James Spillane
Just about every business can benefit from having a blog. A blog is an excellent way for your company to have a voice.
It is a way to “speak” to your customers or clients, post timely information, show some personality, educate your audience and establish yourself as an authority, as well as highlight what you do.
Blogging does not have to be time consuming and can even be shared among different employees or staff. The best thing about it, is that other than the time spent blogging, it is easy to do and free.
Blogging is Easy and Free
The two most popular blogging platforms are Blogger (by Google) and Word Press. Both of these are very easy to use and they are free. Writing a blog post is like writing a word document or an email.
Spell check is built in, as are many other features such as fonts, bold, italics, colors, etc.
You can use Blogger or Word Press independently, or you can easily integrate them into your website. Many companies make their blog their website, so you can post under www.yourdomain.com or if you already have a website, your blog can be set up under it so that it comes up as www.blog.yourdomain.com or www.yourdomain.com/blog.
Speak to Your Customers Through Your Blog
If you have a website or in-store displays, this is one way to “speak” to your customers; however a blog really allows you to tell stories in a timely fashion.
It’s a place to put information that you wouldn’t normally put up on your website, and the level of detail is too high for an in-store display.
Remember that your blog isn’t necessarily a sales tool; it’s more of a conversation and communication tool. Don’t fill your blog with sales and details about your products. Constantly showing people things to buy isn’t a conversation.
Instead, tell stories, highlight employees or customers, blogging about a new style with before and after pictures is great for clothing stores, salons, etc.
If you have a restaurant, featuring a blog with a recipe and images of a house special is more than selling, it’s telling a story and providing useful information to the reader.
Your blog should engage your readers and invite them to make comments or ask questions.
Post Timely Information
Many businesses that have a website often can’t have the webmaster post something like a flash sale or a community event happening nearby quickly enough. Your blog is a great place to list this information.
It also gives you a place to link to with information for social channel postings. You can include directions, a map, or a link to Google Maps. It is fine to post sale information, especially timely details about a special sale, just don’t make your blog all about sales.
If you have news, or press releases, your blog is a great place to add to your press release distribution.
Show Your Company’s Personality
Your blog can show your company’s personality.
Feature more in-depth bios on the owners and employees with pictures and more details than you would include on a website bio. Show off your writing style with the culture of the company that probably doesn’t come across on a website.
Your blog can be as formal or informal as you want it to be, to match your company’s personality and culture.
Educate Your Audience or Establish Yourself as an Authority on What You Do
Your blog is a place where you can share industry news and show that you know what you are doing, establishing yourself as an expert in your industry.
Write articles, instructions, or show examples so that your customers can see what they can do with your products or services.
Discuss the state of your industry and feature top selling items.
All of these can help you communicate with your customers in different ways than you can through other mediums.
Conclusion
Spending some time once a week or so to give your company blog some attention will be well worth the investment. You can tell stories about your business, show your personality, and share information in ways that are not possible with other mediums.
Your blog also gives you a place to link to when sharing information on social channels.
Your company blog is place to post timely information, educate your customers or clients, establish yourself as an authority, and communicate with your customers.
Other added benefits of having a blog include additional search engine rankings, an added source for online reputation management, and media release distribution.
This article was written for Business 2 Community by James Spillane.
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