If you’re a small or large business owner scratching your head and trying to figure out the most effective and inexpensive way to market your business, it’s time to turn to social media.

Social media should be used to attract customers back to your blog after they’ve put their trust in you. And your blog is exactly where you want them to stay because they can read your content, find out more information about you, and become a part of your community for the long-term.

So what can a blog offer to a small business that an official website can’t?

A top small business blog will promote interactivity, which will invite readers to join in the conversation and contribute their own ideas. At this crucial point, it’s important for small businesses to actually listen to their readers and honor their ideas. Once a reader contributes an idea that a business actually acts upon to change something about their products, policies, or customer service, the word will spread like wildfire.

Customers are used to businesses being faceless corporations that don’t seem to care about the general public. But having an active blog community will allow you to completely turn the tables. You can listen to your customers, show them that you care by taking action, and win over their loyalty for life.

Then you will have something powerful going for you that your competitors do not: social proof. Once a customer has a positive experience on your blog in the form of a conversation or interaction, they’ll return to social media and spread the good word about you. And once your business’s name starts popping up on other social media users’ profiles, your customers will be doing the marketing work for you!

If you would like to learn more about how Write On Track can help you with your business blogging, then  contact us  for a free consultation.

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One of the most important factors to business blogging is developing a voice. Your blog should mimic what customers can expect if they email you or contact you over the phone. Think about how you want the “voice” of your business to sound: strictly professional, humorous and light, or a combination of the two.

Be personal. Regardless of the tone you choose for your business blog, make sure your blog sounds like it was written by a real person, not a “corporate entity”. The content should be relatable and approachable. The other side of this, however, is that while personable is important, you don’t want to get too personal. Avoid stories about your family, friends and life outside of the business, unless it really fits in with what you’re writing about that day. Even then, keep the personal stories to a minimum. Also, keep your opinions and beliefs about non-work related things to yourself.

Be clear and concise, and shy away from industry lingo (unless you will be defining it). Make your work as easy to understand as possible. Aim for an eighth grade reading level, and don’t use words that are more complicated than they need to be. For example, substitute ‘use’ for ‘usage’.

Your readers are your customers– treat them as such. Use the same level of courtesy and respect in your blog as you would in real life meetings. Respond to comments, address any issues that arrive in a professional manner, and show appreciation for their involvement on your site.

Most importantly, if you can’t keep up with regular blog posts, don’t start. Delegate the task to someone else, hire a professional writer, or even skip the blog altogether. Blogging is definitely one of the best ways to truly connect with your customers, but when you go weeks or even months between posts, it looks unprofessional. As you lose blog readers (due to the lack of posts), you’ll also start losing customers. It’s better to put your energy into an amazing website, and not tackle a blog if you don’t think you’ll be able to keep up with it.

The post Get your business blogging right appeared first on Write On Track.

In a word

YES!

I can give you many compelling reasons why this is so, but often a picture speaks a thousand words, so…

Benefits of the Business Blog via Hubspot

A blog will

• Humanize your business
• Improve your customer service
• Drive sales to your online retail site
• Promote your products and services

The post Does my company really need a blog? appeared first on Write On Track.