Why do I need a blog for my small business?
It’s no secret that I’m passionate about the importance of
having a blog for your business. I do mention it quite a bit, and with very
good reason. I think now more than ever, every business needs to have a blog
presence, and it’s vital to keep blog pages updated regularly.
Just like you update your social media sites daily (you do
that, right?!), you need to have a regular blog presence on your website. You
need to be regularly engaging with your customers, giving them interesting and
entertaining content. You need to be posting to a regular schedule, weekly, or
at least fortnightly, if you can.
Notice how many times I used the word REGULAR in that
paragraph?
Your clients and customers are searching for blog content
Business blogging is on the rise, and your customers are
searching for fresh new information about your business. In fact, consumers say
that they view blogs as one of the most trusted sources of information when
they are looking to buy a product or service. So it’s important that your blog
is giving them what they’re looking for, and that it’s written well, in a way
that convinces them that you are a trusted brand, giving them reason to buy
from you over your competitors.
Repurposed Content
Once you’ve got a good number of blog posts, you can use
them for your social media campaigns. Keep recycling them, and this will ensure
that they not only stay relevant but will be much more likely to be recognised
by search engines. The more times they get read, the higher they will rank, and
the more people will search you out.
But what do I write about?
When you’re planning your blog posts, think about what your
customers are likely to be asking. What will they find interesting to read
about? What will they need to know in order to seek you out?
I’ve seen so many businesses publishing dull blog posts –
don’t be one of these. No one cares about the inner workings of the machines
you use to manufacture your goods. They want to know how you can benefit them.
So give them something – tell them how your product or service is going to make
their lives easier. How it’s going to free up their time, or save them money.
If you’re aiming at other businesses, how are you going to help them increase
revenue?
If you’re stuck for ideas, here are a few to help you out:
How-to guides
Answers to specific customer questions
Interviews
Personal stories
Product reviews
News about your business or industry
Troubleshooting guides
Advice pieces
Upcoming events
How long should a blog post be?
As with all online content, blogging is a competitive game.
Businesses are quickly catching on to the success of business blogs, and more
and more are being published every day. There are pros and cons for both short
blog posts, and long, in-depth posts. It’s my opinion that as long as you’re
posting something, and posting regularly, you can’t go wrong.
However….
Statistically, search engines are more likely to rank your
blog posts if they are longer, in-depth pieces. There are millions of short
blog posts online (I’m talking on average below 500 words), and it stands to
reason that if you post shorter pieces, you have a heck of a lot more
competition. Therefore, if you can aim for 1000 words or more, Google will
favour those posts, and you will make it to the top end of the food chain.
To quote a statistic I found online, the average word count
of top-ranking content (in Google) is between 1000-2000 words.
But it won’t make people come to my website… will it?
You’ve heard of SEO, right? Well, these three little letters
are so important because they encourage Google to rank your content. To put it into
very basic terms, you need to be producing good quality content, using keywords
and phrases which will tell Google what you’re all about. So if, for example,
you are a cake shop owner, you might be using words like cupcakes, wedding
cakes, birthday cakes…. And all of these will tell Google that you want people
who are searching for cakes to read your blog.
And by nature, people who find your blog posts, if you’ve
written in a way that engages them, will click through to your website to find
out more about you.
That, my friends, is the beauty of blog writing!