Building Your Blog Muscle Through Repetition

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The same philosophy of simplifying a marketing message that’s behind your elevator speech (that 15-20 second description of your company’s product or service that you could rattle off while in an elevator with a stranger) works for print and electronic marketing, advises Julie Williams of Green Jays Communications.

"Don’t try to say too much", Williams went on to explain at the All Things Marketing and Sales  seminar I attended last month. "Better to stick with your elevator speech and keep repeating it – verbally, in print, and on your Web site."  The idea is that eventually people will come to recognize the message as yours, which builds your brand.

Sticking to elevator-speech simplicity and using repetition are both absolutely excellent pieces of advice for business bloggers. In order to win search, it’s crucial to maintain frequency and consistency in posting content on the Web; both of these are measures search engines use in ranking a blog, and a higher ranking makes it easier for you to "get found" by your potential customers.

After more than one year of building muscle at weekly weightlifting sessions at Exercise, Inc., I can certainly relate to the metaphor of building blog muscle through repetition. The benefits of the Exercise, Inc. program come from lifting significant weights and doing that consistently.

Elevator speech or weightlifting – choose your metaphor. Building blog muscle takes simplification and repetition!

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Winging It In Your Business Blog

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I was attending a convention a couple of weeks ago when the inevitable happened – equipment failure. One of the main presenters was using Power Point with a video embedded in it, and, just as he was trying to make an important point, the sound system hookup malfunctioned. Of course, we in the audience were unable to understand what the people in the video were saying.

So what happened? Rather than just going on to deliver his message without benefit of A/V, the distressed speaker put the audience "on hold" while the hotel’s technicians fiddled unsuccessfully with the controls for a long ten minutes. Needless to say, the momentum of the presentation was lost. ("Winging it" without the Power Point would have been s-o-o much more powerful!)

That little mishap started me thinking about different forms of presentations, and, since I’m a professional ghost blogger and blogging trainer, I came around to pondering the differences between business blogs and traditional websites. Websites are typically more formal, with a lot more thought and planning devoted to headlines, content, graphics, and layout. In that sense, websites are like the Power Point presentation the speaker had prepared.  Not that I’m implying that websites "break down" – it’s just that they tend to be more static than blogs.

Blogs, by contrast, are more nimble.  The content changes frequently (ideally several times a week), and that content is presented in a tone that’s conversational and informal. The comparison that occurred to me during that 10-minute awkward wait for the Power Point to be restored is this: Websites are ongoing. Blogs are for the here-and-now.

If business owners thought of blog posts as conversation, simply sharing a tip, discussing something in the news, explaining how their products work – just "winging it", in other words, I can’t help thinking that there’d be a whole lot more blogging going on, with a lot more engaged online searchers!

 

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So What? So This! Blogging For Business

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Irreverent TV talk show host Joy Behar’s motto is "So What? Who Cares?".  Now, those are two questions business blogger need to imagine online searchers asking – because, sure as my name is Rhoda, they will! 

To begin creating blog content with even a hope of generating new leads, business owners had better address the "Who Cares?" part first: 

"Great content depends on understanding the keywords that drive your business," says Chris Baggott of Compendium Blogware.  Once you know which words and phrases people are using to find the kind of products and services you offer, you can use those keyword phrases in blog post titles and sprinkle them generously through your text.  The result will be that the ones who care  will be the ones attracted to your site!

Using keywords to "win search" so that your blog post shows up on Page 1 of Google or Bing is just Step 1.  There’s still the "So what?" to be satisfied. Your title helped the search engine understand what your page is about, and it matched your blog post with human beings.  Now you have the chance to answer to those human beings, reassuring them:

  • They’ve come to the right place to get the products, the services, and the answers they need
     
  • You’re very glad they’ve arrived
     
  • You understand their concerns
     
  • You have valuable, usable, expert – and understandable information to offer

In other words, the answer to the "So what?" readers are asking themselves is "So this!", meaning you stand ready to offer solutions. "At the end of the day," Baggott explains, "searchers are looking for solutions."

It’s no surprise, says Marketing Sherpa, that lead generation is very important in today’s economy. Whether  business owners are composing their own blog posts or working with a professional ghost blogger like me to create content, success depends on responding to the Behar Big Two –  "So What?" and "Who Cares?" with frequent, relevant, "So this!" blogging for business!

 

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Don’t Do The Done-To-Death In Your Business Blog

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If you’re job hunting today, says The Savvy Networker‘s Liz Ryan, you can’t afford to let done-to-death, boilerplate language sink your resume like a boat anchor.  Ryan advises "killing" timeworn, massively overused resume phrases such as:

  • Results-oriented professional
  • Excellent team player
  • Superior communication skills
  • Savvy business professional

Ryan recommends replacing those with individualized, specific narratives about ways you solved problems creatively in the past.
 
Since, according to Compendium Blogware CEO Chris Baggott, "Blogging is the hub of all your social media activities," it stands to reason you can’t afford to use done-to-death, boilerplate, overused advertising copy in your blog content, the likes of:

  • Devoted to customer service
  • Skilled technicians
  • Competitive pricing
  • Convenient location.

Instead, my advice as a trainer for business blogging would be to adapt Ryan’s resume advice to blogging, "killing" those canned phrases, specifically highlighting how your business is unique, and giving examples of ways you helped customers and clients solve problems.

Blog posts can engage readers by debunking myths and offering information designed to elicit a "What do you know!" response. Humorous speaker Todd Hunt’s newsletter taught me something I hadn’t known:

A CD from a stage show is not a sound track.  It’s a cast album.
 (Soundtracks are from movies.)

How does providing this tidbit help Hunt promote his speaking and book-writing business?  Hunt’s topic for corporate presentations is improved communications using precise, correct English.
     
A second tactic for positioning yourself as a go-to guy or gal in your field is to "teach" in your blog posts, comparing unfamiliar, industry-specific information with something the average online reader knows and understands. Igloo Books uses that technique in teaching children about animals:

      The saltwater crocodile grows up to 20 feet long. That’s about twice as long as a speedboat.

Business blog posts need to be more – much, much more – than mere online directories, providing "competitive advantage and helpful information for consumers", says Compendium. Business bloggers need to replace "boilerplate" with "concrete, visual stories that bring your power to life."

 

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“Parent” Comments Don’t Need To Pose A Problem For Business Bloggers

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“What’s the biggest problem Facebookers are confronting?” asks Scott Harris in Reader’s Digest. Parents signing up, he says.  Since his mom befriended him on Facebook, Harris laments, his status updates read:
 

  • Scott is making good, well-informed decisions.
  • Scott is going to bed at a very reasonable hour.
  • Scott is making large, regular contributions to his savings account.
  • Scott is drinking only on occasion, and even then, it’s just one or two.

If “Scott Harris” were the name of a business, an appliance repair company, for example, Mom-like comments on the Scott Harris blog might read:

  • The Scott Harris Appliance Repair technician came to my house at 5 AM to fix my washing machine. 
  • Scott Harris Appliance Repair employs only experienced, skilled technicians who know how to repair all brands of appliances.
  • My telephone conversation with the scheduling representative from Scott Harris Appliance Repair was friendly, quick, and efficient.

(“I only wish…” is probably your first thought. Getting any sort of conversation going through comments on your business blog posts is a challenge, and getting the sort of devoted parent-like testimonials even more so. )

Comments are actually more likely to be either negative or posted to promote the commenter’s business rather than yours.  That’s because visitors to your blog are on a mission – to find a product, service, or information – and are little interested in chat.  Often it’s the disgruntled customers who are most likely to vent through blog comments. According to Roger Nunley of Customer Care Institute, though, that could turn into a positive for your company.  Quickly responding to complaints or dissatisfaction will make customers even more loyal than those who have not complained, Nunley emphasizes.

Business blogging is ideal for quick reaction time. As Kyle Lacy of Brandswag explains, social media, including blogs, help business owners control their message and exercise damage control.  Depending on the situation, he advises, the conversation can be taken offline or dealt with through a direct response in the blog.

If you’re unwilling to get wet, you won’t be able to enjoy swimming, as my grandma used to say. If your blog isn’t “out there”, you won’t get negative comments, to be sure, but neither will you be able to use your business blog to attract online customers and clients! 

 

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