In our industry, we have the ability to reach consumers through a number of digital mediums on the internet – websites, photos, emails, mobile, etc. Blogging is one of the mediums that has become mainstream in recent years as there are currently 9 million blogs on the internet and 40,000 new ones popping up everyday. We recently watched a webinar called, “The State of Social Media” from Hubspot, and learned that 75% of businesses plan to increase blogging for 2011. You can definitely count us as part of that 75% because we like to think of a blog as another social outlet to reach consumers – minus the character limits. In other words, blogs are just as imperative as Facebook and Twitter when it comes to online marketing due to the extent of information you can provide readers.

If you want to start blogging or blog more, here are some tips that can help you get started:

Step 1: Find a place
For those who want to start a blog, you can either create your own web page from scratch; or use popular blog template sites which are customizable as well. You don’t need many resources to maintain a blog from a template site; Tumblr and WordPress have easy interfaces and plug-ins that make it almost effortless to customize and update without extensive coding knowledge. The best part: it’s all free! Alternatively, if maintaining a blog seems like too much time commitment, another option is to find and contribute to existing blogs that already have established readership and link back to your website.

Step 2: Have a business plan
Just like any marketing strategy, you need to define your audience, establish your message, research your competition and model after successful blogs in your industry. You will also need to develop a platform/theme that is relevant to your company where you can pose as an industry expert and resource. Basically, don’t just blog about anything.
More awesomeness ahead »