CV Inside, a new blog by Sterling
CV Inside is the latest blog creation by Sterling. There is no other tool more powerful on the web than creating a strong blog presence which in itself fuels your company website.
Utilizing the strength of WordPress, CV Inside is rich with useful content about CV writing, CV and Resume design samples, free templates to download, job searching tips and a comprehensive collection of the top websites around the web on the subject.
Using a blog to get above competitors
In the turn of 2010 it became quite aparent that almost every business or professional had caught on to the marketing potential of the web. With 10,000 new websites built everyday across the world the task of tackling competitors and gaining sufficient ranking on Google, Yahoo, Msn and other search engines has become daunting to most.
However, Only 9% of website owners have a blog. And of that 9%, only 6% keep the blogs maintained.
HAVING A BLOG TO KEEP CUSTOMERS INFORMED AND PROVIDE SOMETHING USEFUL IS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL MARKETING TOOLS AVAILABLE
What can a blog do?
- Gain subscribers and repeat visitors via newsletter or RSS subscriptions
- Send automatic email newsletters everytime you update the blog
- A Blog can be connected to the any of the hundreds of social networking outlets and spread your words to thousands with just a click
- Keeping you blog updated weekly, or even daily will enhance its strength with the search engines
- Linking back to your company website with you blog will send viewers to you directly
- Once your blog has gained strength on Google and other search engines, this strength can then be forwarded to your company site and award you with some serious ranking
While doing some research for the CV Writers, I was surprised to discover that almost half of this company’s competitors and other related companies did not have any type of corporate blog presence. Since most of my clients are direct service companies, I sometimes forget that companies in other industries aren’t as focused on social media technologies and blogs.
The research shows that more people are reading blogs, those people expect your company to have a social media presence, and blogs influence their purchasing decisions. Those sound like very compelling reasons for companies to start blogging or to improve their existing blog!
Research notes
Cone Finds that Americans Expect Companies to Have a Presence in Social Media
Sixty percent of the english speaking world use social media, and of those, 59 percent interact with companies on social media Web sites. One in four interacts more than once per week.
According to the survey, 93 percent of social media users believe a company should have a presence in social media, while an overwhelming 85 percent believe a company should not only be present but also interact with its consumers via social media. In fact, 56 percent of users feel both a stronger connection with and better served by companies when they can interact with them in a social media environment.
“The news here is that Americans are eager to deepen their brand relationships through social media,” explains Mike Hollywood, director of new media for Cone, “it isn’t an intrusion into their lives, but rather a welcome channel for discussion.”(Quoted from Cone: September 25, 2008)
Forrester Research: The Growth Of Social Technology Adoption
One in three online Americans now read blogs at least once a month, while 18% comment on them. Blog readers as a group grew by nearly 50% over this past year. (Quoted from Forrester Research: October 20, 2008)
BuzzLogic: Blog Influence on Consumer Purchases Eclipses Social Networks
Blogs influence purchases: One half (50 percent) of blog readers say they find blogs useful for purchase information.
According to the study, blogs factor in to critical stages of the purchase process, weighing most heavily at the actual moment of a purchase decision. When it comes to respondents who said they have trusted blog content for purchase decisions in the past, over half (52 percent) say blogs played a role in the critical moment they decided to move forward with a purchase. (Quoted from BuzzLogic: October 28, 2008)
Quick Summary: What This Means for Companies
For those of us who regularly consume information from blogs, we expect to be able to grab an RSS feed of your company’s blog to keep up with news and information relevant to your industry. The research above shows that the number of people who read blogs in growing, and these people expect you to have a blog. Not only are more people reading blogs, these blogs are influencing purchasing decisions, which is important for every company.
Additional Benefits
Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO is probably one of the biggest advantages of having a corporate blog. Because blog content is updated frequently, blogs have some built-in search engine benefits. The blogging culture also encourages linking to other blogs, which can also improve your rankings in search results.
Thought Leadership. A great blog can position your company and key employees as thought leaders within the industry, which puts your company in a position of greater authority within your industry. The I Love Rome blog (made by Sterling) was created for a Limo Service Company in Rome, and is a great example of how to broad shoot the subject of your business to show others your enthusiasm for your geographical area, services and related subjects. The employees and the company are seen as thought leaders, thus putting Limo Service in a greater position of authority for tours, Italy travel and .
Should Every Company Have a Blog?
Yes - but only if you are serious about it. The benefits of blogging seem to be fairly clear; however, these benefits are only achieved when the blog is updated regularly with great content. Unfortunately, this can be a significant time commitment. For companies who are not willing to put in the time and effort, it is better not to have a blog than to have a blog that hasn’t been updated in months as an out-of-date blog can be a detriment to the brand and appear to visitors that you are not serious.
Here are a few things to think about:
- Can you commit to at least one post per week? (2-3 is better)
- Do you have people who have interesting things to say and with good writing skills?
- Is someone available to manage the process and make sure that the blog never gets neglected?
If the answer to any of the above questions is no, then your next option would be to get a company like Sterling Kreative to research, create and manage your blog for you.
Correctly done, the results can be outstanding.
Have fun blogging!
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