by Joseph Pratt
http://www.icmediadirect.com

The struggle for customer share is as intense as ever, and companies need to shore up their corporate message in anyway they can. Corporate weblogs, or 'blogs', are a great, cost-effective way to engage customers, fellow professionals, or merely the curious. This opportunity to reach thousands of interested people requires no hefty advertising budget, yet can significantly strengthen your client-customer relationship. Taking dialogue online means added and valuable interaction with your customers.

A corporate blog can be used in any number of ways, from an informational hub to an online diary for a sales rep. They tend to be no less varied than personal blogs are. They deliver on-point messages to anyone who reads it. Since blog entries often have a personal touch, they tend to reach readers in ways a company homepage can't. This is where creative and well written blogs can really count; quality keeps people coming back. A blog isn't a venue for the hard sale but instead a resource where resource where readers can stay informed or sign up for newsletters and emailings.