Having a blog was the craze 8 or 10 years ago. In fact, BusinessWeek (now Bloomberg Businessweek) published an oft-cited article titled “Blogs Will Change Your Business” on May 1, 2005. That was a digital eon ago, but Businessweek updated it, and in February of 2008, a mere half-eon ago—and retitled it “Social Media Will Change Your Business.”

Social media. That’s Twitter and Facebook. Blogs are social, too, but has their time come and gone?

The answer: hardly! Twitter and Facebook are essential to any business marketing strategy, but they’re very shallow. A tweet can only be 140 characters, after all—little more than an LCD screen sound bite—and while Facebook is deeper, it’s still not a place where companies or individuals post anything with much depth, meaning or intellectual value. In fact, Facebook posts are often used to point people to a company or organizational blog. They’re a kind of billboard designed to grab media browsers as they scan the latest updates on their phones in the coffee shop.

Has the era of the blog come and gone?

So, you need a blog. Why? Because most social media is too shallow, too short, or too quick-hitting to say much beyond a catchphrase or a quick quote. Blogs allow your company to go into detail and really engage with potential customers. A 300-500 word blog post conveys things in ways that a Facebook post, the equivalent of a guy wearing a signboard for a mattress sale on the highway, just can’t.

Another reason for having a blog is that many companies don’t have continuously changing products or services like an Amazon.com. Their websites, while professional and attractive, may be fairly stagnant. A regular post keeps new content in front of customers all the time.

Third, a blog puts your content out there on the internet. A well-written blog can position your company as a thought leader, and you’ll find the cybersphere citing your posts and insights.

Fourth, a blog is inexpensive. It does require staff time to research topics, write blog entries, engage with commenters and maintain the blog site itself, but blogging is far less expensive than other forms of advertising.

Lastly, blogging keeps your company informed and out in front. No one wants to read yesterday’s news, or information they’ve already gathered. Blogging forces your company to keep abreast of trends, new products and services coming down the pipeline, and the latest industry news.

Yes, the venerable blog has some age on it as a social media tool. But don’t think for a minute that it’s outlived its usefulness. Trade Press Services can help your company start blogging today. Contact us at [email protected].