Recently, some Aviawest'ers have questioned whether or not it makes good business sense to blog. Some people think its a downright waste of time and money.
That's understandable. It can seem like "frivolous fluff" posting about people's birthdays, events, new hires and things going on in the company.
How on earth could that help drive the bottom line? It does, and here's how.
1. Content is KING. Google and other search engines crawl the web, searching for real content. The more we blog, the more authentic content we have. So for example, if we have a post about golf and great golf courses around Victoria and a internet user searches for "Golf Resort Vancouver Island", we have a much better chance of getting ranked high on the search engines. More content keeps us competitive with those who are out there blogging and creating mountains of content.
2. Transparency. People are tired of faceless, impersonal corporations. They want to see what's inside. Is it real? Do they care? What's the tone of the organization? What makes them tick? This visibility and open dialogue engenders trust. Trust and transparency create confident, enthusiastic consumers. This drives people to make decisions about buying our products; Room Sales, Points sales, Fractional sales and repeat business are all influenced positively by this trust and transparency.
3. Stickiness. What keeps you going back to a news site? The fact that there is NEW information, every day, every hour. The demand for change has increased for all businesses; consumers expect to see new and updated information on the internet every day. If we're not doing that, then we are being left behind. We need to engage people and give them a reason to come back.
4. Communication. Blogging allows us to communicate our products and services to our not-yet-customer. Instead of spending tens of thousands on newspaper or magazine advertising, we blog. It's interactive, and people can get far more information at their fingertips instead of having to call. This applies to all - our Aviawest Team members as well as customers and non-customers. Effective internal company communications have been directly correlated to increased in bottom line financial results.
Some of the best marketers in the world agree its time "kill their websites" and blog. Seth Godin is one of them.
Starwood, one of the leading hotel groups in the world, formed a blog called "The Lobby".
The best companies in the world have active blogs. Blogs generate real value for employees, customers and consumers thinking about purchasing our products or services. Anything that makes us more transparent, real and authentic brings meaning to people, and that's valuable.
- Jim Pearson, CEO Aviawest Resort Group
