The World Wide Web holds a promising future for companies. Digital advertising and professional networking have changed the dynamics of how companies market their products and maintain their image. Many companies are also using the technique of blogging to promote their corporate image and products. Look at the situation this way. There are people who want to buy a product or service. There are people who are selling these products and services and want to reach out to potential clients. The internet can connect these two sets of individuals by means of digital advertising and blogging. We know that many big companies have their blogs. But there is a lot of potential for individual owners, consultants, and other businessmen who do not know anything about blogging. Take a look at two survey results. A recent report by Technocrati (September 2008), a blog search engine, disclosed that 12% of the sample bloggers were corporate bloggers. This figure shows that people are yet to accept blogs as a serious marketing tool to promote their corporate image. Another 2004 blog survey (WebPro News) reported the following findings related to preferences of blog readers. Of the sampled blog readers · 54% formed their opinions about products or companies on the basis of blogs. · 51% of the blog readers visit product or corporate sites as a result of reading blogs.
Benefits of blogging and networking for companies These are significant numbers and companies must gear up to represent themselves on professional networks. In this context let us understand how a company can benefit by blogging on a professional network. 1. Firstly companies that blog on professional networks have a very specific audience. They are communicating with people in their own industry who have an equal level of competence and knowledge. They have an edge over companies that do not blog. Nowadays if a person searches for your company name or product on the internet he expects to find a corporate website, reviews, discussion threads, and posts on blogs. Corporate blogs linked to your professional network can have ‘good-first impressions’. So why not have your own blog and do a good job at Public Relations? 2. Secondly business is no longer restricted to local or regional markets. With a corporate blog linked to your professional profile you can expand your business globally. You can describe your products and services, include feedback of your clients, and announce new events and launches. For example it is very easy for a person in England to locate information about HVAC companies in say, Canada or Europe by searching on professional networks. It is very easy for data center professionals to read about the latest developments in their field by being part of a professional network and reading blogs, press releases, etc. 3. Thirdly your blog reflects where your company is going. Well written posts on your professional profile (blog) can be a healthy way to tell the community that your business is doing well and is in safe hands. Many large companies spell their mission, goals, leadership style and strategies on the corporate blogs. This reassures the consumers, investors, and the entire community at large.
Benefits of blogging for a data center professional The above discussion explains the benefits of blogging over professional networks. Hence a data center company can use its membership on www.DataCenterProfessionals.net to reach their target market, to communicate its goals and future strategies, and to consolidate its position in the market (See Figure 1). Much depends on why the company wants to blog. Ask yourself the following questions: · Do you want to improve your corporate identity? · Do you want to communicate to your consumers, shareholders, and potential buyers? · Do you want to describe your strategies and future plans?

Figure 1 Why do you want to blog on a professional network? Internal corporate blogs Google maintains a corporate blog (
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/) which showcases the direction of research and development of the company. Google launched its corporate blog in 2004 and the posts on the blog have linearly grown with the company’s success. We have mapped the number of blog posts in the month of April for the past four years. In April 2004 there was 1 blog post; in April 2005 this number increased to 16 posts; in April 2006 20 posts were written and in April 2007 and 2008 this number was 31 and 30 posts respectively. Currently Google is in the third stage as shown in the figure above. Google is the market leader in the search industry and is consolidating its position. At the other end of the spectrum there are many data center startups and business owners who are competing to get more attention. The best way to create your online identity is by creating your professional profile on
www.datacenterprofessionals.net and actively posting on the blog. It will help you to “tell the world what is your vision and how do you plan to serve the world with your products.” A professional network that allows you to blog is a perfect choice to start marketing your image but there is one last point to remember. You must not expect to have overnight results with a couple of blog posts. Your profile is the first step to your blog. You have to create an effective profile and then o maintain a blog like you take care of your plant. You have to see it grow and be patient with it. The conclusion of this discussion is summarized in the following three thoughts: B
logging is a very healthy way of making an online presence. Blogging is a long term investment and requires continuous efforts. The growing influence of professional networks and corporate blogging on such networks will change how products and services will be sold in the future.