Blogging At Work

No, this isn't a post about how you shouldn't be blogging at work - it's just the opposite...you SHOULD! Well, your business should be, that is. Blogging is a new way to connect with your customers and add a personal touch to your business. We all know that Web 2.0 businesses always have a blog, but what about "regular" businesses? They should too! Case in point: where I work. I work in the furniture industry and one of our stores is the Inspired Decor showroom in Brandon (Adamo & Faulkenberg), Florida. The store is more of a design showroom than a generic, cookie-cutter furniture store. So instead of creating a traditional website, we decided to go with a blog. Authored by the designers, and managed by me, the blog will offer design tips, info, as well as featured some of our products via links and photo albums. Are we cutting edge? You betcha. Whereas the furniture industry is still discussing the best ways to do business online (e.g. this article in the recent issue of Home Furnishings magazine), we're already on it.

What do you think of our blog (www.inspireddecortampabay.com)?

Comments

[Josh Hallett]

Looks good. Is the company able to handle national orders or is it local only?

That's one of the issues that face many local business blogs. It's sometimes easier to build traffic on a global level than it is in a localized market. Luckily Tampa has a rather strong local blogging community that can get behind the blog.

[david]

Wow -- that is very cool. I hope to see more businesses do exactly that (and maybe help them along the way!).

[Sarah]

Josh - local only, and thanks for your comments!

All - Josh made a great post about businesses blogging on his site: http://hyku.com/blog/archives/001249.html

[Dave]

This site is outstanding Sarah! I love how clean and simple it is. It also reflects an old theme that I am presently working on: markets are conversations. interaction, not broadcast. It blows my mind how traditional media treats blogs...they talk about it as if they were wearing surgical masks and gloves...just like the furniture stores trying to learn how to do biz on the net.

[Laura]

Well! I didn't know you worked in the furniture industry. Within the next year, we will be shopping for bedroom furniture, so I bookmarked your store for future reference.

You're right about blogging and business going hand in hand. It's a good way for the customer to get a feel for the way the biz is set up and run. That personal touch can go a long way toward big sales.

I like the clean layout of the website, very easy to navigate! My only suggestion would be to consider making the header similar to what you have on your personal website here at hyperculture. Maybe a picture of the store itself, spread across the top of the page? I just thought that might give it more impact, similar to what you have at the top of your own page.

Also, the photo pages, this is one of my beefs with Typepad, which I use for my blog. Once you're in the photo section, there isn't a link to the "home" page in ase a customer wants to get back there again. Typepad needs to come up with a way to link to that!
Off to cruise the site some more, they had some good ideas for my next project...when I get the money! LOL

[Sarah]

Thanks for your compliment & your input! The banner idea is a good one.

I know what you mean about the photo albums...I wish there was a link that says "HOME" or something obvious. As it is, there is a link -- it's in the top left, but it says www.inspireddecortampabay.com -- it's not obvious that it's a link back to the homepage, I know. TypePad!!!

And thanks for keeping us in mind when you go shopping; I think you would find that working with our designers is worth it to have a room that really reflects your tastes. And you can't beat the price of the design service: Zero dollars. Shoot me an email when you're ready to shop if you'd like; I'd love to let them know that one of the *blog* readers is coming in! :)