“Why should we have a blog?” It’s a reasonable question.
What’s a blog got to do with me, I run a small company and how will I benefit?
That is also a realistic question which I will answer in this Blog.
Never mind the fact that millions of businesses are blogging and multiples of those millions of customers are reading those blogs.
Blogs as a content management system make it very easy for you to supply, useful content directly to your “customers.” That’s it, it’s simple and basic, but it gets better.
You can supply content indirectly via search engines and social channels providing greater industry visibility, to prospects and new customers
In your business you will have something interesting to say and stories to tell. It’s like night follows day. We all have stories its part of business. How you present them is the key. So a blogging platform can be one of the most productive methods for publishing and engaging people.
For companies that are new to blogging, telling people about their professional passions can be daunting. Then there is the notion of starting and maintaining a blog which can be scary. There is the fear of being sucked into a black hole of “Dead or Wasted Time”.
Writing, researching, support and hosting, plus marketing and measuring something that wasn’t forecast in the first place may seem a lost cause.
For those of you that realise the benefits of a blog, but don’t have the resources for it, here are a few tips on blogging that I hope will get you started in the right direction in a manageable way.
1. Read Blogs. It’s important to read what’s out there. If you know what’s out there, it’s a lot easier to put together content of your own. Reading blogs gets you into how successful will it be to publish one of your own.
If you read magazines, newspapers or email newsletters, subscribe to their blogs. Find topics you are interested in, subjects that relate to you and your business.
2. Set goals for your blog. If you don’t have a destination for your blogging effort then “time suck” will become your unwanted friend. Don’t waste time trying to serve everyone. Be purposeful in your blogging effort by identifying a few, reasonable business outcomes and timeframe. KPIs (key performance indicators) are a good starting point for measurement that can lead to outcomes.
For example, a common business outcome for blogging might be “increase relevant traffic to the corporate website”. A blog that publishes useful, customer centric content a few times per week gives reason to come back and to visit more detailed information on the corporate website.
Set a goal for a percentage increase in blog and keyword referred traffic to the corporate website. Create a blog editorial plan that pays attention to linking to corporate pages from topical blog posts and use keywords in the posts and links that are relevant to the destination pages. Over time, search engines will see those links and send more visitors to the corporate website by ranking the pages higher in search results. The links can also attract visitors directly.
The common mistake companies make is to set unrealistic goals, like, “attract more referred traffic to your website.” Then start blogging personal or corporate based information: announcements, product and press releases, PR speak. That’s a Big No-No.
People will read your blog because they believe they are getting information. And that information should be free and useful. Look if they want to read adverts about your company they will. A blog is your opportunity to build followers who will become customers – eventually.
But how do you find out what customers want from your blog?
Ask them. Use your newsletter, ask them in person at events, talk to your sales and customer service departments for customer topics and trends.
Look at successful competitor blogs and topically relevant industry blogs as well. Then create an editorial plan that gives your corporate blogging effort a chance to be successful by planning blog topics that serve customer needs and indirectly, business needs. As a result, the blogging effort will be more focused, intentional and likely to result in the desired business outcomes.
- If you are a florist tell people what giving certain flowers means.
- If you are an electrician give them practical safety tips
- If you are a printer tell them how creative printing stands out from the competition
- If you are a business coach give some of your collateral away
3. Have a Plan. Here’s the important bit. Set a plan and stick to it.
I am a believer in blogging once a week, but if that sounds too time consuming blog once a fortnight. Whatever you decide stick to it. There is nothing worse than searching on the net for something, and the results bring up a blog that is two years old.
I have a plan which is updated every 8 weeks or so. I plan what my blog will be about and then write it. Having a plan helps you focus on the topic. But if something comes up which is topical, write about it.
Someone I know writs a weeks blogs every Monday, short 200 – 300 words and schedules them to be published every day at 07:00 This takes him about 2 hours once a week and he has a daily blog!
Along those lines, why not do a little blogger outreach with some connected friends in the media? Getting mentions of your new business blog on other high profile websites or blogs can inspire internal support.
4. Be efficient with content. There are many ways to get more out of less with your content. You can keep an eye out for interesting videos and write a paragraph and post a link to You-Tube, and your blog is written. By knowing what does well with an understanding of what your target audience is interested in is a winner.
Struggling for content, why not use the Google reader facility. Set it up download blogs, news feeds and interesting sites who cover topics you’re interested in as potential sources. For example daily newspapers have blog editions The Daily Telegraph, The Independent and Guardian all have them just search for the newspaper you are interested in and check it out. You can search for blogs already in your area or in similar areas of interest. See who’s out there and what they are writing about.
5. Make blogging a team effort. I get guest bloggers to help me. It’s as simple as asking colleagues, friends or suppliers to write something for you. It surprised me when I got this tip and asked a few people to help. Out of 10 people only one was not able to help. Hey nine blogs written for you and all you do is a little editing. What’s not to like?
Check back for more helpful customer gathering techniques
Helping Real People do Real Business with Real Networking
©Paul Johnstone
