This past week, I have studied a lot about blogging and the abundance of news that it can provide. When it comes down to it, I have always been on the fence about the credibility and accuracy that blog sites have to offer. For me, most blog posts I have read consists of a lot of biased content and it is someone going on a tangent on a certain topic so it is difficult for me to accept that there are actually, in fact, blog sites out there that are strictly unbiased and accurate news postings. I mean just look at the blog you are reading right now. It is me going on and on and giving my opinion on how I think blogging is just a hub of fluff and opinion-based information. However, I do have a degree in journalism, so I hope that offers some credibility to my blog site for when I share news stories or posts about research-based topics.
In my Strategic Communication and Emerging Media class, we have been discussing if whether or not blogging promotes citizen journalism. While I think blogging is a great way for people to use their voice and to share news that they may have a personal connection to, I don't think these same personal blogs should be used as people's only source when news surfing. This is mostly because I don't think such bloggers know the appropriate or proper way to produce news content if they don't have the educational training or professional background in it because there are lot of 'do's and don't's' in creating such content and you don't really know that unless you have a degree in journalism or in a similar field.
I think if someone did have a degree in journalism, it would strengthen their credibility and make their blog site more socially accepted for promoting news content by other news professionals. It would also show people that because they have that educational training and/or professional background, that blogger has the experience of creating news stories that are based on just the facts and are not impartial to their opinion of the topic. Once credibility is achieved, I think this can make it easier for readers, including me, to accept blogging as a formal way to receive news content. However, I don't want this blog post to make others think that blogging should only be for the 'professionals' because that is not my point. My point is that bloggers need to make sure they have the credibility for whatever topic or subjects they are basing their blog site on. In other words, blogging about personal experiences is way different than blogging about community, regional, and/ot worldwide news as if you are a professional news reporter so it is important you have the credentials in doing so if that is the sole purpose or focus of your blog.
But blogging isn't just for personal use or for sharing media-related news. It is a great tool for businesses to use to instill credibility and to attract a larger audience. In an article, titled "52 Incredible Blogging Statistics to Inspire You to Blog," it includes just what the title suggests and shows how blogging can be beneficial to a business or company with the goal of getting more widely known or more attention from consumers. For example, the first statistic listed states that when a business features a blog as a key feature of their website, there is a 434 percent higher chance of that same business being highly ranked on a search engine. If that percentage does not entice a business with the goal of becoming more widely known to start a blog, then I don't know what would.
The article lists another statistic, stating that one interest of almost 50 percent of marketers is driving content that aligns with their customers' journey and experience with their business. I think this a significant statistic to consider when utilizing a blog for your company or business. I think producing content on your business's blog that relates to your customers and positively grabs their attention will ensure a better relationship with them and even help that customer pool grow larger and larger. People want to know that their contributions and experiences are being noticed and I think the more businesses take that to heart, the more successful their status will be when utilizing a blog.
Another statistic that stood out to me after reading the article was that it mentioned how blogging does not cost anything but time. So, since blogging is a free tool to use, then why wouldn't a business use it? I think this is particularly an important tool for newer businesses who are just starting up because it is such any easy thing to use to make a name for yourself. It would definitely help those business' budgets at the beginning of their startup so they can eventually afford paid traffic for their future marketing efforts and business promotions.
Overall, when it comes to blogging, I think there are many factors that you should consider and questions you should ask yourself before marketing or promoting your site in a certain way. In other words, the promotion of your blogs should align with the experience and credentials that you hold. So, you might ask yourself, "do I have the appropriate knowledge to write blogs on the content I want to share?" Because, ultimately, there is a difference between sharing content as if you were a technical news writer or if you are sharing your opinion on a topic and your credibility should reflect that content.
Do you use blog sites to share or receive the news? Does your business use a blog to update consumers on information? If so, I would love to hear about your blogging experience so leave a comment below!
Well, that's about it for this blog post, so thank you for checking out my 'column.' Stay tuned for next week's post!
-CC
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