks, Coudal Partners, and BizNetTravel have taken the opportunity to capture this audience's attention through business Weblogs. As Weblog consumption grows, business Weblog creators must identify to which audience, and by which means, Weblogs will be most beneficial.

Key Questions

• Who is consuming Weblog content?
• How should businesses best take advantage of the Web logging environment as a business tool?

Question: Thinking about your use of the Internet over the past year, which of the following activities did you conduct online monthly or more frequently?

Weblogs only appeal to a niche market currently, but much hype surrounds them in the consumer and enterprise space, suggesting the market is about to take off. Of Weblog readers, 61 percent earn $60,000 per year or more. Businesses should target this wealthy readership.

Using a basic Weblog desktop tool can create interest in and attraction to an enterprise's products and services. Nontechnical individuals can easily manipulate most Weblog applications. Also, Weblog software offers an inexpensive way to share content with others, while giving content creators the opportunity to archive data. Companies such as LiveJournal, UserLand Software, and Traction Software offer a wide array of enterprise applications from Weblog hosting to server-side software, which ranges in price from $25 per year to $10,000 per server. Businesses hoping to incorporate Weblogs into their business model should thoroughly explore all options, choosing the correct application for their intended depth of use.

Question: Thinking about your use of the Internet over the past year, which of the following activities did you conduct?

Weblogs offer a unique opportunity for enterprises to reach, with a personalized voice, an audience of early adopters. While content-driven, Weblogs can enhance business in several ways, including the following:

• Employees can reinforce branding.
• Consumers can provide feedback on products and services, and businesses can benefit from this feedback.
• Enterprises can gain competitive advantage by becoming online experts on specific products and services.

Adhere to Rules
Weblogs must follow some basic rules to achieve credibility among Weblog readers. Some best practices are as follows:

• Be interesting. Weblog creators must gain both attention of and repeat visits from readers.
• Build credibility. As a means of backing up personal expertise, Webloggers must link to other Weblogs with either concurring or dissenting points of view. Linking to relevant news sources when available also adds credibility.
• Create community. The Weblog medium is generally personal, but manages to bring others into the personal realm. Webloggers who link to other Weblogs begin to create a Weblog community of like-minded individuals and/or enterprises. Responding to comments is also essential to creating community within the "blogosphere." Some Weblogs make all comments publicly accessible while others receive comments privately. Webloggers using either method should post responses to some comments in the Weblog.
• Be prompt. To keep readers' interest, posting frequently is essential, with timely updates. Readers want current material in this format.
• Maintain focus. Questions, concerns, issues, links, and stories must maintain a corporate focus. Personal information is irrelevant unless it adds value to posted content.
• Position thoughtfully. Ray Ozzie, CEO of Groove Networks, links his Weblog at the bottom of his bio. This positioning is smart because he's the only one contributing to the company Weblog. Weblog placement should be well planned to encourage appropriate traffic.
• Those looking to draw a significant amount of traffic to corporate Weblogs should consider investing in keywords on sites such as Google and other high-volume search engines.

Remain Cautious
Weblogs offer an interesting marketing opportunity for enterprises, but should not be considered a marketing tool. Weblogs are currently independent of advertisers or corporate underwriters--a unique feature. Because Weblogs are untouched by corporations, the objectivity of the content remains trustworthy and seems untainted. Enterprises must maintain the integrity of the medium if they wish to be taken seriously.