One of the most asked questions I get about social media, is how do I get started? Most people are thinking that my answer would be to create an account on Twitter or Facebook, so they get this look of surprise when I tell them to start a blog.
Yes I know that a blog isn’t as sexy these days as saying you are on Facebook or Twitter, but it will generate more sales for your business, then either of those two channels.
I was rereading Gary Vaynerchuk’s book Crush It over the weekend and I was struck by a paragraph in it that explained the difference between a blog and a web site.
Your web site is for communicating logistics and facilitating sales. Your blog is for communicating the essence of your brand, It allows you to expand on your topic in ways that a static web site cannot
I wish I had thought of describing it that way. A blog allows you to go deep, in areas that a static web site cannot. Through video, podcasts, or simple frequent posts, your blog if putting a human face on your company. No longer are you jyts an anonymous URL. Now you are a thinking, engaging company that people want to do business with.
Great point. What gets me, however, is that people often associate the face of a company with a blog. Why can’t your website be just as dynamic as a blog?
A great example is http://www.bobulate.com, it’s a blog… but wait, is it? The website also houses a portfolio of work and a (slightly) lengthy about page.
On my own personal website I use a similar strategy. The website looks like a straight-forward website, but I have blog posts hidden beneath the root… just google “rules of logo design” and you’ll see an example.
So you don’t NEED blog, per say, you just need to use your website to communicate with your audience. If you can’t do that easily through your current CMS or whathaveyou, then a blog is the route you should take.
Communication, it’s a beautiful thing.
I am a bit confused by this post. Among the differences between a website and a blog are:
- RSS feed – as a rule, one doesn’t subscribe to a website
-Organic SEO/SEM – Google ranks blog content higher
- Easy self publish – via wordpress or blogger
etc.
while these lines are beginning to blur, small companies can have a ‘blog’ a la ‘bobulate, not “sell” – in the ecommerce sense and still drive links, traffic, unfiltered comments, etc.
Not to mention that a blog can (and perhaps should) have a personality – not the rule for a website. Deborah