Discovery is something consumers need when it comes to products and services. There are a few different ways consumers discovery new companies and products.
Many times discovery comes in the form of referrals. We ask those we spend time with each day for their input into decisions we have to make and problems we need solved. We ask for recommendations for things that can make our lives better. We get these recommendations from friends, family, and peers. Google even became a referral engine in a way as people used the search engine to find answers to questions.
Discovery also occurs when businesses push out messaging to consumers. This is the way companies introduce themselves to consumers. It can be done in a variety of ways. Catalog companies rent lists of names. Other companies advertise on the radio, on TV, or any of the other thousands of channels. Sponsorships are also an option for discovery. I’m a big golf fan and if you look at the average touring professional you’ll see a great number of logos on their shirts and bags. It’s all about discovery.
There was an article in Internet Retailer about a company that is using blogging for discovery.
From An ice cream retailer is cool with Tumblr:
Tumblr is a place where consumers discover new things—including new products and brands, says Ryan Morgan, community manager for multichannel retailer Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams.
That’s ideal for Jeni’s, because the retailer’s internal creative team produces a slew of vivid images, such as of a gallon of its canary-hued mango lassi ice cream, and other content that doesn’t necessarily have a place on its web site. Posting that content on Tumblr, where consumers can reblog others’ postings, helps the brand’s name recognition grow organically. “Tumblr gives us an outlet to have fun by putting out great content and getting people excited about our brand,” says Morgan.
The article goes on to even talk about sales and new sales, which is great to see. Lots of times these articles won’t discuss actual sales increases seen fro the result of blogging efforts. It’s good to see that companies are holding social media and blogging accountable from the sales side of things.
Tumblr has been an interesting blogging platform. It’s a great way to discovery new products as you can see in the story. The thing businesses have to do is give up some of the ownership of their assets by giving them to Tumblr in this case. The trade off is the company gets access to the Tumblr audience and that is apparently leading to sales in this case.
That’s kind of how blogging works for businesses even on their own blogs. I good mix of blogging on your own blog along with guest blogging can yield increases in sales through discovery. You can get new visitors to your blog though referrals like social sharing and search, but a mix of guest blogging on blogs with established audiences can also bring in new traffic.
Blogging is about discovery for many businesses. It takes time and effort just like any new customer acqusition strategy, but if you can find a model that is profitable it can be something you can do for a long time. Lots of businesses are still on the sidelines when it comes to blogging. There is opportunity out there for those willing to get new customers with blogging.