Enos:
Why small businesses needs a blog
Laurie
Enos, Guest essayist12:04
a.m. EST November 5, 2014
Blogging has become one of the most popular tools used to market
a company. If you are a small business that does not have a blog, here are some
statistics published by Social Media Today that will convince you to use a blog
to market and grow your small business:
• Small Businesses with blogs generate 126% more leads.
• 61 percent of U.S. consumers have purchased products and
services based on blog posts.
• 70 percent of consumers learn about a company through
articles.
These statistics prove that blogs can be great resources for
marketing your products and services, lead generation and sales. A blog can
also help small businesses become recognized as an expert in their field, help
to increase brand awareness and gain online recognition.
If you're thinking about starting a blog, not thinking and just
do it. Here are four ways to use a blog to market your company:
Share your knowledge: You are the expert in your field. You live it
every day. So why not write about what you know? Start by giving your customers
ideas and helpful hints. Be sure to keep up to date about industry trends,
which can help provide a constant stream of ideas and help avoid writer's
block. Blogging on these things will help position you as an expert in the
field.
Answer questions from readers: Blog readers love to start discussions with
authors and fellow readers, especially when they have become attached to a
small business blog. To keep readers engaged, reply to comments as quickly as possible.
If not, it could quickly lead to a decline in readership, interaction from
readers or result in slow growth of the blog. Comment forms, social media
connections and email are all great ways to stay in touch with readers.
Promotions and deals: A great way to get the word out about special deals or
promotions is to blog about them. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are other ways
to spread the way about promotions.
Once the blog is names and built, be sure to promote it. Add a
link to the blog from your website so visitors can view posts. Also, include a
link to the blog in your email signature, post it to Facebook, LinkedIn and
Twitter. Be sure to add the blog's web address to printed marketing materials.
While there are plenty of ways to market a small business on a
very minimal budget, blogging is one of the most effective and low cost ways to
do so. Get started blogging today.
This week's Nextpert
Laurie Enos is the president of Blue Dog
Marketing.
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