There are a hundred million blogs on the internet that discuss a wide range of issues everyday and more are coming up each day. The number of people who receive information from blogs all over the world is simply humongous and way above the number of people that used to receive information via traditional media forms.
There are many benefits for operating, owning or accessing a blog. However, the truth of the matter is that different people have different needs for blogs; some set them up to share stories about their personal lives, while others use them to pass information on political events. Yet others use blogs as avenues for sharing with others their opinions on social issues or even developmental issues. Some of the benefits of running a blog include:
a.) Advertising and marketing: Though blogs are majorly meant for personal use, there are many other people who use blogs to make their businesses prosper through internal communications or even by using them to advertise their services and goods and reach more potential clients. As a marketing tool, it provides a point of contact between clients and business owners and goes a long way to increase the visibility of the business, which will translate to increased sales. This is especially important, considering that as the 21st century progresses, more and more businesses are taking their advertisements online as opposed to having them being placed on the traditional media forms.
b.) Reputation Management: For a business owner or provider of a service, a blog can be very instrumental in developing one’s standing and expertise. This is because blogs help them show off the knowledge, experience and skills that they have on the various categories of industry. It also gives them numerous chances to show why they are better than their competition. As a Public Relations (PR) tool, the blog will also make it much easier for the business owners to directly explain any outstanding or critical issues to their clients/customers.
c.) Making money: People who own or operate blogs can make money through placement of advertising or by endorsing some services or products. This can be explained this way: When a blog becomes very popular, it can attract hundreds of thousands of people every day. This creates a very huge potential client base for any company wishing to market itself. Once the advertisers show up, the blogger asks for some money to place their ads on his or her site. The rates that advertisers will be asked to pay will often be different on many sites, depending on the number of people who visit it.
d.) Internal Communication channel: In a company or organization, a blog will often provide a platform in which people from various departments can discuss the issues that affect them in the work that they do. With a place that these staff members can meet virtually, relationships in the office could become better.
e.) Fun: There are people who set up blogs simply so that they can have spread the cheer to others. Blogs are a great fun for so many people, especially when reading the comments that have been put there by various readers. There are blogs for comedy and others that deal with sports only.
f.) Speak your mind: This is another very useful aspect of blogs. They allow operators to discuss what they have to say what they have to say to the people who visit their blogs without fear. This helps in developing talents like storytelling and poetry among other forms of art.
g.) Social Networking: Blogs bring people from various backgrounds together. For a moment, people can forget who they are and be put on the same level as everyone else when they are on the blog. Blog users meet new friends and strengthen already existing relationships. This is one of the biggest benefits of a blog.
