Many prospects, and clients, we interact with, talk about starting their blog on a free blog site, such as Blogger.com etc.
That’s a bad-bad way to start your blog/ social media journey, we tell them. Show the tool the reverence it deserves – don’t treat it casually – we tell them. All blogs are not equal, we tell them – what works for a casual, individual blogger, doesn’t work for an organization/ brand.
If you still do go ahead with a free blog and then fail to get results you were seeking, don’t blame the tool, blame yourself, we tell them.
So, why do we need to move these conversations to our domain? Here are just a few reasons:
- Our domain is OUR home, it gives us the control on what we want to do; on customization of features, look-feel; on branding.
- We get access to powerful analytics that tell us much about:
- Where are users coming from.
- What is bringing them there.
- What are they doing on the site.
- Where are the gaps that need to be bridged.
- Much, much more. - We own the content on the site, no fear of – being deleted, of the site going down because of a ban, of rules changing mid-way.
- A single place for stakeholders to engage with us, share feedback, find answers –ensures continuity. Though, if we are a brand, then we’d be creating a dozen other touch points too and yet it helps to have one place that’s our own and aggregates/ links everything.
- Since people get an opportunity to reach the brand directly, they can transparently share any grouse/ feedback with the team – chances are that they won’t vent any negative feelings on consumer feedback sites instead – showcases transparency, consumer orientation, saves time and effort sorting issues on third party platforms.
- MOST IMPORTANTLY – as the Internet gains strategic significance and search becomes the new clipping, and with increasing impact of social media on purchase decisions, it is imperative that we participate in these conversations and build communities.
- Blogs (loosely used for sake of convenience, but will include tools like wikis, forums, etc. based on need) are the best search engine optimization tool – as most recent, most relevant content gets picked by search engines first.
Don’t be hasty in starting a blog, think through the process as I don’t tire explaining.
