The document discusses the benefits of blogging for businesses, including using blogging as a way to share expertise, build customer relationships, manage knowledge, and increase search engine rankings. It provides tips for starting a business blog, such as defining the target audience, finding a niche, being passionate about the topic, and maintaining the blog regularly. Examples of successful business blogs are also included to illustrate how blogging can help brands.

1. Blogging: Inbound Marketing Take your marketing to the next level Pinnacle Michelle Hillaert Social Media Consultant http://pinnacleofindiana.com

2. Blogging Blogging is essentially “earned media,” or a chance to let entrepreneurs get to know me by sharing my thoughts online with complete transparency. http://www.corporateblogging.info/basics/why

3. Why Blog? Share your Expertise! Become the expert. Be the thought leader in your industry. Build customer relationships. By focusing on customer needs and not selling, you can build relationships and trust. Blogs are a fast way to join the customers' discussions, provide tips and insights or receive feedback. Knowledge management. Readers can find valuable information they need, and company reps can use the blog as a resource with customers/readers Rank high in search engines. Search Engines reward sights that are updated often.

4. The Social Media Cycle Blog/Website Organization

5. What Should You Blog About? Discover your Passion! Define your target audience. Who do you want to build a relationship with? What kind of information will your target audience find valuable? Find your niche. Try to talk about something that is differentiated from what other blogs in your field cover, even if your approach is just slightly different or new. Be passionate about what you write. Make sure the topic is something that you’ll have a passion for writing about on a regular basis. Keep up your blog. If you’re not going to keep up with your blog, you shouldn’t start one in the first place.

6. How Do I Create A Following? Be yourself and Have Fun! Be authentic – Use your own style and voice. Don’t try to be someone else. Be transparent – Be willing to talk like a human being, show feelings and a point of view. Get inside your readers minds - Each time you present, you need to think about who is in the audience and what they want to hear. Solicit feedback – Ask people what they want to read about and then cover those topics. Don’t be offensive or take public risks – Don’t be too extreme with jokes and comments. Have fun – Make writing fun, if writing becomes a chore, it will show.

7. Mommy Blogger– MomAdvice.com @momadvice Starts writing, sharing ‘mom advice.’ Results??? Respected speaker, writer… represents large brands like Kenmore, Glade, Wal-Mart, etc. Blogging makes a Difference!

8. Example Blogs and Resources Continuing the Research! Blog Examples: http://momadvice.com http://www.blogsouthwest.com/blogswhttp://www.whatsthediff.comhttp://blog.pinkcakebox.comhttp://southbendpolice.wordpress.com Resources: http://mashable.com/2010/03/01/company-bloghttp://www.corporateblogging.info/basics/why

9. Pinnacle in Social Media http://pinnacleofindiana.com/blog Twitter: @pinnacleindiana LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/companies/pinnacle-group-of-indiana