Wednesday, July 19, 2006
small business blog simplified
A simple man explains small business blog
Those of us who spend hours online everyday are accustomed to words like blog, rss feeds, podcasts, feed readers, posts, comments, flames, trolls and a thousand other terms that cause less experienced people to scratch their heads and wonder if we are speaking English. A small business person may be intrigued by the great idea to post (publish) their expertise, wisdom and product knowledge online but the technology and terminology often times prevents further investigation.
I've had a number of meetings with small businesses concerning their online presence and found that when I suggest that they add a "blog" to their website they often times don't understand or worse, argue that they just want it to be easy. When I introduce the idea a little differently it is received with more enthusiasm.
"How would you like to be able to put updates on your website as often as you like and share what makes you unique above all others?" This question is received much better than asking if they would like to blog on their website because they understand the concept and can see the benefit long before the technical terms can put up barriers. And that my friends is the bottom line.
A successful website is one that is a living breathing entity. It is a website that is updated regularly and one where the visitors enjoy coming to, can interact with it and can gather the information they are looking for with the least amount of effort. It is a website with personality and character, for a small business website, that personality should reflect the image and culture of the company. (How's that for a nutshell?)
As a small business enabler, I try to help simplify the technology for the customer by making it understandable and easy to use. Why throw up barriers that cause confusion or even reluctance? People in general don't like to look stupid and when they don't understand the concepts they are hesitant to consider the ideas.
A blog for a small business is an opportunity to continually communicate the strengths, advantages, products, services, testimonials, victories and all sorts of information that will build brand awareness and can foster loyalty as well. A blog for a small business is an economical way to continually expand their online presence and create depth to their website. It is a way to add keywords, key phrases, brand identity for the search engines to discover, digest and index so people looking for "my unique widget" will find it.
I was talking to a friend of mine the other day who reads this blog and he often times calls me to tell me he enjoys what he reads. (Thanks bud!) He said that he would like to be a blogger too but claims he is not a writer. I tried to help him by explaining that a blog post is nothing more than an email sent to all your readers. In that light he understood. I suggested that if he would pick a topic and explain that topic to one key client via email, he is now a blogger of sorts and that letter can be published online with little effort. He seemed excited, though I've heard little from him since.
Then I read that a local chap was giving a presentation on blogging for business, I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall for that one. I wondered what he said but more importantly how he said it. Typically, and I'm not suggesting this is what he did because I was not there, but typically a person giving a presentation on blogging to a group of people with limited knowledge of technology, fall victim to the temptation to wow the audience with their vast knowledge of the topic. Many times they leave the audience feeling like they were beat up with long words that they will never understand. I hope that is not what he did and I have hope in that his audience was quite adept.
My point? KEEP IT SIMPLE! A blog is nothing more than a letter to your customers. Getting past the jargon it's really that simple. If you're a small business person with limited knowledge of the technology but want to blog on your website, talk to your webmaster and ask him or her how to integrate a blog into your website. If you ware wanting to create a free account somewhere but don't want to take the time to learn how to set everything up, then find a consultant who is willing to do it for you. Most of the free blogging tools can even publish email that is sent to a special address.
However, if you are wanting to add a blog for your business and are unwilling to learn and/or unwilling to hire help, I would suggest that you consider carefully the results of a poorly formatted, poorly branded, and poorly organized blog on your business. Just like any public communication, your blog should cast a favorable light on your company and preferably a light that perpetuates your corporate image and branding.
In my morning reading just today, there were quite a few articles on the advantages of blogging for small business. From value added content to product highlights, your opportunity to communicate your products and services can come through a blog on your website. Your customers are reading blogs, would you like them to be reading yours, or your competitors?
Blogs: An Undertapped Resource?
Does your business have a blog? If it does, you're ahead of the curve. Most businesses aren't blogging yet, according to a report by eMarketer. The report's author speculates that companies are wary of consumer comments and ceding control of their brand, but is optimistic that more companies will be blogging in the future. Despite the lack of business blogs, companies are taking note of the medium--a PQ Media study found that spending on blog ads will more than double this year over last year.
Posted by Francine Kizner, entrepreneur.com
Tech Companies To Spend $10M In Blog, Podcast and RSS Ads
by Wendy Davis, Wednesday, Apr 12, 2006 6:00 AM ETTECHNOLOGY AND AUTOMOTIVE COMPANIES ARE among the businesses most likely to market themselves in blogs, podcasts, and RSS feeds, according to a report issued Tuesday by PQ Media.
Last year, technology marketers spent $4 million in advertising in such social media, and that figure is expected to climb to $9.8 million this year, according to the report, "Blog, Podcast and RSS Advertising Outlook." Automotive marketers were the second-largest spenders, purchasing $3.9 million worth of ads in blogs, podcasts, and RSS; such spending is anticipated to reach $9.3 million this year. Media represented the third-largest category of advertisers, accounting for $3.2 million in 2005 and a predicted $8.1 million this year.
Overall, PQ Media predicts that spending in social media will climb to $49.8 million this year, from $20.4 million in 2005.
The technology is coming fast when blogs will be what people read. You'll see. The newest web browsers are integrating feed readers (blog reading simplified), and even the next version of Windows will integrate the technology into the operating system. If blogging is of interest to you, it may be a good idea to start learning and getting the experience now.
For larger companies, they are turning their attention to blogs in a big way and even some of the financial websites are integrating blog "feeds" into their websites. Large companies are hiring writers and creating departments for blogging the company message. Like the IT department that small businesses don't have, hiring people to publish you blog might be out of reach but leveraging the simple tools to allow you to share your ideas, opinions, products and services to an eager and hungry internet audience may be something worth investigating.
Have questions? Write me and I'll do my best to assist or better yet, hire me and bring my experience to your organization. www.soky.net.
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