Are You Connecting With Your Customers? Try Blogging.
In March of this year the KMMS higher ups asked me to start making a daily contribution to the station’s web log. Or, as it’s more commonly called — their blog. So, for the past 6 months, I’ve been blogging five articles a week, to the radio site.
On July 9, 2012 I wrote a blog article entitled, “Build a Stronger Business With The ‘Cheers’ Theme Song.” Today I got an email from a company in Minnesota with some questions about that article.
OK, so you got an email about an article you wrote three months ago — so what? The “what” part is this — they didn’t find the article by going to the KMMS web site. They found the article in a Google search. Yes, your business blog articles are found by Google and reach potential customers that are looking for information about what your business offers, away from your site.
Will a Business Blog Improve Your Bottom Line
On average, web sites with blogs get about 7 times more traffic than web sites that don’t have blogs. Whether your blog is on your site or on a free blog provider like (see Video Blogspot,) Google will find you. The more you blog the fresher your content is and the more Google will like you. This qualifies you for more listings for more keyword choices.
I write my blog in MS Word then paste it into the blog interface provided by the station. I can add links, add pictures, make things bold, italic, anything I can do in Word I can do on the blog. Updating or sending things to my web site is much harder. Updating a current blog, or posting a new one, is a simple, write it, copy and paste it, and submit it. Done.
Building Customer Trust and Confidence
People hear about bloggers uncovering all kinds of criminal activity as well as reporting information on a wide variety of topics. People tend to trust blogs more than web sites. People can leave comments on your blog. There is nothing more powerful than a testimonial comment on your article or information.
The station blog uses a free blog program called WordPress. When new information is posted to the KMMS site, WordPress sends a message to Google, “Hey Google, there’s new content here. Come look.” And Google does and adds that to search results that are relevant to the page.
The Downside of Blogs
Most business owners are not polished writers, and even if they were, time is an issue. When will I find the time to write something? And, what will I write about? And even if I do find the time to write it will anyone actually read it?
All are very valid questions. Let’s deal with each one. Time. If you can come up with some key points, or an outline, someone like me can write your blog for you. It might be an employee or an ambitious high school or college English major. It helps if they know something about your industry but getting information out is the important point.
Will people be checking your site night and day for any new info you post? Probably not. However, people who are searching for the kinds of information you are writing about will find you in Google searches. That’s what makes blogging so important to building your current business and increasing your future customer base. People who might never find your web site will find your blog articles that should be linked to your web site.
Some Final Thoughts
I’m not sure how many businesses have a computer on their premises but my guess would be a very high percentage. Somehow, you learned to use it. Chances are you’re using an industry specific program that generates invoices, receipts, and reports about your business. You learned to use that. You can learn to blog. You can learn to use Blogspot or install WordPress on your computer and learn that.
The best part — except for your time — it does not add one dime to the expense side of your ledger to increase your online exposure. Seven times more traffic to web sites that have blogs. Isn’t that kind of a “no brainer.” Make it a priority and create a plan to make it happen.
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