Using a Business Blog as the central Public Relations tool for an Event you are hosting really adds weight to the profile it can achieve. It also provides the perfect focal point for the other marketing and promotional activities being used to develop it.

The Event might be a conference, a seminar (or a series of seminars), an exhibition, a trade show or a product launch, but the requirements remain the same: you are looking to attract as many people as possible and be able to distribute information about it to as wide an audience as possible. Only when people know about the Event and can get information on it can they choose to attend!

So, what makes a Business Blog such an indispensable tool for anyone organising an event, whether it is of general interest or internal to your company? Some of the key elements are:

• Blogs are ideal vehicles to generate Search Engine attention and hence spread information to a wider audience
• The marketing department can add information without bringing in IT departments or web designers, so making updates easy and immediate
• Information remains always up to date and is permanently accessible: no need to send out hundreds of follow ups because people have lost part what they have been sent
• Communications with attendees is simplified either using RSS or email by referring people to the information contained in the blog rather than sending it to everyone
• It provides a central point for all information which both online and offline marketing for the event can then focus in on
• Instant feedback can be obtained from attendees to give valuable information for future events

There are several phases during the event where the blog lends extra value to the event and a valuable source of information and feedback for the attendees. These range from when the Event is announced through to the post-Event distribution of information, as well as the ongoing publicity generated for the company and any subsequent events.

1. Announcing the event The initial information will launch the process, outlining the Event's format, its content (or expected content), its aims and who it will benefit from it. By including the framework of the event, you give the initial key information, start the work on the Search Engines visibility and give yourself the basis of future development of the Blog.

2. Additions and updates to agenda The Blog format provides the perfect means of keeping the agenda up to date, no matter how many changes are made to it. It is likely that the conference agenda and the speakers will not be finalised before the event is initially announced but, because updating a blog needs no technical input, it can be done easily and quickly by those running the Event. Updates are then instantly available and attendees can be kept up to date using RSS or email.

3. Pre-Conference Promotion By providing updates on the content of the event, you can continue to drive the publicity machine through your general marketing activities and through the Search Engines. Articles on the subjects the event will cover or information from the speakers, for example, will bring people back to your Blog and get further Search Engine coverage.

4. Commentary during the Event Commentary can come from two sources during the event: from the organisers as they add details about the presentations and keep information on the event up to date; and, importantly, also from the attendees themselves who can contribute their own thoughts and impressions about the event. These can be incorporated immediately and therefore be displayed while the event is still ongoing.

5. Event survey Often surveys are run during targeted events to get feedback on aspects of its set-up and organisation, including content of the presentations and the speakers. The survey can easily be run through the blog and then of course the results can be posted there (and distributed by RSS) or emailed out.

6. Distributing downloads Presentations will often be made available for download after the event. The Blog is the ideal place to post this information and, because of the focus on it before and during the event, it will also be the natural place for attendees to return to in order to retrieve it.

7. Post-Event appraisal After an event, the feedback and comments from the attendees using the Blog will form a major part of assessing its success. This, together with the event survey, will form the basis of the internal "post mortem" on how the event went and possible developments for the future.

8. Ongoing permanent archive Of course, after the event, all of the content that you have created remains indexed by the Search Engines, giving a significant boost to your business profile and, for future events, a large amount of free promotion. If you wish to remove it, you can, but the benefits of leaving it and letting people access it will be much more useful.

Business Blogs can be used in many different ways to enhance marketing and Public Relations activities, promote stronger customer relationships and develop your reputation online. By using Blogs as part of your marketing of Events, you are combining these 3 important aspects by providing better resources for your customers, promoting your Event to the widest possible audience and, by doing so, showing that your company is firmly ahead of the game.