Aside from its value as a mental exercise and outlet for creativity, does writing a regular blog provide any value for a small or medium size business? The answer is yes.
A recent study by inbound marketing agency Hubspot (www.hubspot.com) reports that "companies that blog have far better marketing results." The study found that companies that blogged had 55% more visitors to their websites, accumulated 97% more inbound links, and had 434% more indexed web pages.
Are these important figures? Absolutely.
More visitors to a website is obviously vital, as it gives a company more opportunity to tell its story and sell its products or services.
More inbound links increases a website's visibility with search engines, helping the website move up the in the results for keyword searches.
More indexed pages also increase the chance a search engine will find and report a website.
What the Hubspot study tells us is clear: if you want your website to be a more active and contributing part of your overall marketing program, you should be blogging on a regular and consistent basis.
It does not take much to get a blog started. The first post is easy. It is the second and all subsequent blog posts that are difficult! Yet, if you think about it for just a short time, there is plenty about your business to talk about and share.
Take "Start a blog" off your "to do" list and put it onto your list of regular duties. If you need help starting or maintaining a blog, I'd be glad to help. Shoot me an email to bill@scribendi.net and we can work together to make you a blogger.
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Make ONE New Year's Resolution: A Blog
I have never been big on making New Year's resolutions, either personally or for a business. But I am going to make an exception for 2010 and urge you to get going on a blog. Here's why:
1. It's easy. While it is best to host a blog on your company's web site (see below) you can always get started with a free blog hosting service like Blogger.com or Wordpress.com. It takes very little time to set up a basic blog. You can customize the look and format later, if you want.
2. It helps SEO. "SEO" is search engine optimization, and it is the best way to grow traffic to your web site organically, without spending money advertising the site. Updating your blog (if it is hosted on your web site) on a regular basis tells the search engines that something is new and worth viewing, thus incrementally increasing search engine visibility and placement.
3. It's a great marketing tool. Sharing knowledge with your customers and prospects has always been a terrific way to brand a business and build trust. In the past we have used newsletters, white papers and published articles to accomplish this. But a blog is faster, more immediate, less expensive and is rapidly becoming an accepted - if not preferred - way of receiving communications.
If you have not already done so, make 2010 the year you enter the blogosphere. While a blog is not the path to instant riches and success, it is an increasingly important tool in communicating in the business world.
1. It's easy. While it is best to host a blog on your company's web site (see below) you can always get started with a free blog hosting service like Blogger.com or Wordpress.com. It takes very little time to set up a basic blog. You can customize the look and format later, if you want.
2. It helps SEO. "SEO" is search engine optimization, and it is the best way to grow traffic to your web site organically, without spending money advertising the site. Updating your blog (if it is hosted on your web site) on a regular basis tells the search engines that something is new and worth viewing, thus incrementally increasing search engine visibility and placement.
3. It's a great marketing tool. Sharing knowledge with your customers and prospects has always been a terrific way to brand a business and build trust. In the past we have used newsletters, white papers and published articles to accomplish this. But a blog is faster, more immediate, less expensive and is rapidly becoming an accepted - if not preferred - way of receiving communications.
If you have not already done so, make 2010 the year you enter the blogosphere. While a blog is not the path to instant riches and success, it is an increasingly important tool in communicating in the business world.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Blog, Blog, Blog?
I was born skeptical and have perfected the art of doubt over the years. So I was naturally leery about "blogging" as a marketing tool. At first, I saw a blog as merely a narcissistic, on-line version of a private diary. And why, oh why would the world want to read that?
But I pried my mind open enough to dig deeper into blogging. And discovered that a blog holds great promise as a communications tool. But only if you use it correctly.
First rule: Keep the personal "diary" materials out. If you must share your innermost thoughts with the world, do it in a separate blog. Or self-publish your memoirs.
Second rule: Don't try to sell anything. If you are pushing a product or service, you are advertising, not blogging, and any audience you may attract will quickly disappear.
Big rule: Make sure what you blog about is interesting, helpful, curiosity arousing, insightful and worth reading. Controversial is OK, too. Think about the newspaper columnists you read on a regular basis and try to emulate them. There is almost always something in their regular column that makes you glad you took the time to read it.
Other big rule: Invite response. Feedback on your ideas makes them better. And it shows that somebody, somewhere is reading. The term is "interactivity" and it is the new face of marketing.
Now, go blog.
But I pried my mind open enough to dig deeper into blogging. And discovered that a blog holds great promise as a communications tool. But only if you use it correctly.
First rule: Keep the personal "diary" materials out. If you must share your innermost thoughts with the world, do it in a separate blog. Or self-publish your memoirs.
Second rule: Don't try to sell anything. If you are pushing a product or service, you are advertising, not blogging, and any audience you may attract will quickly disappear.
Big rule: Make sure what you blog about is interesting, helpful, curiosity arousing, insightful and worth reading. Controversial is OK, too. Think about the newspaper columnists you read on a regular basis and try to emulate them. There is almost always something in their regular column that makes you glad you took the time to read it.
Other big rule: Invite response. Feedback on your ideas makes them better. And it shows that somebody, somewhere is reading. The term is "interactivity" and it is the new face of marketing.
Now, go blog.
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