10 reasons why companies must blog

Blogging for communications with customers :

1. Blogs are interactive: In many cases, marketing is a monologue
2. Blogs are humanizing: It can be honest and credible, most blogs are written in one strong, opinionated voice
3. Blogs are inexpensive: In most cases, a blog's only cost is for the value of the time and talent required to create and maintain it.
4. Blogs are immediate: A blog lets you draw out invaluable feedback.
5. Blogs are infectious: Like any good viral marketing campaign â?? even offline, traditional publications â?? won't hesitate to pick up an interesting post and republish it.
6. Blogs are empowering: Gallup survey that people in advertising was very low rank for their honesty and ethics.
7. Blogs are enjoyable: A pleasure for both author and audience.
8. Blogs are authoritative: Ideally, your blog will provide readers with plenty of fresh, premium content they can't find anywhere else.
9. Blogs are valuable: A blog is tailor-made for storing and managing intellectual capital.
10. Blogs are popular: Last year, â??blogâ?? topped Merriam-Webster's list of the 10 most looked-up words. And blogs received wide acclaim in The New York Times Magazine's recent â??Year in Ideasâ?? issue. From this evidence, it would seem that blogs are here to stay.

Bob Cargill is an independent creative director and copywriter.