Blog# 2: Are blogs the (digital) way of the future?

Good morning Mr. Rolando,

I want to say thank you for meeting with me today as I discuss our company’s need of a social presence, with an emphasis on blogging. As I am sure you are aware, blogging and other Web 2.0 methods are growing in popularity and applicability, both in the personal and professional arena. Given that our company has three main business lines, I see a potential to increase our reach in the global market and to better connect with our external and internal customers. As I searched online and reviewed our key competitors (Competitor A, B, C <all not named on purpose), I see that none of them had a blog. Yes, I saw Facebook pages and YouTube channels, but not a blog. As you will see from the graph (Link# 1), 60% of companies have a blog as of 2012. Yet, none of our top three competitors currently are utilizing this social media outlet.

I believe this is a hidden marketing tool that has not been capitalized on from within our market. As I will discuss, having a competitive advantage in the online community can help grow our brand, but we must be cost conscious when executing this initiative.

Benefit #1: Competitive Advantage in the Market
Given the nature of our products, being able to differentiate ourselves from our competitors can help bring in new distributors, direct customers, and grow our brand. Based on a recent survey done in 2012, it was determined (Link# 1) that 329 million people viewed a blog last year. Considering that our cheapest product is $100, having just 1,000 individuals from companies looking to use product could generate $100,000 in sales (before expenses to pay employees, ship product, etc.). These are 1,000 individuals who may not have learned about our company if not for the blog. An additional benefit for our blog would be to promote application stories pertaining to our products, having customer spotlights with images and possible video displaying the end uses, and contact information for reaching our sales department.

By just being accessible online, this can become another arm in our company to attract potential customers and broadcast our diverse product line. We do have to be aware of costs for operating a blog and I would like to focus on this area next.

                                          

Benefit #2: Blogging Is Free…for a Cost
With websites such as www.blogspot.com, our company can create a blog in minutes (albeit have limited information) and be ready to go. However, there are limitations to using a free blog, which may include limited size of pictures, size of page, ads, and so on. If you look at this link that I have provided (link #2), you will see some other areas of concern. One method around this can be to purchase a blog, but costs and benefits vary. For instance, if we were to purchase a blog on www.wordpress.com, we could purchase a bundle for $99/year that will provide additional data storage, remove unwanted ads, allow for more customization, and so on (link #3). 

One additional concern is whether we have the personnel support to maintain these blogs (depending on how many we create). My recommendation would be to look internally first to see who may possess knowledge of blogs or want to pursue that field. If we are to hold interviews, a quick search online shows that the average salary in the U.S. for a Marketing Specialist ranges from $45,910-$62,238 (link #4). One suggestion would be to possibly create this position an internship with our local colleges and then potentially offer a full-time position should the intern prove successful.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to further discussing our next steps needed for our social media initiative.

Link# 1: http://blogging.org/blog/blogging-stats-2012-infographic/

Link# 2: http://support.google.com/blogger/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=42348

Link# 3: http://en.support.wordpress.com/bundles/

Link# 4: http://www1.salary.com/Marketing-Specialist-salary.html