Have you gotten into the habit of reading a company's or individual's blog yet? I have! They are a great way to get expert opinions and information. Some of my favorite blogs are grahamjones.co.uk and allbusiness.com in the business realm. To look at a really savvy web presence, blog and social media marketing site, look at rachaelray.com. She uses all types of social media, gets celebrities to blog for her and is really using every avenue well. Read on and decide, or not, to create a blog for your business.

Pros:
1) Self-hosted blogs help boost the presence of your website as search engines favor content that is regularly updated.
2) Blogs help you position yourself as an expert in your business or industry.
3) The interaction of a blog creates a personal relationship between you and your readers, customers and potential customers.
4) Blogs are a fast, easy avenue for others to give you feedback or for you to solicit feedback on an upcoming project or product.

Cons:
1) Blogs are another item to do on your to-do list and best when updated regularly.
2) It takes a little set-up for self-hosting.
3) When hosted on an outside site, your website will not get the benefits, but it is an easy way to start.

Tips:
1) Blogs are not advertising. Make sure your copy is general enough and not self-serving. If you'd like to discuss specific product, it's better to have a customer write a balanced product review.
2) If you can't keep up a blog by yourself, assign an article a week to others in your office. Make sure they also understand the parameters of a blog.
3) Articles shouldn't be very long. Two to three paragraphs, written succinctly, are a great quick bite of information.
4) Take white papers, your research or your written articles and break them up into "blog" size bites. You'll have enough information for a month or two.
5) If using previously written articles, tie in some latest news to the article to give it more immediacy.