Welcome back guys. Carlton Stith here and I’m back to discuss my top 5 reasons why you need a blog for your business. This post is for the small business owners or professional freelancers, but it still deals with web development (stick with me guys!). If you own a business, one of the smartest investments you can make is by starting a blog. A well written and maintained blog should be the cornerstone of your marketing plan. Besides having a presence on Facebook, Twitter and Google+, a blog can be another component of the social media marketing campaign for your small business.
Blogging adds value to your social media marketing campaign.
Image courtesy of krisolin
Find a Content Management System
So you’ve decided to start blogging but don’t know where to begin. Assuming that you already have your own domain name and hosting account, getting set up is really not difficult at all. If you don’t have much experience with Content Management Systems, there are numerous tools and tutorials available online to help you get started. There are a few blogging systems available on the web but I recommend using WordPress due to its popularity and ease of use. WordPress is an open-source CMS (Content Management System) that is pretty simple to set up. In less than 5 minutes you can have yourself a fully functional blog ready to go. Next you should find a theme that fits your needs. There are a lot of themes (both free and premium) available on the web to give your place the look and feel that you are aiming for. WordPress provides a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor if your not familiar with HTML, CSS and PHP. If you want more of a custom look to your site, then I will suggest hiring a web designer. Whatever comes next is entirely up to you.
Hire a web designer to add a custom look and feel to your blog.
If what I have gone over so far isn’t enough to convince you of the power blogging has to your company goals, then I will give you 5 more reasons why having a blog is an effective tool.
Top 5 Reasons Why You Need a Blog
1. Search Engines love blogs. Google, Bing and Yahoo love to see changes to your website. This shows the search engines that there is someone at home. If they don’t have a reason to place your page in the top 10 of search results, then they won’t. What better way to have dynamic, changing content than by using a blog?
Blog about something you know well and love talking about.
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2. Blogging positions you as an expert in your topic. Find a theme and stick to it. Curate your focus, plan to create read-worthy material and watch your readership grow. People love to find a connection with someone that’s interested in their interest. Give these people a place to gather and discuss ideas.
3. Blogging is free advertising. I’m not rich and I would guess that it’s pretty safe to say that you aren’t either. Writing valuable content is a pretty decent way to advertise for virtually nothing out of your pocket. Don’t think you have anything worth saying? I’m pretty sure that there is a group out there that’s just as interested in what you have to say. Don’t forget to respond to your readers!
Blog for Your Business
4. Blogging is a great way to retain existing and attract new customers. Writing a blog, or employing a person to manage your blog for you, is an excellent way to keep your customers engaged. It helps to keep you clients up-to-date on your business and your products. Make sure your blog is updated regularly. Set up a schedule that allows enough time to create, proofread and publish your blog. Think consistency.
Good SEO practices can take your blog a long way.
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5. Blogging is the secret weapon for maintaining a killer SEO friendly web site. Search engines love new, fresh content. With proper header tags, keyword-rich content and valuable one of a kind information, you are guaranteed to have a lot of success with your blog and position yourself ahead of the competition.
Just keep in mind, success does not happen overnight. If you are looking for a magic tool to make your web site jump to the 1st page in Google, you have been sadly mistaken. Starting a blog does not guarantee instant success. Generating your own cult of followers takes time and patience.
In Conclusion
So there you have it. I just gave you 5 reasons why you should start blogging for your small business. It doesn’t matter whether you decide to write a blog , publish an audio blog over iTunes or use YouTube to host you video blog (or vlog), as long as you are making the effort to market your business, you are making positive strides. Do you have any suggestions? How do you feel about blogging? Do you feel it’s a waste of time or do you think it’s critical to your success? I would love to hear your views. Leave a comment below and share with your friends.
As always, thanks for reading my blog. Feel free to follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook or shoot me an email. Until next time, peace.
Good stuff, Carlton. Nicely written with a wealth of information. Thank you.
You’re welcome and thanks a bunch Tillie. Trying to get better rankings and I just thought I would spread a bit of the information that I’ve managed to acquire.