Harvard Business School : Benefits of blogging

Harvard Business School’s Working Knowledge for Business Leaders has an excellent article on the advantages of company blogs. Here’s the highlights. Read the full article to get specific corporate examples and how to advice from corporate bloggers.

• Easy-to-use software
• Streamlines the process of creating and updating a professional-looking Web page
• Information on a blog is indexed and swiftly accessed by popular search engines such as Google or Yahoo
• Disseminates content far more quickly—and, in some instances, far more prominently—than other, more traditional forms of corporate communications.
• Establish expertise in industry or subject area.
• Appear higher in search engine rankings.
• Influence the public ‘conversation’ about your company.
• Make it easy for journalists to find the latest, most accurate information about new products or ventures.
• In the case of a crisis, a blog allows you to shape the conversation about it.
• Enhance brand visibility and credibility.
• Personalize one’s company by giving it a human voice.
• Achieve customer intimacy: Speak directly to consumers and have them come right back with suggestions or complaints—or kudos.

Wow, the folks at Harvard sound like me. Think maybe if I knew then what I know now, I could have got in Harvard? No.