Any business today needs a website and a central component of that website needs to be a blog. We have covered the basics of why a blog is an important part of your website. Blogging is a topic that can generate a fair amount of anxiety from “non-creative” business people. Don’t yield the great opportunity that blogging offers small businesses to academics, copywriters and other “wordy” professions!
Let’s walk through two of the common concerns that still hold businesses back from making the most of this powerful web marketing tool.
You can control comments. Finding a string of unruly comments on the bottom of a post is often one of the main concerns about adding a blog. A question to ask is would you rather have negative comments about your brand happen in an environment you control and moderate? The probability of getting an obnoxious commenter on your blog, however small, does exist. All you need to do is set up your blog so any comments submitted need to be approved before being published. If you get an off-topic or outright rude comment, there is no reason you have to share it with the world. Just click the “delete” button and move on.
You have more to talk about that you realize. Another concern about blogging is the perception that a good blog post takes the same amount of effort to create as a post-graduate dissertation. It’s perfectly acceptable for a blog post to only be a few sentences long. While you should do your best to create quality content, a quick update about a recent conference or a recap of the time your company spent at a community event is a perfectly acceptable blog post. These “lighter” topics even serve a broader branding purpose we’ll discuss in the next section.
Why It’s Important to Have Different Types of Blog Content
You can personalize your organization and tell your own story. People like to do business with people. Your blog is a great way to help clients connect with your business. Let your readers know about the great work you and your team are doing to support your community. Show off your company Ping Pong table. Blogging provides businesses the perfect opportunity to highlight the fun and fantastic human-beings that are part of your organization. Add photos of your team on their most recent team outing. Create a clever questionnaire to give to your staff and feature a “Team Member of the Month.” Posts like these will help clients, who may have never met your staff in person, start to feel like they know your team.
Address recent headlines and new questions. Commenting on new developments in your industry is an ideal use of blogging for business. Adding your personal expertise in the form of a blog post is a great way to start to build credibility as a thought leader that other businesses look to for insights. You can also use a blog post to address new questions from your customers. Use your blog as an early FAQ testing ground and then move popular content over to the official FAQ page.
Fresh content will keep Google happy. One of the technical aspects of blogging is that it adds new content to your site on a regular basis. New content and site growth are one of the best ways to keep your site in the good graces of Google.
What other concerns do you have about adding a blog to your site? Have you had success with your blogging program? Let us know in the comments section of the post and let’s continue the discussion.
