Why all the Fuss about Blogs in Marketing Strategies?
While in many countries bloggers and journalists still fight over who’s bringing the right news to the public and over how social media will replace traditional media in time, no one ever overlooks the marketing power of blogs. Books are being written, search engine optimization (SEO) techniques are put into practice, special ad campaigns are designed, everyone pays for reviews from bloggers.
Why all that fuss? Why should companies, freelancers and all types of people with blogging suddenly care about how blogs can impact overall marketing strategies? Here are just a few reasons I’ve come across.
First of all, we tend to see blogs as personal opinions of one or more authors. They share what they think or feel about a product, a service, a piece of news, their personal life, their jobs. If it’s coming from bloggers we keep an eye on, we also trust them, we feel close to them and share some of their opinions. That is why blogs work as millions of “word of mouth” recommendations. And these are the ones we trust most. An ad stating this is the coolest product ever will never be as powerful as a few people one looks up to saying the very same, all filtered through their own experience.
Secondly, blogs come with a human touch. That is why companies use them so extensively these days. Have you noticed your how you react differently to a corporate blog post as compared to a press release. It is still company crap for some, but with a human voice, not a tough marketing and PR department 
The purpose is the same, to gain trust. To make the marketing message easier to chew on for the company’s target. And again, mask certain things under the always popular “word of mouth” recommendation.
Additionally, blogs make networking a true pleasure. Through them, you get to partly know certain people. You can choose those you share a interests, hobbies, opinions with. Adding cold contacts is turned into genuine relationships. Yes, some of these connections are established with people you will never meet, still, they can happen to be closer to you than you’ve imagine. Thus, a lot of things can be gained: companionship, support, knowledge, expertise, recommendations and so on.
Finally, blogs also happen to be trendy. A lot of those visiting a certain site will look for a blog. Having it there is preferable. Also, they make for a nice conversation topic!
What more would you ad to my list?
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