Toysport

Archive for the ‘Blogs’ Category

Blogs are, in many ways, the most interesting type of web page. Blogs are excellent opportunities for individuals who share a common interest to interact with one another, make friends, and add to the overall conversation about their topic. Unfortunately, the blogosphere can be somewhat difficult to navigate when you are first starting out. Here are some of the basics when it comes to blogs:

Design. Blogs are structured a certain way. The entries on a blog are typically listed from the most recent down to the oldest. Blogs also usually have a comments section in which the reader and the writer can interact with one another and keep the larger conversation about their topic going. Blogs often have a blogroll – a list of links to other blogs that are either about a similar topic or are in some other way associated with the blogger.

Content. Blogs may be personal, covering a person’s daily activities. They may be related to a hobby, such as Roleplaying games or cooking. They might be professional blogs, and used to promote a product or a service. Really, it is hard to define what blog content is. Still, the fact is that blog content tends to be a little different from regular web content in a couple of ways. Blog content tends to, on the average, be more personal than regular web site content. Blog content also tends to be less formal than regular blog content.

Creating a blog. Creating a blog is a relatively simple process. There are many free services that make setting up a blog no more complex than creating a document on your computer. The process of publishing your blog posts is, for the most part, a simple point-and-click transaction. It is because of the ease of use, in part, that blogs have exploded in popularity in recent years.

Making money. Some blogs have the potential to make money for the blogger. Through the use of advertising or selling your own products, there is the potential for profit. How big that potential is depends on a variety of factors, including the topic area of the blog and how much traffic you have to your blog.

Traffic. Traffic refers to the number of readers or visitors that go to a blog. The more traffic that a blog has, the more folks will leave comments or click on ads, and the more your ideas will spread.

While there is much more to blogging, these are some of the basic ideas you need to understand in order to get a good start at blogging.

Establishing effective two-way communications with customers is one of the hardest things that any business can do. This is especially true of small companies that cannot afford to dedicate personnel to managing those communications. Blogs, chats, and forums can be some of the most effective ways of establishing communications from your web site, but they also have their own “dangers” that can cause them to backfire if not used.

So what are blogs, chats and forums? And what is the difference between them?

Blogs:

Blogs are one of the most useful ways of getting information out to customers. However, blogs are not limited to spreading information on just the current products or services. Effective blogs also give customers ideas of how they can use your products. Think about a paint company that is trying to market hundreds of different colors of paint. A blog might explain how a customer can choose the color that is right for them, or how to mix different colors to get the exact shade they need. Blog visitors often make comments (both positive and negative) about what you say.

One of the biggest dangers about hosting your own blog is if you do not have the time to make consistent updates to the articles in those blogs. It is almost better to have no blog at all then to have a blog where the last entry in it was three months ago. The second biggest danger of having your blog is monitoring the comments that others make on your blog. We will discuss more about this in a later article.

In short, a blog is a way for you to send out a message to your customers, and solicit their opinions on the topics that you yourself have chosen. It is also the most efficient method of establishing basic two-way communications with your clients.

Forums:

Forums are very similar to blogs in that you can disseminate information to customers, and in turn, they can provide their input. The major difference between a blog and a forum is that while the blog owner controls the discussions in a blog, nearly anyone can start a new topic in a forum. The dangers of forums are similar to those of a blog, but over time, forums can be a much more effective tool for communicating with customers and potential clients.

The hardest part of starting a forum is just that… starting the forum. As the forum creator, you need to be very active in starting new topics, eliciting the help of some of your customers in answering those same topics, and trying to establish a community of posters that will keep your forums active and dynamic.

Chats:

When you embed chat into your web site, you are providing a quick and convenient method for customers to contact you. There are many types of instant chat software available ranging from Skype, MS Messenger, Yahoo, et al. Chat normally takes place through typing messages back and forth in a shared dialog box; however, some companies are taking this to the next level by enabling instant voice and/or video chat.

While implementing chat is not that difficult, it can also be the most burdensome form of communications for a small company. The two largest problems that you can face with implementing chat are first, if a customer attempts to contact your business and nobody is available; and second, if you have too many people attempting to contact you at the same time.

The first problem is self-explanatory. A customer calls, and nobody answers. The second is almost counter intuitive. Too many customers call, and there are not enough people to intelligently handle all the communications. While getting too many calls is a very good indication that your company is growing, not being able to efficiently handle those calls can leave a very bad impression on these customers (or potential customers). These clients may then put your company into that dreaded classification of “Poor customer response”.

Summary:

These three forms of two-way communication can all benefit your small business in establishing your place on the internet. However, they also have their own hidden dangers that could make them an albatross around your neck if poorly planned or implemented. It is best to consider carefully how you can manage these tools before you open them up to public scrutiny.