A business may look at the more recent media like Facebook and Twitter, and wonder whether there’s even a use for company blogs any more. But previous experience has shown that there is still a place for such a tool. In the past, many companies recognized that their websites were not very friendly to customers, as they looked more like pages from their Annual Reports than anything else. When they changed their sites, often including a blog, customers began to respond enthusiastically and a new interaction was born.

It’s a well known fact in the business blogging community that Dell Computers led the way, being one of the very first companies to make such a change. Even as successful a business as Dell was, a barrier still existed between the company and its consumers, many of whom had quite frustrating complaints that weren’t being resolved. However when Dell set up to receive blog comments, the transition with customers was remarkable. General Motors, too, had a similar experience.

Blogs can even work in tandem with email newsletters. Many customers of a business will check the website regularly for the latest business info, and appreciate not having their inbox back logged with email. Others might still prefer the emails, so the company will need to use all the different ways of reaching out that are available. But the specifics on a blog will be less ephemeral than short Twitter updates that quickly vanish from a webpage.

And customer replies will remain equally visible.

Businesses do need to be cautious about raising clients’ expectations, however. Although an almost one-on-one relationship might be possible between a small business and its customers, larger companies may not be in a position to respond to all inquiries or problems, and this could ruin its good reputation if the company is not vigilant.

An additional use for a blog, and one that businesses might not even consider at first, is for internal communication. Even though employees can keep in touch by means of email, meetings or conference calls, an internal blog can center on one department or a individual project, providing a central place for a sales team to receive frequent updates or make an informal record of their advancements. By doing this every employee is kept in the loop and they don’t have to worry about a full email inbox and missed messages.

Even though blogs are now in a lot of ways less active, they still have a function in giving up-to-date business information and news to clients and getting feedback from them. Evolving from the more tried and true internet establishment, they provide information in a more permanent form than other media, yet allow a business to remain in fruitful, friendly contact with its customers.

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