On a regular basis I find myself engaged in a conversation with one or more small business owners, trying to convince them blogging and social networking makes sense for every business. I argue passionately, if you are going to have a web site, you have to do more then hang it out there, and expect customers to come. And a blog is a great way to help drive the traffic.
Brian Mckay wrote a terrific short piece on why Google is much better then the Yellow Pages! And I completely agree! 80 – 90 percent of web traffic to most sites begins with search, not adds or direct links. So if you want to be found, you have to improve your visibility. And blogging on topics relevant to your business improve your visibility.
For me, topics like small business marketing, web 2.0, small business web design, blogging, small business branding and public relations fill my blog. Why? Because that is what we do at Roundpeg, and if I want my customers and prospects to find me, I need to write about the things I do.
However, just like any other form of marketing, it is not enough to hang a blog out there, write a few posts and hope for the best. If you are going to blog, do it consistently and with purpose. This is not a creative writing exercise – that is for your personal blog, this is about business.
For example in your blog you can include:
- Resources for your clients and prospects – Information on industry trends or regulations
- Samples of your work
- All those interesting testimonials? Post them to your blog, maybe with a description of what you did to earn those comments.
- Updates about your employees
- Content which improves your standing as a subject matter expert
- If your target market is local, information about local events and relevant news
And, if you are still stuck, check out Doug Karr’s List of a years’s worth of blogging topics. And a word of encouragement, the more you do this, the easier it gets!