Looking at the numbers, one can hardly believe the meteoric rise of blogs in the internet hierarchy. Ten years ago the concept hardly existed. Today twenty percent of the most highly visited websites on the Internet are blogs. More than 12 million Americans keep a blog. Not everybody is aware though of the social factor in blogging.
A more important statistic for marketers is no doubt the fact that according to research blog readers spend more than 23 hours on the web each and every week.
How things changed over the past couple of years become clear if you visit a few of the better known blog sites. What started off as "interactive" ten years ago has turned into a fully functional social system where people from all over the world meet and discuss ideas and exchange information. Bad or good news about a company or product can no longer be swept under the carpet - it spreads like a virus through the channels of the Internet.
The term "social media" has become part of our everyday vocabulary. People meeting people to discuss the movies they liked, or hated, the books they loved, and the products and services which they would like to recommend or were unhappy with.
In another sense it is simply what people have been doing since the start of history. When we look back at the history of the Internet, it might seem inevitable that things had to change, that the web had to adapt to the way we are used to do things, rather than the other way round.
Blogs now function as meeting places where people who share a common interest get together and have a conversation about that subject. Like any host, the blog owner could try to steer the conversation into a certain direction, but that might prove to be harder than he/she anticipated.
If you therefore still have a decade old business website with little more than a shopping list and a Contact Us button, you should not be surprised to see the number of visitors to your website steadily dropping. A blog could well inject new life into your tired old website.
There are many reasons for this. The fact that you are a business owner most likely means that you have a high level of expertise in a certain field. Although you might not think so, there are many people out there who would love to have your knowledge. And sharing that on your blog will make many new friends, who could in turn become long term customers.
Let us look at an example: Let's say you are the owner of a furniture removal company. As such you know all the tricks of the trade. All the scams. If you should start sharing that knowledge on a blog connected to your website, you should soon find people commenting on what you wrote. Asking questions. Sharing stories. In the process you can become known as an expert in your line of business, someone to look up to. Someone to seriously consider next time you need a furniture removal company...
It is thus difficult to overestimate the importance of a well-written blog in exploiting the social factor in blogging to the long term advantage of your business.
Author Resource:
Dhruv Patel is a customer of DreamHost. He has created site to help new DreamHost customers and to promote DreamHost by giving DreamHost coupon . You will also find information about dreamhost password protected directory .
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