Last week, I posted a blog that asked: Do We Need A Web Site, if We Have A Blog? Received a number of comments addressing the question but it still rattles around in my head. Yes, I link my blog to my website and vice versa, but is that the best way to communicate with my customers and readers?
It seems that by having both, I separate visitors into two groups--potential clinets and blog readers. And that is not, in my mind, the best way to either communicate or to do business.
My intent with my blog is to reach two kinds of readers: 1) Consultants and those seeking some marketing/communications/business information, and 2) to reach potential clients. My blog is succeeding in doing that. Yet, some of my potential clients never visit the blog because they are not used to social media nor are they educated on the subject. So the original question continues to swirl around inside my gray matter.
Today, I received this comment from Susan Pascal Tatum:
Lew,
This is a great topic. It's one that our technology marketing firm has been studying for the last six months. Our conclusion? A blog IS a website - why do you need both? We are just about to launch our new blog/website combo. Meanwhile, if you want to see an example of how conventional website-type information can be included in a blog format, take a look at http://technobuzz.tatummarketing.com.
Best, Susan
I visited the blog and it seems to fulfill all the functions necessary for either a blog or a website. But will traditional businesses who haven't been educated on social media get it? They should discover it, as the URL doesn't give anything away (unlike my Typepad URL, which is novel length). Another person whose blog seems to meet all the necessary criteria is CK's Blog, yet she, like many of us, still maintains a web site, as well. Are we being smart bu maintaining both; or are we making our marketing and communications more complex than they need be?
The bottom line: To grow our communities of readers and potential clients, do we need two portals? Is it still too soon for traditional businesses to understand us if we offer only a blog?
