The web affords all consumers power to find and to manage information on their own terms. They search, research, expect the gratification of answers and they are confident they can make informed decisions. With traditional marketing / advertising messages marketers are challenged with limited space & time to get a consumers’ attention. A Business Blog affords us marketers the ability to generate visibility, discoverability, trust, brand and direct RSS connections… affordably and without limits!

Our friend Tim O’ Keefe of Spider Juice Technologies recently asked to chat with us on the subject of Business Blogging. Obviously, we were honored.

No surprise here, but we discuss subjects including the value of Blogging for a Business, Search Engine Discoverability, Trust, Online Brand, Direct Marketing, RSS, ‘The Long Tail of Search’, Disintermediation, Web 2.0, potential advertising cost advantages and [even] the possibility of relying on search [to connect provider with consumer] less and less in the future

I’m afraid I’m not the most cogent speaker, but hopefully the conversation is user- friendly / less techie and, if any of the above subjects sound interesting, maybe you’ll find something useful 

Why Business- Blog in a down market? In today’s world people with responsibilities are increasingly time constrained. They are overloaded with invasive information and they don’t have time to read through lots of newspapers & magazines. In a down market, if a business leverages a Blogs potential, it is the most affordable vehicle to generate visibility, discoverability, trust, brand and direct [RSS & Email] connections …in a world where virtually all consumers are searching!

• Que: What happens when a business can publish unlimited, useful information to the web?
  Ans: A business that Blogs can market almost anything affordably, particularly the merits of its’ business, to anyone and everyone that needs that expertise, those products & those services [= online brand development]! 
• Que: What happens when consumers can search and find any information they want whenever they want it …for free?
• Ans: A business that Blogs can be discovered directly, often, for many things, without any constraint and by the most qualified prospects [= search marketing/advertising]!
• Que: What happens when business prospects can easily subscribe to any publishing source of information they want or need?
  Ans: A business that Blogs can open an unlimited number of trusted, ongoing RSS & Email connections[= direct marketing]!

The web gives consumers the power to find & gather useful information on their own terms… and to make informed decisions. Most consumers are searching and they want they expect the immediate gratification of answers! Unlike traditional marketing / advertising messages, which are challenged to grab the consumers’ attention in limited space & time, a business that Blogs’ has the ability to generate visibility, discoverability, trust, brand and then direct [RSS & RSS to email] connections… affordably and without limit!

Do we believe that Blogging can help a business control its own destiny? We certainly believe that most consumers are online and that a good Blog offers a business the most cost- effective means to develop I.) online visibility, discoverability, II.) local brand recognition, trust and a III.) potentially unlimited number of direct connections. That’s right, one tool and three distinct marketing value propositions for helping a business to control it’s own destiny! 

 I. Visibility & Discoverability: by consistently Blogging new information on a particular subject (i.e. Granite Bay, CA Real Estate) a business is able to push knowledge- base to the web where anyone can consume it. Regardless of  which channel a consumer chooses, including via social network, RSS or search, information is free to go wherever it is needed. With search, virtually one quarter of the queries made are completely unique so it’s important to be indexed for as many variations (i.e. Granite Bay, CA  Lake Front Homes) on a targeted subject as possible. While a business  may generate less search discovery per individual search variation of ‘Granite Bay CA Real Estate’, the collective impact can be much greater for those variations. The proven theory being, if a business Blogs well to cover all the things going on in a target marketplace they can be indexed for many keyword & key phrase searches; therefore, they can be prepared for many, many searcher queries and discoveries. Blogs make this simple & cost- effective!

 II. Local Brand Recognition: let’s face it; we all search because we can. As consumers we all have an instant ability to research and to gather information. If all consumers have this power, businesses must commit themselves to meet this modern day challenge. By consistently & transparently sharing what they know, do, see and have to offer a business can be prepared. By presenting themselves as enthusiastic, valuable, knowledgeable & trustworthy providers of products and services they will develop a local online brand. Blogs make this simple & cost-  effective!

 III. Direct Marketing Connections: these days content can be formatted for syndication. In the past, a business depended on mass mailing and/or media to distribute an advertising message. Now, with Search, Social Networks & RSS that same businesses’ information is free to be discovered, to be directly subscribed to and to go where it is needed. When a consumer finds a valued source of information, they can subscribe via RSS or’ RSS convert to email’ making the direct & continuous connection to an unlimited number of people possible. Blogs make this simple & cost- effective! 

One tool, three levels of value proposition and yes, in 2008 we believe that Blogging will help a business control it’s  own destiny!

Obviously, the Internet has emerged as a giant marketing platform. These days, consumers search and subscribe because they can. It’s reliable, quick, easy, convenient and it’s free!

If the opportunity to research products, services and the appeal of a particular business exists, why wouldn’t any consumer search or subscribe prior to getting in touch? For your business, it’s an obvious marketing challenge. You have to do your best to be visible in the search engines and a well- positioned Blog will get you there, but you’ve also got to convey authority, trust and that you add value in order to capture their attention and their direct subscriptions!

• What is authority? How about blogging to demonstrate an undeniable knowledge of your business in your area.
• What is trust? How about credibility, demonstrated by blogging an emotional connection to your business in your area. Consumers will appreciate the human approach and how you convey a sincere interest in serving them.
• What is value add? If you aim to serve your paying customers reliably, and with accountability, simply blog to demonstrate how you do things better & different than the rest! 

Let’s face it, as marketers we’re all selling and Internet users are highly sensitive to us. Are you skeptical of the marketing messages pushed at you every day? For instance, when you search, which side of the results page - organic OR pay per click - do you value the most? If you’re like me and 99% of the folks we speak with everyday, it’s the organic results [left side] I trust more. 

In this environment, stale marketing messages won’t cut it like they used too. In this environment consumers are looking to interview you before they make contact. Embrace change by blogging who you are and how you add value! As a business, if you understand folks are searching and search engines are indexing all the new content they can find, why wouldn’t you consistently share what you see, what you have to offer and what you know about your business in your area? Blogging is a cost- effective answer! With a blog you can build online visibility, discover-ability, local brand recognition and a potentially unlimited no. of direct RSS or ‘RSS convert to email’ connections.

Give us a holler and ask about our affordable solutions, our service, our dedication to ongoing education… and please don’t hesitate to ask about our Business Bloggers Bible free offer!

As a business person looking for new customers, have you considered your own web behavior? What makes your prospective customer any different than you? Folks, your clients are searching [and subscribing] for answers & information just like you do.

In this day and age, we search [and we subscribe] because we can. It’s easy, pretty reliable and [save the ads] it’s free! Because of Google, for instance, we can do a bunch of research really quick. To a degree, we interview businesses and research their services prior to pursuing them & our interests. We’re all human, we want to get the most valuable service and a fair shake for our hard earned money. 

Considering people can search and they can subscribe [via RSS or ‘RSS convert to email’] to virtually all the information they’ll ever need in order to research product & service decisions, we must accept the playing field we’re forced to market in. With the consumer [like you!] in control, including an almost immediate ability to compare product & service information, what are you doing to show them you offer value? As a consumer, what would you expect… of yourself?

Times have most definitely changed; regardless of old school relationships or methods, if you’re not transparently sharing your knowledge- base of information, including what is timely and new, you’re already losing the long term competitive battle to win their attention and trust.

In our somewhat biased view, all professionals will have to publish or Blog to the web in order to be available direct [via RSS or ‘RSS convert to email’], to be visible, discoverable and, ultimately, to be worthy of trust. And this isn’t an exercise in Search Engine Optimization because simply being there isn’t necessarily enough. This is about performing, just like you would want others too when you are the consumer. It’s about making a commitment to be transparent, to share knowledge and to demonstrate you are a value added product and/ or service provider. Life is a two way street….. have you considered you own requirements? Have you considered your own web behavior? 

Let’s go a little further into the idea of your Blog’s direct marketing value, which I recently posted on here.

On the web, distribution of your advertorial content is no longer controlled by traditional media [a recent phenomena known as disintermediation.] Whatis.com defines disintermediation as giving the consumer direct access to information that otherwise would require a mediator, such as a salesperson, a librarian, or a lawyer. It means that, rather than depend on Newspapers, TV Programming, Magazines & Web- based Media to distribute an advertorial message, you can get it to your target audience direct. In fact, because of syndicating content formats like RSS, which are standard with a Blog, there’s nothing stopping YOU from repeatedly distributing knowledge & information to your marketplace.

You see, a content management system like your Blog makes publishing content to the web BOTH cheap & simple. In addition to your Blog’s rapid publish to the web capability, it seamlessly formats content for web syndication [RSS syndication = movement around the web.] Nowadays, with syndication, content is free to go wherever it is needed so anyone has the choice to subscribe to a Blog directly. By taking advantage of this reality you don’t necessarily have to depend on or pay for Media Intermediaries. That’s right, you may actually save on some advertising costs when you can make useful educational information available to your clients & prospects direct.

But you ask, "how do my clients & prospects gather content direct from a Blog?" They do it with an ‘RSS News or Feed Reader.’ The individual consumer of information [your clients and prospects] need only make the RSS feed connection, which is readily available via your Blog. Don’t know what an ‘RSS News or Feed Reader’ is? Take one minute to watch this painless video and all confusion will be gone.

We’re not saying advertising in good media is dead by any stretch. Sure, affiliating yourself with the New York Times or your local newspapers’ audience, for instance, costs money but their audience has value. What I am trying to convey is that with a little effort you can reach your customers directly; you can repeatedly touch your clients & prospects with great new information direct! With a leveled playing field for the distribution of information, the complete customization of incoming information for all people is now possible. They no longer need to stumble on your ad or to search repetitively in order to be informed. It means that if you can offer useful content information via a blog, you can build voluntary, informed & ever- loyal customer relationships. So folks, educate your target audience about feeds & RSS. Blog your useful & timely knowledge- base of information and let them know they can & they should subscribe to your Blog’s RSS [or RSS convert to email] feed in order to be informed 

Here’s another perspective on disintermediation.

A Blogs’ PR value, where knowledge is shared and where positive conversations can erupt, has been well documented. We write often on a Blogs’ value as a Search Engine Marketing tool, where cost- effective Search Engine visibility & discover-ability is attainable, but are you leveraging the direct marketing value of your Blog?

Each of these ‘value propositions’ require consistent on- topic content, but if you’re sharing good insight why wouldn’t you encourage clients & prospects to subscribe to it? In an age of readily available information, those who share knowledge- base will gain mind share. And who amongst them would not benefit from your accumulated & timely knowledge? In the best case scenario, which is at your disposal via RSS, you’ll distribute it to them direct!

[An incredible feature of all Blogs is RSS. The acronym RSS stands for ‘Really Simple Syndication’ and it means the content is prepared for movement around the web. RSS can serve you as a consumer of content and as a marketer! As a consumer of content, rather than having to visit all your favorites all the time in order to know ‘what’s new’, RSS makes it possible for ‘what’s new’ to visit you direct. Rather than email, which is often out of your control, you can easily customize & control the gather of information direct and to one convenient place. By setting up an RSS Feed or News Reader account, which are typically free web- based services, you’re ready to begin making direct connections. Look for the little orange icon or ‘Add to MyYahoo’, click and you should create a continuous feed subscription to your RSS Reader. As a marketer, RSS makes your content available direct to your existing & prospective clients. It’s a valuable feature because there is no better form of advertising than direct marketing communication. If they subscribe to your RSS feed, you know your content is reaching the most qualified individuals because they’re doing it voluntarily!]

Until recently, the web was mostly HTML Web sites. The primary means for distribution of content was a search engine or a directory, but now there are Blogs & RSS. As more and more people get involved [more content sources, blogs, news service feeds, etc., etc. formatted in RSS] it becomes ever- more important to do what it takes to gather & maintain exposure. You see, RSS has become an important distribution channel and the ability to maintain visibility will shift some from the big search engines [and from a need to search engine optimize content] to RSS feed directories, RSS search engines & Persistent Search Alert systems.

Not to worry folks, if you don’t believe your audience has adopted a ‘RSS Newsreader’ solution like MyYahoo, MyMSN, GoogleReader or Bloglines for direct feed(s) subscription it’s still important you get on board because adoption is occurring out there…. and right in front of you! What’s more, we can add a ‘RSS convert to email’ subscription box so that when you post to your blog your content can reach people based on their immediate choice Email or RSS… helping to kill all birds with one stone. Again, who amongst your clients & prospects wouldn’t benefit from your accumulated & timely knowledge… direct?

Folks, we can’t emphasize this enough: do what it takes to touch your clients & prospects often! Do it with your unique advertorial knowledge- base and [in the best case scenario], you’ll do it with voluntarily participation and you’ll do it direct!

Get in touch any time,

Chris