Blogging for Small Business - needalittleadvice.com · without for your business? O How are you...
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Blogging for Small Business
Transcript of Blogging for Small Business - needalittleadvice.com · without for your business? O How are you...
Blogging for Small Business
Why blog when I have Facebook?
57% of your friends and family
are using it – it is quickly
replacing traditional news
sources
True ……. But ….
BIGGEST RULE EVER Remember all that stuff you put
on Facebook and the articles
you wrote?
It needs to go on your
blog/website too!
You OWN the content on your
website/blog – you don’t
own it on Facebook.
What a blog can do for you:
O Set yourself up as the expert
O Create an identity people can relate to and get
to know you
O Share about your product or service
O Move you up in the search engines
O Create excitement about the value you provide
THINK OWN VS RENT
Who should I blog for?
O Customers/clients/people
who shop with you
O Potential
customers/clients/people
who shop with you
O People who need your
expertise
O Your suppliers
O Your industry
A few small business blogs
O http://smallbizsurvival.com/
O http://curethriftshop.tumblr.com/
O http://emersonsalon.com/
Quicken Loans – Quicken Loans publishes a handful
of unique blogs — unique among corporate blogs in
that they’re not overly self-referential. Their What’s the
Diff? blog, for example, publishes stories about “things
that make the difference in business and in life.”
What should I blog about? O How is your family involved in your business?
O Where else in your town should someone shop?
O What are you doing for fun?
O Where do you get your ideas for new products?
O How has Facebook helped or hurt your business?
O Do you volunteer in your community, and why?
O What pieces of software can you not live without for your business?
O How are you partnering with other businesses in your town?
O Have you been to any community events lately? What and why?
O Shoot a two minute video on your smartphone. About a product in your business. Share that.
General Motors – The GM
Fastlane Blog is a great
example of corporate blogging
because GM has clearly
realized that regurgitating
press releases is not what
blogs are made for. GM talks a
lot on their blog about their
cars and trucks and the design
choices they make while
creating them, but they also
throw in interesting treatises on
current hot-button issues, such
as alternative energy.
What do I write about? O The museum is not the only thing in town…..
Tell A Story O There are the Hampton Specialty
shops -- 11 stores that work
together – yadda yadda yadda
SPICE THIS STORY UP!
Unique one of a kind and some handmade
items at several of the stores
Swiss watch maker (only 3 in the country!)
Two flower shops that work together – and
serve wine
O Eat! There’s something for
every taste.
THE STORY ….
El Paisita Mexican Family Restaurant – authentic Mexican food
Honk ‘n Holler – come back to the 1950’s and eat good food like they used to cook
Seven Stars – better than mom’s home cookin’
Long Branch – no one has ever eaten everything on their plate (because you get so much food!)
O Visit all of our historical sites!
MORE INTERESTING …
REA Plant and Museum – the FIRST farmer owned electric plant in the United States
Old Stone House – built in 1854 by Leander Reeves for his wife in Ohio because she wanted a proper house
GAR Memorial Hall – the only entire building built in Iowa to honor the Civil War dead
Windsor Theatre – built in 1917 and still in use today
Be sure to include on your blog:
O Call to Action buttons
O Social Media Share
buttons
O Recommended
content
O Company and staff
bios
O Well written blog
posts
O Check the spelling
and grammar!
O Pictures
RULES FOR BLOGGING 1. Don’t push your stuff down everyone’s throat.
2. Don’t lie. Check your facts.
3. Credit your sources. Ask first.
4. Disclose professional relationships – if you’ve
been given something, tell us.
5. Provide value – make it interesting.
6. Be yourself – and create a conversation
7. Be nice.
WHERE TO SHARE YOUR POSTS
O Add in your enewsletters – we use mailchimp.com and it’s free
O Add links to your email signature
O Your listserve – send to the serve and ask for feedback
O RSS feed – this will automatically push your post to the people who sign up to receive it
O Comment on relevant blogs – and leave a link to yours, but don’t be spammy
O Submit it as a guest post to other blogs – will require some rewriting
O Join a blogging community – exchange links with other bloggers
Syndication
O This allows you to spread your content across many
networks.
O Demandstudios.com – distributes to usatoday.com,
salon.com, ehow.com
O Amazon.com – submit blog to
https://kindlepublishing.amazon.com /gp/vendor
and get paid when Kindle owners read it
O Networkedblogs.com – get found and get more
traffic, also links to facebook
Even more ……. O Alltop.com – syndicates content in every category
O Syndic8.com – syndicates blogs that cover a wide
variety of topics
O Evancarmichael.com – if you provide business
related content, this is a must
O Outbrain.com – syndicates your blog posts to sites
like cnn.com and fastcompany.com
O Pick 2 or 3 --- having the same content on too many
pages can actually hurt your SEO!
TIPS FOR BLOGGERS
O Be consistent with your blogging efforts – pick a frequency and stick with it.
O Have a great photo with each blog post. No stealing! (photodropper.com is a great resource)
O Get your stories down on paper – and a blog is a great way to tell them!
O You can video record the story teller, and put that right on your blog.
O Keep it fun my friends!
Email sign up
Have an email sign up sheet EVERYWHERE! Let people know you are
creating a enewsletter, facebook page, and/or you may send them an
email once and awhile.
Use your blog as your website. You can create static pages and have the
blog update on the home page.
Now What? You’ll need to choose a
platform to create your blog
on. I strongly recommend
Wordpress.
https://wordpress.org/themes/
A special invite September 17
Sheila Scarborough, of Tourism Currents, will be in Webster City and Hamilton County on September 17. She will lead a workshop designed to teach small businesses, non-profits, and others how to use tourism and online marketing to increase visitors to their stores and locations.
This event is funded by the Webster City Area Chamber of Commerce and grants from Enhance Hamilton County Foundation and Travel Iowa. It will be free for all Hamilton County businesses and residences. Those outside the county may attend for $25.
To register go here:
http://visitwebstercityiowa.c
om/events-calendar.htm
Another invitation O Sign up for the Building
Possibility newsletter!
O www.needalittleadvice.com
Thank you!
Deb Brown
641-580-0103
www.debworks.com
www.facebook.com/debworks
www.twitter.com/debworks
www.linkedin.com/debworks
References
O Business blogs with a
brief description were
provided by
http://www.sitepoint.
com/15-companies-
that-really-get-
corporate-blogging/
O Thanks to
launchgrowjoy.com
for the syndication
information.
