How are blogs useful to organizations?

The number of organizations using blogs for many purposes is currently on the rise. In fact, quite a few of the Fortune 500 companies currently have a blog. These blogs are useful as they allow information regarding products, services and customers to be shared. Blogs can be used as an effective marketing tool in order to create awareness about certain aspects of the company. Companies can also have internal blogs which allow employee interaction, the sharing of relevant topics, and the ability to gather intelligence and expertise from all their employees. Blogs can really provide businesses with a boost as they allow them to reach a segment of consumers which they may not have been reaching before. Businesses can also gain extra revenue by the sale of text links, advertising, affiliate programs, etc. Since blogs are interactive as opposed to static websites, they give your customers a chance to communicate with you and provide you with feedback which you can use to satisfy them better. The negative effects of a blog for a company can be, for example, an employee losing his job due to something he said on the blog. Also, sometimes employees can leak commercial secrets of a company using the blog which can prove to be harmful. If the company blog is not maintained this will set a bad impression for the company. The organization has to ensure that the blog enhances their image and does not damage it.

Snapshot of a company blog:


References:
Companies Ponder the Blog Option
Organizations Putting Blogs to Good Use
Benefits of Blog Marketing