The role of small business blogging is threefold:
- Enhance reputation
- Create buzz
- Establish authority
No matter how small you are you can become an expert in your particular product, knowledge or service.There aren't many rules around blogging for your small business. The no brainer is write grammatically, well-spelled posts. The second rule centered around maintaining your objectivity - don't accept products, blah, blah. I agree with not accepting product without disclosure, but in reality, a small business blogger is going to be blogging about his or her industry or niche, and not highly likely to receive free product.
The panel looked at revenue as coming from building your business and authority. Advertising revenue in measurable quantities is unlikely and requires a lot of tracking to optimize. More profitable is selling yourself - your skillset, your knowledge, your authority.
Why should you blog for your small business? There were a lot of good reasons given by the panel:
- Google juice
- Level the playing field by makings yourself seem bigger than you are
- Differentiate your business
- Express your personality
When blogging, make sure you have a bio and contact information that is clear and up to date. Share your passion for your subject (if you don't feel passionate about you, you should stop blogging). State your references and link to them. Give yourself an adequate ramp-up period - one year is not unusual.Finally, the panel discussed FLEE:
- Find a discussion or topic
- Listen to what is already being said and listen to the conversation from your readers or in your field,
- Engage with other bloggers and your readers
- Empower your readers by giving them information they can use.
Great post. I particularly liked how you mentioned "Google juice" and having passion for your business. When you blog your business, people can witness, far and wide, that you are passionate about your business or industry. This translates into "interest" on the part of the reader and/or potential customer. That you exhibit transparency about your business and acknowledge the bad as well as accept the good, bodes well for your corporate image.
Posted by: ~rick | October 29, 2006 5:44 AM | Permalink to Comment