Business Blogging: Why and How?

A strong online presence is important for businesses in today’s high-speed and competitive world. Blogs have already become a new are a new buzz marketing. Marketers are blogging for organizations, products, ideas and or for other organizational goals and achieving.
That has not started happening in Pakistan yet. An overwhelming majority of local consumers who do not (or cannot) use the Internet and even marketing professionals still ask what is Blog?

To understand blogging as a corporate communications tool, we must understand the nature of blogs. Here is a short definition, “Blogs – an abbreviation of ‘weblogs’ – are published on the web, typically as micro-sites standing by themselves but today also as parts of traditional web sites. They reflect the interests, thoughts and opinions of the person, sometimes persons, publishing the blog. Blogs are characterized by frequent updates, an informal tone and many links to other blogs and web sites.”

A business blog is a blog published by or with the support of an organization to reach that organization’s goals. In external communications the potential benefits include strengthened relationships with important target groups and the positioning of the publishing organization as industry experts. Internally blogs are generally referred to as tools for collaboration and knowledge management.

Blogs can drive visitors to existing web site and help find new customers and engage the ones organizations already have. Blogs are prevailing and cost-effective marketing tools. As far as businesses is concerned, there are clients and potential clients. A blog will create a dialogue between the business, present client base, and potential buyers. Communication has never been easier and user friendly.

Once an organization has a blog, it offers immediate and high impact interaction with its target audience. As more people have online access, they’ll want more than the standard online newsletter or typical PR response (we are so averse to existing PR stereotypes). Long gone are the days when companies simply fed information to their customers. Now everyone asks for a dialogue – a meaningful exchange of information. People also want to know that organizations are listening to them and paying heeds to what is being suggested, and blogs allow just that — responding quickly and openly.

From a business point of view there are several potential reasons to blog particularly in less connected country like Pakistan. But, as always, it depends on what businesses want. Blogs are no different from channels like video, print, audio, presentations and even word of mouth marketing. They all deliver results – but of varying kind. The kind you can expect from blogs is mainly about stronger relations with important target groups.

Who should blog for the businesses? Ideally, front line people who know the business in and out should blog about it. Marketing professionals can also use this powerful tool. Organization can hire professional writers to blog for them under company’s name or blog under their own. Depending upon the feedback and information provided by audience, an inside blogger can develop the ability to write in his or her own voice and create content for business blog. Outsider bloggers can view business with an objective eye and offer fresh marketing ideas and strategies.

Outsider blogger can study company’s marketing materials, reports, other collateral information, and meet key people in organization to learn about what organization does and how best to market the product through blogging.

In developed world, blogging is being taught in most business school as a part of business studies and or part of mass communication courses.

Bloggers can post material written in editorial style and voice, updating at least once a day, three-to-five days a week. The content may also include company news, events, and information about new products and services relevant to your business.

Business Blogging: video

Earlier, online marketing and web sites never picked up in Pakistan because of obvious “digital divide that exists due to individual disparities in levels of income, education standards, psychological reasons, age, gender, rural urban divide, and quality of life or collective deprivations like lack of physical infrastructure.”

Business Blogging: video-2

Pakistan corporate world should look at blogging as an opportunity to reach out but sadly, this has still not started to happen.

the Business Blogging

A strong online presence is important for businesses in today’s high-speed and competitive world. Blogs have already become a new are a new buzz marketing. Marketers are blogging for organizations, products, ideas and or for other organizational goals and achieving.
That has not started happening in Pakistan yet. An overwhelming majority of local consumers who do not (or cannot) use the Internet and even marketing professionals still ask what is Blog?

To understand blogging as a corporate communications tool, we must understand the nature of blogs. Here is a short definition, “Blogs – an abbreviation of ‘weblogs’ – are published on the web, typically as micro-sites standing by themselves but today also as parts of traditional web sites. They reflect the interests, thoughts and opinions of the person, sometimes persons, publishing the blog. Blogs are characterized by frequent updates, an informal tone and many links to other blogs and web sites.”

A business blog is a blog published by or with the support of an organization to reach that organization’s goals. In external communications the potential benefits include strengthened relationships with important target groups and the positioning of the publishing organization as industry experts. Internally blogs are generally referred to as tools for collaboration and knowledge management.

Blogs can drive visitors to existing web site and help find new customers and engage the ones organizations already have. Blogs are prevailing and cost-effective marketing tools. As far as businesses is concerned, there are clients and potential clients. A blog will create a dialogue between the business, present client base, and potential buyers. Communication has never been easier and user friendly.

Once an organization has a blog, it offers immediate and high impact interaction with its target audience. As more people have online access, they’ll want more than the standard online newsletter or typical PR response (we are so averse to existing PR stereotypes). Long gone are the days when companies simply fed information to their customers. Now everyone asks for a dialogue – a meaningful exchange of information. People also want to know that organizations are listening to them and paying heeds to what is being suggested, and blogs allow just that — responding quickly and openly.

From a business point of view there are several potential reasons to blog particularly in less connected country like Pakistan. But, as always, it depends on what businesses want. Blogs are no different from channels like video, print, audio, presentations and even word of mouth marketing. They all deliver results – but of varying kind. The kind you can expect from blogs is mainly about stronger relations with important target groups.

Who should blog for the businesses? Ideally, front line people who know the business in and out should blog about it. Marketing professionals can also use this powerful tool. Organization can hire professional writers to blog for them under company’s name or blog under their own. Depending upon the feedback and information provided by audience, an inside blogger can develop the ability to write in his or her own voice and create content for business blog. Outsider bloggers can view business with an objective eye and offer fresh marketing ideas and strategies.

Outsider blogger can study company’s marketing materials, reports, other collateral information, and meet key people in organization to learn about what organization does and how best to market the product through blogging.

In developed world, blogging is being taught in most business school as a part of business studies and or part of mass communication courses.

Bloggers can post material written in editorial style and voice, updating at least once a day, three-to-five days a week. The content may also include company news, events, and information about new products and services relevant to your business.

Business Blogging: video

Earlier, online marketing and web sites never picked up in Pakistan because of obvious “digital divide that exists due to individual disparities in levels of income, education standards, psychological reasons, age, gender, rural urban divide, and quality of life or collective deprivations like lack of physical infrastructure.”

Business Blogging: video-2

Pakistan corporate world should look at blogging as an opportunity to reach out but sadly, this has still not started to happen.

Budgetary illusions

Annual budget in democracies is such an important event that involves every one. There is much hype and hoopla before and after. As the fiscal year comes to close and governments begin preparing the budget, economists start debating fiscal issues and policies in the media, pointing out the implications on national economy as a whole and effects on common population. Lots of interest is generated and masses wait for the budget statement with enthusiasm, hoping for the relief mainly. Other stakeholders like industries and corporate sectors also try to influence the budget makers by highlighting their needs during the preparatory process.


But no such thins happen here. At least nothing seems to be happening. No body waits for the budget speech any more. For couple of past years, the federal budgets here have reduced to yet another official exercise devoid of any substance. They neither address long tern development programs nor give any immediate respite to the commoners. All those who have been following the budget promises in the past will testify that whatever was announced can hardly be seen on ground.

People are not interested in the budget because “budget exercise is not for the people of the country. There is nothing for us in the budget,” says Hamid Ghani Anjum, a senior citizen, “we come to know when a vendor selling lady fringes tell that vegetable prices have shot up because prices of petrol have increased or when meat seller charges more on account of increase in the cost of iron ore.” What has prices of vegetable or iron ore to do with the lady fingerer or meat one wonders?

Common citizens are not interested in terms like DGP, GNP, fiscal deficit and debt servicing or even rising levels of foreign exchange and favorable promises by G-8 countries and other donors and international financial institutions like the IMF and or the World Bank. “What good are these figures if prices of utilities and commodities skyrocket after every awami budget? How much longer can one live on the promises like this: “We have to make sacrifices for long term benefits” or “it is due to the doing of previous governments, says Hamid Ghani Anjum.” And that is precisely what we have been hearing in the past.

It is in this context that common people view conflicting messages, new hopes, and more promises that start pouring in from Islamabad in June every year. Besides moon and stars, every one in the government gives good news about pay increase of the government employees, relief for common man, reduction in electricity tariff, repeal of surcharges, adjustment in tax rates while the populace keep staggering under an ever increasing burden of living.

Another reason for lack of interest in budget proposal is that like most of the legislations and legal notifications, budget proposals every year are a poorly written, ambiguous, complex and full of loopholes document that only sharp accountants can decipher. The situation is not helped by the technocrats turned politicians who purposely over complicate the budget declaration in an attempt to obscure the true implication and impact of the measures being announced – what cannot be easily understood cannot be easily attacked, and the tax payers are left vague and bemused. Which is why not one listens to the budget proposals being presented and prefers to wait for newspapers next morning instead?

Now imagine how foreign investors, vitally required to sustain the stagnant economy in the country, may view the budget proposal this year? The potential foreign investors view this in their own perspective.

That said; let us review the national economy. Pakistan is an impoverished and underdeveloped country, suffers from internal law and order situation and political disputes, low levels of foreign investment, and costly governance. Pakistan’s economic prospects, although still marred by poor human development indicators, continue to improve mainly due to inflows of foreign assistance. Foreign exchange reserves have also shown growth due to increase in recorded worker remittances. Long-term prospects remain uncertain as development spending remains low, and political tensions weaken Pakistan’s commitment to lender recommended economic reforms.

One of the more farcical aspects of the Pakistani budgets is the element of spin and rude uncertainty that accompanies the lead up to the budget.

Budgetary illusions video-1

So what people do? Instead of waiting for the federal budget they concentrate on their personal budgets and how to make the ends meet particularly when most of the income middle class people have is spent on living – education, medical and daily sustenance. There is no saving whatsoever.

Budgetary illusions video

As it happen, going gets tough after each budget. So why anyone should wait for the budget?

the Budgetary

Annual budget in democracies is such an important event that involves every one. There is much hype and hoopla before and after. As the fiscal year comes to close and governments begin preparing the budget, economists start debating fiscal issues and policies in the media, pointing out the implications on national economy as a whole and effects on common population. Lots of interest is generated and masses wait for the budget statement with enthusiasm, hoping for the relief mainly. Other stakeholders like industries and corporate sectors also try to influence the budget makers by highlighting their needs during the preparatory process.

But no such thins happen here. At least nothing seems to be happening. No body waits for the budget speech any more. For couple of past years, the federal budgets here have reduced to yet another official exercise devoid of any substance. They neither address long tern development programs nor give any immediate respite to the commoners. All those who have been following the budget promises in the past will testify that whatever was announced can hardly be seen on ground.

People are not interested in the budget because “budget exercise is not for the people of the country. There is nothing for us in the budget,” says Hamid Ghani Anjum, a senior citizen, “we come to know when a vendor selling lady fringes tell that vegetable prices have shot up because prices of petrol have increased or when meat seller charges more on account of increase in the cost of iron ore.” What has prices of vegetable or iron ore to do with the lady fingerer or meat one wonders?

Common citizens are not interested in terms like DGP, GNP, fiscal deficit and debt servicing or even rising levels of foreign exchange and favorable promises by G-8 countries and other donors and international financial institutions like the IMF and or the World Bank. “What good are these figures if prices of utilities and commodities skyrocket after every awami budget? How much longer can one live on the promises like this: “We have to make sacrifices for long term benefits” or “it is due to the doing of previous governments, says Hamid Ghani Anjum.” And that is precisely what we have been hearing in the past.

It is in this context that common people view conflicting messages, new hopes, and more promises that start pouring in from Islamabad in June every year. Besides moon and stars, every one in the government gives good news about pay increase of the government employees, relief for common man, reduction in electricity tariff, repeal of surcharges, adjustment in tax rates while the populace keep staggering under an ever increasing burden of living.

Another reason for lack of interest in budget proposal is that like most of the legislations and legal notifications, budget proposals every year are a poorly written, ambiguous, complex and full of loopholes document that only sharp accountants can decipher. The situation is not helped by the technocrats turned politicians who purposely over complicate the budget declaration in an attempt to obscure the true implication and impact of the measures being announced – what cannot be easily understood cannot be easily attacked, and the tax payers are left vague and bemused. Which is why not one listens to the budget proposals being presented and prefers to wait for newspapers next morning instead?

Now imagine how foreign investors, vitally required to sustain the stagnant economy in the country, may view the budget proposal this year? The potential foreign investors view this in their own perspective.

That said; let us review the national economy. Pakistan is an impoverished and underdeveloped country, suffers from internal law and order situation and political disputes, low levels of foreign investment, and costly governance. Pakistan’s economic prospects, although still marred by poor human development indicators, continue to improve mainly due to inflows of foreign assistance. Foreign exchange reserves have also shown growth due to increase in recorded worker remittances. Long-term prospects remain uncertain as development spending remains low, and political tensions weaken Pakistan’s commitment to lender recommended economic reforms.

One of the more farcical aspects of the Pakistani budgets is the element of spin and rude uncertainty that accompanies the lead up to the budget.

the Budgetary video

So what people do? Instead of waiting for the federal budget they concentrate on their personal budgets and how to make the ends meet particularly when most of the income middle class people have is spent on living – education, medical and daily sustenance. There is no saving whatsoever.

the Budgetary video-2

As it happen, going gets tough after each budget. So why anyone should wait for the budget?

the Business Traditions

Customer is everything. Customer is always right. Customer is the reason why your business exists. Customer is your bread and butter. Customer is….Customer is…. Listening to customers is generally a good idea, but it is not the whole story.

 For all the talk of customer-oriented innovation and allowing feedback from customers to help build a new product designs, another lesson from the trenches is that smart companies should sometimes ignore what the market says it wants today.

The iPod was ridiculed when it was launched in 2001, but Steve Jobs stuck by his instinct. Nintendo has done something similar with its popular motion-controlled video-game console, the Wii. Rather than designing a machine for existing gamers,

it gambled that non-gamers represented an untapped market and devised a machine with far broader appeal.

The dynamic companies of today’s challenging and cut-throat era do business in a dynamic, tradition-less and vibrant manner. There are some unique and striking characteristics of such companies. They sometimes ignore the current state of the market when designing products. Second, they learn from failure rather than stigmatizing it. That sounds like a pretty different corporate culture than most companies.

The vibrant and dynamic companies learn from their follies. Companies like Apple doesn’t care much about failures, but always look forward despite of the magnitude of the blow. iPhone is a response to the failure of Apple’s original music phone, produced in conjunction with Motorola. Both times, Apple learned from its mistakes and tried again.

 the Business Traditions video

The real lesson to extract from these companies is not to stigmatize failure but to tolerate it and learn from it.

 the Business Traditions video-2

For all the talk of customer-oriented innovation and allowing feedback from customers to help build a new product designs, another lesson from the trenches is that smart companies should sometimes ignore what the market says it wants today.