What is the purpose of your blog?

The purpose of a blog is not easily defined, and every business should  have its own set of documents describing the purpose, aims, objectives and intent of  their own company blog.

 

When documenting the purpose of your blog be sure to have your business plan handy, as the company purpose, aims, objectives and intent will be used to describe the purpose, aims objectives and intent of your blog.

 

Document your blog and change your attitude to blogging

Once you have taken the time to document the purpose, aims, objectives and intent of your blog, you will find it an awful lot easier to  write clear instructions for your content creators , and ensure that the content that they create and assemble is more suitable for your intended target market audience.

 

From a FUFISM based  marketing perspective the primary purpose of your blog is to act as a supplemental marketing strategy to your website, and support the purpose, aims, objectives and intent of your website.  Your blog will of course have many secondary purposes just as your website has many different secondary purposes.

Your blog should be viewed as an essential asset that acts as part of your online presence, and be treated as the second most important online communication channel that you own, remembering that your web site is the primary online communication channel that you own.

One of the more important purposes of your blog,  should be to act as a link building, and content marketing  channel for your web site. Your blog and your web site are owned by you, making them your digital assets, whereas your social media is just leased online space, where you have very little control over the activity that takes place there.  You have total control over your blog and your web site, so you can dictate the activity that is allowed to take place within these two digital assets that you mange and control.

Your blog should also complement your website and act as a content marketing platform for your web site, where you add extra value to the content and context  of your web site by expanding the conversation started in your web site, through posts and pages in your blog,  that attract comments and on going conversations around specific topics as listed and discussed in your web site.  These conversations should then be extend to the social media, so that the social media may then be used as an extension of your blog to market your online content within your web site further and in more detail,  to the search engines as well as  your intended target market audience.

Your blog should also be used to solve consumer issues with your products, services and related information flow patterns , by answering specific questions picked up through your social listening tools, or queries raised by your audience within the online environment.

 Your blog is not a sales house, and you should not be pushing sales within your blog, but rather sending viewers to your sales pages within your web site, from blog posts that form part of your sales funnel, or pages within your blog that are dedicated to sending visitors to specific landing pages within your web site.


You should have a blogging policy, and a set of documents describing the purpose, aims, objectives and intent of your blog.  This set of documents should also descibe where your blog fits into your totsal marketing plan, along with who is in charge of the SEO issues, and how these are integrated into your web sites SEO issues, as well as how your blog will be integrated into your social media marketing tactics along with the marketing roles played by
1) your web site
2) your blog
3) your social media tactics
4) your offline marketing tactics and staregies


Besides direct marketing, content marketing, link building and SEO (Search Engine Optimization)  issues your blog should also play a number of other important roles in many other areas of your business including but not limited to

• public relations issues
• after sales issues
• customer education issues
•  community building issues
• business networking issues

The power of your blog should not be underestimated, and you should review and update the documentation describing the purpose, sims, objectives and intent of your blog at least once every three months, but once a month would be best practice. 

What is the purpose of your web site?

The purpose of  web site explained

From a FUFISM based marketing perspective your web site is the primary hub of your online presence, and needs to be used as  the core element  of your customer  /  supplier / client communications network.

Every business needs to examine their business plan, and understand the purpose, aims and objectives of their business as laid out in their  business plan.   This purpose aims and objectives of your business or organisation  is then used as a basis to design a marketing strategy, where your online presence needs to be the central point of your marketing strategy.

Your website should be viewed as an essential asset that is used as a communications tool, and forms the core of  all your marketing, advertising and customer interaction platforms, both online and offline.

Online marketing has\many different components, and these all need to be considered when planning your marketing. The trick question is how will you integrate these into your website and your total marketing plan.  

YOUR ONLINE MARKETING SHOULD NOT BE SEPARATED FROM YOUR OFF LINE MARKETING 

Your online marketing and offline marketing should complement each other and work as a team to get your branding and related business  issues noticed by your intended target market audience in a manner that is not intrusive, objectionable or disruptive, but is pleasant, memorable and  sticky  so that your brand will be in the thinking patterns and thought processes of your intended target market audience when they are looking for your products, services or related information.

So keeping the above stuff in mind, what is the purpose of your web site?

Well this is a very loaded question, and your website has a multitude of purposes, but  it is our view that the primary purpose of your web site  is to serve as a communications hub, that is customer focused and services the information flow needs of   your intended target market audience as well as but not limited to :

• your marketing  department
• your Public relations management team 
• enhance your sales team and  sales related administrative staff
• enhance your customer care and  related Public relations needs
• solve  after sales queries and offer  product  information updates
• interface between your various social media marketing teams and administrative staff
• act as an online brochure 
• act as a cold calling business rep.
• act as a lead generation source
• So many more purposes that are at first hidden and not very obvious at first glance.

The HOA (Hangout On Air) embedded below where +Ammon Johns  and +Vincent Messina  discuss QUALITIES OF AN EFFECTIVE BUSINESS WEBSITE  is  very helpful  in expanding the issues that you need to consider when determining the purpose of your web site. Take note that the purpose of having an online presence and a website will vary  considerably from company to company.

This HOA helps explain the PURPOSE of your web site!!!   Watch and enjoy.

Remember to document what you think is the purpose, aims and objectives of your web site, and be sure to share this with your marketing team.   Then ask that other departments in your business read over this document and ask them to comment where they think their department fits into this document, and what they feel that you need to add to this document,  discussing the purpose, aims and objectives of your web site.

Do not ignore this input, but act on it and take this feed back to your design team asking how this new perspective can be integrated into your existing website in ways that enhance your customer experience.

Be sure that your social media team are aware of this document discussing the purpose, aims and objectives of your website. Also ensure  that your social media marketing team makes good well balanced use of this information when doing their stuff within the social media environment.

It is vital that your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) team  are aware of this document and make use of this when working with other departments  as well as your various different  marketing teams.  This will help to ensure that your SEO is better integrated into your total marketing plan.

Your document discussing the purpose, aims and objectives of your web site needs to be reviewed and updated at least once every month, then the revised document should be discussed with all your marketing teams, asking how these changes impact on their work.  If there ARE NO CHANGES  ask your entire marketing team WHY ARE THERE NO CHANGES because things are constantly in flux, and many of your aims and objectives should have been accomplished within one month.  You may also have thought of a new purpose that is not listed, but not added it.  Be sure to add all new purposes identified, as this will have an impact on the content of your web site, and may give your content marketing team new perspectives that they can exploit..

Do you have a web site policy document for your business?

If not then make a plan and develop a website policy document as part and parcel of your business policy documentation that is part of your business plan.

Your web site should be updated regularly and maintained  property by the same team who designed your web site.  Your web site is your primary online asset, and needs to be treated with the same respect that you treat your office space, taking into account that this is the digital entrance to your business, so your web pages should display the appropriate style and branding that your customers would expect to find when they walked into your offices.

Your website serves a multitude of purposes, and each of these purposes needs to be listed in your business plan, and then also listed in your marketing plan, as well as in your business policy documentation.