In a recent article in The New York Times, blogging is a major marketing tool that is low cost and high return for small businesses. However, according to a poll taken by American Express, only 5% of small businesses have a blog. I found Denali Flavors blog to be the most interesting. Denali makes ice cream flavors and is most famous for moose tracks. In order to get the word out about their ice cream, Denali started a blog, but the blog was about personal finance called Free Money Finance. John Nardini, who is in charge of marketing and the corporate blogs, started Free Money Finance because personal finance blogs were the most popular blogs on the Internet. Denali hosts the blog and exclusively advertises moose track ice cream to the 4,500 daily visitors. The blog costs about $400 per year to run.
I think that this marketing approach is very creative and effective. Blogs are very low cost and can be very informative to potential customers, employees, and employers. If done correctly, a blog can be a great marketing tool. The Schreyer Honors College has a blog that is mainly used as a marketing tool to bring in potential students. The dean and other students write on this blog about the daily occurrences at the SHC. Although often sugar coated, the blog does provide some insight into college life. While this blog did not make or break my decision to enroll in the honors college when I was in high school, the engage blog is a low cost way to advertise the college.