In short yes, it’s a fantastic way to connect with your customers, it adds strength to your brand, gives your business credibility in your industry and it is one of the most cost-effective ways to promote your business and develop a strong web presence.
Getting started
Writing a blog can feel daunting and out of your comfort zone but it’s easier than you think as long as you do some preparation beforehand.
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Write for your customers
Remember this is about your business and your customers. IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU.
When writing content remember to keep the customer in mind and write something you think they would like to read about.
Give answers to any potential questions they may have and deliver new insights into your industry.
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Create a good title
A good title is a must, never underestimate the power of a good title. This impacts on how your blog is found in the search engine. It’s the first thing your reader will look at.
You should aim for a long tail keyword headline that draws the reader in and tells them what the post is about.
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Create valuable content
Giving your new and existing customers valuable content is key to a successful blog. You want to ensure the reader can relate to what you are talking about. It’s also a good way to establish your business as a leading authority in your industry.
For example, say you have a carpet cleaning business, you make think you have nothing interesting to say to your reader about this subject.
Remember it’s your business, your area of expertise and you do have a lot of interesting things to say about it. For instance, you can write posts about the top five benefits of using a professional cleaning service, the best way to remove stubborn carpet stains, methods of cleaning carpets the dos and don’ts, etc. The list is endless once you sit down and have a good think about it.
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Frequency
Here is the tricky bit, the bit we all struggle with – keeping the blog going. There is absolutely no point in writing a blog unless you are committed to writing it consistently.
It doesn’t have to be an essay either writing 250 – 500 words is enough.
Search engines love new content and the more frequently you blog the higher your rankings.
So choose a frequency you are comfortable with weekly or monthly and stick to it.
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Measure performance
Use a web tool such as google analytics to measure your website’s performance. It’s free and quick to install.
You can monitor your blog’s performance and get an idea of the ways readers are finding your blog and which ones are the most popular.
Benefits
- Boost to search engine optimisation
All the big search engines love relevant, fresh new content and blogging and above all is by far the easiest and most inexpensive way for a business to create this.
- Develop and strengthen customer relations with new and existing customers
Blogging is a great way to gain trust and engage with existing and potential customers. Furthermore, it doesn’t matter how small your business is, blogging is a good way to build trust and establish clout in your industry.
Blogging will show your customers the knowledge and experience you have gained in your field. In addition to this over time, blogs that are helpful and informative and done on a regular basis can make you the “go-to” resource in your particular niche.
- Opportunity for sharing
The most powerful benefit of blogging is the opportunity it creates for your content to be shared across all other social media platforms, spreading the word and getting your brand and business out there. It is the height of free marketing
Summary
If you want to increase your online exposure and at the same time establish yourself as an expert in your industry then blogging is something you definitely should be doing.
As you can see a small business REALLY DOES NEED TO BLOG. If you don’t have the time, resources or even the expertise to write blog content, then outsource it is us at Admin Made Easy
We can create unique, engaging and relevant content for your blog site as well as posting it to all your social media platforms.
