With the digital marketing revolution, large and small businesses alike are seeking to widen their reach online.
While big corporations can afford to hire professional journalists and copywriters to promote themselves, small business owners often have to take matters in their own hands. One of the ways to do it cost-effectively (or even free) is blogging. Promoting small business with a blog is pretty common, yet some entrepreneurs still feel anxious to start.
True, you might face some challenges associated with blogging, such as deciding what to write, knowing how frequently to post, distributing content, etc. Nevertheless, blogging has numerous benefits to the small business owner, so I encourage you to start right now!
Hire a help
Even if you never thought of yourself as a writer, you will be able to produce decent content. All you need is out there, online – spellcheckers, free high-quality images, and user-friendly editing tools. However, if you want to up your game and make an impression on your readers, you may want to go an extra mile and hire a professional writer to craft the content for you. Alternatively, you may write the text yourself and hire an editor, proofreader or other paperhelp professionals to polish it up for you and make it a marketing success. This way you will preserve your unique style and cut down the costs while maintaining high quality.
Share the news
As a business owner, you keep a hand on the pulse of the industry. Often you are the first to know about crucial changes and inside information. If it is not confidential, share it with your audience. It has value for them. It also might influence their purchasing decision. It also makes your blog an up-to-date outlet of unique content, which is good for SEO. A win-win situation.
Sharing the inside information has another added bonus. If you happen to be the first one to share it or you have provided some important details, you will be the source that everyone will be quoting later as the original, which is a great promotional boost.
Establish yourself as an expert
Your customers want to learn more about the products – what is the best choice for their particular need, what makes up the price, how to take care of items to make them serve longer, etc. You have all the information. Share it. Give your expert opinion. Your blog should have value for your customers, not only promote your products and services. Inform and educate – this builds trust and attracts loyal long-term customers that will recommend you as an authority figure.
Entertain your audiences
Advertising wizard David Ogilvy once said, “The best ideas come as jokes. Make your thinking as funny as possible.” There is always a pinch of humor in every successful campaign. Just find an out-of-the-box idea to make your business stand out and create your own unique voice. Show your human side by blogging the stories your audience will find relatable – fails and bloopers included. Small business should have a personality. Your humanity and relatability is your strong point in comparison with corporate competitors.
Update regularly
The last but not least, update your blog on a regular basis. Depending on the length of your posts and the relevance of news to your audience, “regular” can be anywhere between once a day or once a month. Most people opt for weekly posts, because it’s often enough to keep you on your audience’s radar, yet not too time-consuming as daily posting, especially if you do all the writing yourself.
However, remember: it’s better to post useful long-reads monthly than irrelevant nothings 5 times a day. It looks like constant nagging “I am still here! Look at me!” and annoys your customers. In the age of social media, they are bombarded with ads and overwhelmed with frequent posters without your campaigns. Moderation is key.
