In the past, blogs had an undeserved reputation as a haven for opinion with marginal relevance/use for business publishers. Publishers experimenting with blogs, or creating a separate site to protect their brand are missing an opportunity to benefit from a well-rounded content strategy.
Why should publishers add blogs?
- Make blogs part of your content strategy
- Blogs encourage site traffic – regular posts improve Search Engine rankings
- Blogs encourages comments and interaction, which in turn increases time on site and page views
- Create a complete resource for your subscribers: blog posts can be the starting point for research if you present related articles, listings, blog roll and other site content on your blog page and in Search results
- Target specific audiences for sponsors and advertisers.
What steps make blogs a winning tactic?
- Write frequently on topics related to news and paid content
- Allow comments, but require registration to post
- Write on topics related to news that day or week
- Develop a site personality: include names and photos of your bloggers
- Build your brand by establishing expertise in relevant topics
- Create RSS feeds and include top posts in Alerts and eNewsletters.
Blog tools are a standard feature of the ePublishing platform. See them in action on IBJ.com/blogs
