Blogs, blogs, blogs, blah, blah, blah… they are all over the place, one of your neighbors is probably a blogger, you are reading a blog right now. Everyone keeps telling your that your business needs a blog and plus everyone is doing it! But “why” you ask? “Why are blogs so important for my small businesses?” Well, it is one of the most beneficial and cost effective ways to find your customers, build your brand, get them the knowledge they need and want, and position your products and services.
Give them what they want!
When a potential customer gets online, often times they are NOT looking to buy a product, but instead looking to get information. This is your opportunity to get potential customers the information they need. What does that do? It builds trust; it builds relationships; it builds brand recognition and loyalty. You have likely been training to become an expert in your field for a long time or you wouldn’t have a business that is focused on that product or service. And now you can share your expertise so that others can benefit.
SEO
You have the knowledge, but you are probably wondering what else it takes. Well, you do need to use good Search Engine Optimization (SEO). What the heck is that you ask? Well, it is how search engines like Google determine which content pops up when a search is made on the internet. One of the keys to SEO is to look up the keywords that you think your article would be found under and see what the first page contains. In order to show up on the first page, you need to use your searchable words as much as possible like “reasons to blog.” You blog needs to contain content that is valuable and searchable. You also need to make sure that your grammar and mechanics are spot on, because guess what, search engines are rating you! (We will talk more about SEO next week!)
Blog = Website Traffic = Relationship = Sales
What’s cool is that once you get good at providing content that gets a “good rating” it helps to increase traffic to your website, not your competitor’s, YOUR Website! For example, if you write a great blog about the importance of blogging on your website, then those people who are looking up the importance of blogging will find their way to your website, and shazam, you will likely have a new follower and a potential client.
Once you find out the interests of and understand the questions your customers have, you can tailor your content to answer and inform those customers. This will lead to great customer engagement which will lead to sales, which will lead to brand loyalty. Your expertise can be one of your greatest sales tools.
K.I.S.S (Sweetie)
Sometimes getting started is the hardest part, so don’t impose strict deadlines and create an intense editorial calendar for yourself. Keep it simple! Blogging weekly may be ideal, but that may create way too much stress. Start where you are comfortable (like once a month) and then try to get more regular as you get more comfortable.
One of the best attributes of blogging is that it is cheap! When it comes to marketing campaigns, blogging can be a fairly inexpensive way to market your brand. In fact, it may yield such a high return on investment and be so effective that you may want to hire someone else to write your blog for you. Of course, that means you will need a professional who can write well, who loves research, and who can mimic the voice and style of who you are as a company (product/service). That’s where Anneomaly Digital comes in. If learning the ins and outs of blogging isn’t on your to do list, but growing your business is, then we can help you.