Blogging for Business

Business blogging has become a popular part of social media marketing. Businesses are finding that they can use their blogs, to keep their customers informed about what is happening with their products, services, pricing and promotions. Savvy business owners are finding that when a blog is done effectively, it sheds favorable light on your business, bring in new clients and inspire higher degrees of customer loyalty. In fact, when a blog is done effectively it can not only have more people buying your product or service, but will help to foster word of mouth advertising that will bring others in.

However, it is important that just like any other social media tool, there are dos and don'ts when it comes to business blogging. Remember that having a business blog can pay off in increased profitability, for your company, if you are willing to devote the needed time and energy to it. Here is what you need to know about how to use your company blog for marketing:

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  Use your business blog for the right reasons-It is important that you don't use your blog an extension of your personal identity. The essence of blogging is about establishing a relationship with your readers. Your blog should be part of an ongoing dialogue that lets your customers feel connected to your company. Do not fall into the trap of using your blog to send out press releases. If you do your customers will begin not to trust the content and will likely stop reading and move on. 
  
  
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  To avoid having this happen, make sure that you use original content to write about things that are important to the essence of your business. You can share insights, tips, opinions and even humor in your business blog.
  
  
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  Make sure that you blog on a regular basis-Marketing experts stress that the most popular blogs stick to regular schedule when posting. Successful blogs will post new content on average 2-3 times per week. Remember that quality content is what attracts viewers. If you can publish this often, your readers will continue to return, develop into a community and best of all become fans of your business blog. To avoid becoming stale and burning out on idea, make sure that you have a plan. Putting a plan together, will help you develop content that is fresh and interesting. It can help to brainstorm as a group, for new and exciting ideas, for the business blog. It can also be helpful to pay attention to what is going on around you such as items you see on television, or read in newspapers, magazines or online.
  
  
• Make sure that you are developing open lines of communication, with your readers-Not having a conversation, can quickly shut your blog down. Keep in mind that while having a comments section on your blog, can give your customers a chance to slam you, it also provides you with the opportunity to find out needed information and feedback, that can make a huge difference to the long-term success of your business. Your blog will be a lot more effective if you enable comments. In addition, it is crucial to remember that this is not a one-way conversation. You should stay up to date on responding to comments. This can go a long way toward developing fans who will feel that they are an integral part of developing your business. It can also be helpful to get involved in other groups and forums, in your market. This you can also develop more of a brand for your blog, and hopefully attract new readers.

Leadership: It's all about style

Running a business has its challenges, one of which is learning how to pick a good leadership style. Everyone has their own leadership style that works for their business and works well with their employees. To help you find a leadership style, here are a few of the most popular:

Charismatic Leader
This is the type of leader everyone wants to have. A person with natural charisma is full of life. They enjoy what they do and people love working for them. They have knowledge that helps to bring out the best skills in the people they lead. A charismatic person also sees the joy in life and helps to create a positive atmosphere.

People like to be around a person that has charisma because they can find a way to get through difficult situations. Being around a group of people is easy for them because they have natural charm that others gravitate towards. The other important quality a person with charisma has is the ability to establish trust with their employees.

A charismatic leader always has a plan for the future. They have a vision that is easy for others to follow and they have smaller goals that can help their employees understand how they can reach the end goal. Because of the leadership qualities this person has, employees don't even think twice about following this person wherever they go.

The Micro Manager
Many small business owners are micro-managers. Since they started their own business, they have more money and interest vested into the company. This causes them to have a hard time relinquishing control to their employees. When you deal with employees that are blue or white personalities, a micro manager will be successful because they can help to push those individuals. Micro managers are red personalities because they like to be in control all the time. They may not always bring a positive attitude to the office, which can cause employees to become stressed and overwhelmed. Micro managers have a difficult time taking criticism from others and they often are not afraid to hurt other's feelings.

If you know that you are a micro manager, you may need to work on yourself to start offering more control to your employees. Start by assigning some of your smaller projects to your employees and work on establishing trust with your staff. Your people skills will need a serious overhaul so make sure you look for different ways to connect with your staff.

You can still be a micro manager, but you just need to loosen up a little bit and learn to accept that your employees will not work the same way you do.

The Passionate Leader
Similar to the charismatic leader, the passionate leader is a person that absolutely loves what they do. A passionate person has a vision for the future and they can easily convince others to follow them. Their passion for their job can easily rub off on their employees as they see how enthusiastic they are.

A person that is passionate has a vision, but they usually need help to find a way to make this vision a reality. Involve your employees in the brainstorming process and ask them to help you discover goals. This helps to energize the office as everyone is working toward the same goal. A passionate person can get a large following and they are often the best leaders for non-profit organizations.

There are several other types of leaders, but these are the top 3 that are often seen in the business world. Don't be afraid to come up with your own leadership style just make sure you are a trustworthy person and you are willing to listen to your employees. Bring a positive attitude to the office to harbor a positive workplace.

The Business of Business

A business is an entity that provides goods and services to consumers with both a profit motive and social motive in view. There are two kinds of people in the world – the entrepreneurs and the salaried. It is said that those who are entrepreneurs take more risks and are braver to face life. That is why not everyone can get into business and earn a living out of it. It is a fact that the richest ever people in the world have been successful businessmen. We are, of course, not taking into account kings and rulers of various countries. The richest businessmen in the world are

• Andrew Carnegie – Founder of the Carnegie Steel Company. When adjusted, his net worth lies somewhere between USD 75 billion to USD 298 billion.
• Bill Gates – Founder of Microsoft. His current net worth is somewhere around USD 40 billion.
• Cornelius Vanderbilt – He was a shipping and railroad magnet. His personal fortune is estimated to be somewhere between USD 143 billion to USD 178 billion.
• Henry Ford – Founder of the Ford Motor Company. His net worth is estimated at USD 195 billion.
• John D. Rockefeller – Founder of the Standard Oil Company, John D. Rockefeller was the first person ever to become a billionaire when he achieved the feat in 1916. He is considered the richest American ever and his personal wealth is adjusted to be somewhere between USD 192 billion to USD 323 billion.
• John Jacob Astor – He started off trading in fur and later went into real estate and opium. His adjusted wealth is estimated at USD 116 billion.

Among the current entrepreneurs, the 10 richest businessmen include

• Bill Gates
• Warren Buffet
• Carlos Slim Helu
• Lawrence Ellison
• Ingvar Kamprad and family
• Karl Albrecht
• Mukesh Ambani
• Lakshmi Mittal
• Theo Albrecht
• Amancia Ortega

When it comes to business, there are many interesting incidents that come up from time to time. It is said that when Roberto Goizueta took over the reins of the company, Coca Cola was struggling in its fight against Pepsi, its biggest competitor. Goizueta took a stock of the situation and famously commented that Coke’s fight was not against Pepsi, but water. The words had such an effect that Coke shrugged off all competition and enhanced its position as the number one cola company of the world. As per Fortune Magazine, the biggest companies in the world currently are

• Royal Dutch Shell
• Exxon Mobil
• Wal-Mart Stores
• British Petroleum
• Chevron
• Total
• ConocoPhillips
• ING Group
• Sinopec
• Toyota Motor

Branding is something that no business can sustain without. Visibility among consumers is one of the most important elements for any business to flourish. That is why there is so much impetus on creating a logo and popularizing it among the masses. Consumers connect with the logos of their favorite companies and that helps businesses to earn more revenue. Some of the most popular brands in the world are

• Google – The Internet search engine.
• Apple – Producers of the iPod, the iPhone and the Mac.
• Nike – The world’s largest sportswear company.
• Target – Their Bullseye logo is considered to be known by more Americans than any other company.
• Starbucks – It brought in revolution in the coffee business and is still the leader in this field.
• BMW – It continues to remain the ultimate driving machine.
• Nintendo – Game lovers simply cannot do without this company’s products.
• Whole Foods Market – The leader in fresh fruits and vegetables.
• Disney – The ultimate in entertainment, Disney continues to attract tourists from all over the world.
• Coca Cola – The world’s largest beverage company still rules. (Half circle full circle half circle A, half circle full circle right angle A….the limerick to describe Coca Cola logo!)

There are many funny and interesting facts about business around the world. I have captured some of them below.

• In 1987, American Airlines decided to omit one olive from each salad course in the first class. As a result, they made a savings of $40,000.
• Bank of America started operations as Bank of Italy.
• If the entire population of the world is taken as 100, then half of the total wealth would be held by 6 people.
• More than 90% of cab drivers in New York are immigrants from other countries.
• The Mall, the biggest departmental store in Washington, D. C. is 1.4 times bigger than the Vatican City.
• Philip Morris, the first owner of the Marlboro brand, died of lung cancer.
• The top three valuable brands in the world in order of their value are Marlboro, Coca Cola and Budweiser.
• Dr. Lieven P. Van Neste owns more than 200,000 domain names.
• A Tupperware party starts somewhere in the world every 23 seconds.
• People in the USA get so hyper about the Super Bowl that the sale of antacids increases by 20% every year after the day of the game.
• Nauru, a small island in the Western Pacific, has fossilized bird droppings as one of its chief exports.
• The soft drink industry spends more than $100 million a year in stopping thefts involving their vending machines.
• The AA, or the Automobile Association was first started in 1905 to warn motorists about speed traps.
• Bill Bowerman, who founded Nike, first got the inspiration of creating Nike shoes after staring at waffle iron.
• David McConnell named his company Avon after the birthplace of William Shakespeare, Stratford on Avon.
• Kids in North America spend an average of about half a billion dollar annually on chewing gums.
• Canada and United States are the leaders in producing paper and paper products.

Businesses are reasons why common people exist. If there were no businesses and no businessmen, there would be no production. The average people would have nothing to buy and the human race would cease to exist. It is these risk takers who make life simpler for us. They reap the profits but where would we be without them?