You’ve started a business or organization, gone through the hard part, and laid the foundation, but now you have to do something even harder in the eyes of most business owners- you’ve got to promote it.
Promoting your business entails making sure you can be found within the first page of a quick google search- and this can’t be done without content. Your websites content contains keywords that google filters in order to provide answers to questions people are asking. Without content, such as blog posts, your website will have a much harder time being found amongst the masses.
“But why?!” you wail, “blogging is boring! I have no time! No one will read it anyway! It doesn’t even matter!”
WRONG! I tell you.
Content creation in any form is vital to your business, especially when you take into account the way most consumers shop. True to the name, potential customers CONSUME knowledge before they invest in a product or service, referencing google for every question they have. And do you know what businesses are going to show up more frequently in the top results?
The business that blog.
Blogging might sound boring at first, but it’s one of the surest ways to get your business on the radar. Your goal should be to tailor your content to what your target audience is already searching for, finding them more organically, resulting in more, and better, business.
Contrary to popular belief, content creation can be simple and effective without taking a ton of your time, and when continuously implemented correctly, can save you time and money in the future.
Many people are apprehensive about starting a blog. “But I’m not a writer, I haven’t taken an English course in years!”. You don’t have to be a New York Times best selling author to create a successful blog. All you need is a laptop, relevant content, and a good friend who wants to edit your drafts.
As a business owner or head of an organization, you know more about your goods and services than anyone else. You also know what your customers need: what they complain about, what they’re challenged by and how your products and services can help them with those challenges. Writing about these components is surprisingly easy if you have the right frame of mind and a simple template, both of which you’ll have in your back pocket after this post.
These are the four basic components that should be used within each blog post:
- An enticing introduction
- Informative, impartial, relevant content
- Media (pictures or video)
- A call to action
- An enticing introduction
While this might seem obvious, it’s important to note that not everybody is as knowledgeable (or excited) about your business as you are. While you might know your software inside and out, for example, others are coming into this market inexperienced, and an introduction that inundates them with too much tech jargon all at once could cause them to click away from your blog. Do the best you can to make whatever product or service you’re selling relatable. You can do this a variety of different ways, using humor, metaphors, examples, and stories. Ask yourself, if I had to explain my business to a fourth grader, would they understand it?
- Informative, impartial, relevant content
You know that guy who’s constantly bragging about himself, to the point where you’re now disinterested in the story he was telling? That’s you if your blog only talks about your business. Consumers don’t want to be bombarded with ads and claims, they want to do their own research and reach their own conclusion. I know at this point you might be thinking “well why even write a blog then? How are people supposed to buy from my business if I’m not even supposed to talk about it?” Research, my friend. If people are performing research into your product or service, your business should be on the front lines of information, guiding potential consumers to choose your product over others by elaborating on its beneficial features.
Relevant content is also key to a successful blog. Relevant content adds value to your product or service. Do Google searches, conduct surveys, find out what people want to read! The best source is your targeted audience.
- Media
Don’t let people guess about your product or service, show them! Bright colors, infographics, videos, pictures, and cut quotes always catch the consumer’s eye first in a blog post. Demo videos, pictures of your product, stock photos, and industry graphics can be a great way to catch the eyes of potential customers. We suggest a minimum of one piece of media per post.
- A Call to Action
What do you want potential customers to do after reading your blog? Are you looking for an email subscription to find SQL’s? Are you trying to get an ebook downloaded? Your Facebook page joined? Think about your end goal before starting your blog, and make sure to tell your readers what it is by the end. If you’re selling services, request they fill out a form to request a demo or consultation. If you’re selling products, make sure to post the link to your website as well as your social media accounts.
Using this template and setting aside one hour of your time solely for blogging can be a surefire way to bring more traffic to your website, as well as generate authentic word of mouth sales. However, this comes with the caveat that you MUST continue to blog on a regular basis. Blogging once a year or even once a month can sometimes be too infrequent for your consumers, so make sure to continually update them on your business and its products as you learn and grow with your target audience.
