APH media

Blogs are the cutting edge of Web communication. But what exactly is a blog?

A blog (short for web log) is a Web site or Web page where topical entries are displayed in reverse chronological order. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other web pages and media related to its topic. The availability of commenting – where readers leave comments in an interactive format – is an important part of many blogs. Some blogs stand alone, while others are built into broader Web sites to provide a home for information-rich, up-to-the-minute content that the basic Web pages do not contain.

What is the point of blogging? Aren’t blogs the realm of celebrity gossip and teenagers? No on both counts! The reasons why your organization should blog abound. Here are a few:

• Improve your standings with search engines. Search engines like Google love fresh content and will refer Web surfers to your site on an increasing basis if you have a regularly updated blog. If you are a realtor who has a blog about the local real estate market, for example, people searching for information about your city's real estate market will be more likely to be sent to your site if you have a blog.
• Establish yourself as an expert in your field. Blogs can be a great way to establish a position in your field. If someone finds your blog and finds it informative and useful, the chances are good that you'll turn that reader into a customer. The same holds true for nonprofits in building relationships with potential donors and for political candidates or those holding political office reaching potential voters.
• Create a two-way conversation. By allowing readers to post comments on your blog, you can hear directly what people are thinking. You have a lot of control over comments, so there is no need to worry about comments being taken over by spam or inappropriate content.
• Provide continually updated information on what you are working on. Mobilize readers with legislative alerts. Ask for readers to submit stories about how they use your business or product. Share stories of accomplishments. Highlight special volunteers or successful programs. Point readers to media coverage of your organization with links to news stories or video from a television broadcast.
• Provide information to the media. Some of the most avid readers of blogs are journalists! Reporters might pick up on a topic covered in your organization’s blog that your public relations staff may never have thought of pitching to the press. Drive media coverage by putting the information out there.
• Meet the public’s expectations. Blogs are quickly becoming ubiquitous. It’s no longer enough to have a Web site, it’s also important to have a blog.

• 30 percent of blog readers are 18 to 34 years old.
• 19 percent of blog readers are 35-44 years old.
• 19.5 percent of blog readers are 45-54 years old.
• 41.3 percent of blog readers have household incomes over $75,000.
  

• 39 percent of blog readers surveyed have a college degree and another 38.7 percent of blog readers have a post-graduate degree.
• 32 percent of blog readers have contributed $1-100 to a political cause or campaign in the past six months, and an additional 15 percent have contributed $101-199 to a political cause or campaign in that time period.
• 75 percent of blog readers surveyed have written to or called a politician at the state, local, or national level in the last 12 months.
• 79 percent of blog readers have signed a petition in the last 12 months.37 percent of blog readers have attended a political rally, speech, or organized protest of any kind in the last 12 months.
• 58 percent of blog readers surveyed said they found blogs extremely useful in providing news and information.
• 16 percent of blog readers read 5 blogs daily; 13 percent read 11-15 blogs daily.
• 83 percent of blog readers surveyed said they read blogs to get news they can’t find elsewhere.
  

- 2006 BlogAds survey of 36,000 blog readers

LINKS

Companies tap "bloggers in chief"

- NBC Nightly News 

Should You Start a Business Blog?