Secrets to Success Deborah Micek

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Blogs are an opportunity to share

Why are blogs gaining mainstream popularity so quickly? What is the attraction? Why are they so darn powerful when applied to business or politics?

The answer is simple when you consider the history of marketing and communication: A blog exponentially multiplies the world's oldest, favorite and most-trusted form of information sharing -- word of mouth.

People love sharing what they know with like-minded friends.

Think about it. Whom do you trust the most to give you advice, recommendations and information about opportunities, purchases or choices?

If you're like most people, the person you trust the most is someone you know -- someone whom you feel is just like you.

That type of trust comes from personal communication, conversations and relationships built with people who share common interests. When your blog is integrated into a complete new-media marketing strategy, it delivers all that and more.

What is the attraction? Blogs are not merely online journals (at least not for the savvy business owner or marketer). Blogs are instant publishing tools that allow you to easily update your content, create relationships and build trust with your target audience.

Why are they so powerful? The power of blogs is not in the technology. As cool and convenient as blogs are for business marketers, the power of blogging is in the two-way conversations that create personal connections.

A blog becomes a personal extension of the author, who builds relationships by responding to the feedback from clients and readers.

Blogs are not just for press releases, product updates, or company news. Blogs are an open door to communication where customers and prospects can voice their opinions, contribute to product development and become part of your company family.

Blogs are not to be ignored as a passing fad. Blogs are so popular and have grown to wield so much power that innovative marketers are now using them as accelerators for everything from search-engine optimization to hubs for a complete new-media marketing strategy.

Blogs provide the public with a more reliable way of getting news and information, free from mass-media manipulation and interruption marketing. When mega-Internet players such as Google and Yahoo! alter their entire business models to adapt to a trend, you can bet it that it is not a passing fad.

Hundreds of millions of people are using blogs from personal bloggers to political bloggers, from consumer bloggers to business bloggers. Some people are blogging and they aren't even aware that they are doing so.

Next week I will cover the many applications for blog usage by both business owners and consumers.