Going Social With Business Blogs

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“A (business) blog is a form of web communication allowing companies of all sizes to reach new audiences…, says Darrell Zhorsky. But, “allowing” and actually “reaching” are two different things, as many a new business owner discovers to his/her dismay. The reality, as ProBlogger’s Darren Rowse points out, is that “many blogs produce quality content that doesn’t get read.”

Once you taken the big step of getting consistent about posting content on your business blog (or hiring a professional ghost blogger like me to do it for you), the necessary next step is promoting your blog so people know it’s there.

One obvious, but often overlooked tactic, is simply letting your clients and customers know about the “Birth of the Blog”. The blog’s URL should occupy a place of honor on your business cards, flyers, ads, brochures, and website.  And, if there’s one particular post where you really “nailed” the message you want to convey about your business – print that one up on postcards or little laminated handouts to have handy at networking meetings, trade shows, letters or invoices.

Just created a new post? Tweet it, Facebook It, “Link it in”.  Or, capture one essential idea from your blog in a Tweet, linking back to the blog itself. As Jason Falls points out in The Beginners Guide To Promoting Your Blog “Twitter is a place to have conversations with people”, (not an advertising billboard).  That means you need to provide links to other interesting and informative sites, so that your blog becomes the “go-to” spot for information in your field.

In using social media to promote your blog, don’t forget to “stay on brand”, is a reminder offered by Entrepreneur. “Go ahead and announce sales and specials, but also give your fans, friends, and followers something more.”

Blogging is an incredible way to connect with customers  who are searching for exactly what you sell, what you do, and what you know about.  But they have to find you first.  Bottom line is:  you can’t just blog there – you have to promote your blog!

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Three Little Blogging Bites From Whole Foods

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The larger a pepper, the less “hot”, is just one of the interesting tidbits I learned from a Whole Foods representative at the Indiana Health Expo the other day.  Peppers, in fact, could serve as a metaphor for blogs and websites, with shorter, “spicier” blog posts packing more immediacy than their longer, more formal website cousins. The typical website offers more detail and a broader spectrum of information on a company’s products and services, while blog posts focus on one idea with more intensity.

The first three ingredients listed on a food container, I learned at the Health Expo, are the most important, because ingredients are listed in descending order of how much of each is in the product. When it comes to business blogs, it’s important to use key words and phrases in the title and early in the text of each blog post. Those key words indicate to the search engines what the main idea of the post is going to be.

I found the Whole Foods presentation particularly engaging because it offered information I’d never heard before.  Offering information that is new to the typical online reader is a key principle of business blogging. The Health Expo speaker captured my attention with information new to me. I learned about a food called Quinoa (pronounced “keen wa”), which is a rice substitute high in dietary fiber, and about Greek Yogurt. New information is a winner for business blogging.  If you can’t offer brand-new information, your unique approach or “slant” shows searchers you’re far from run-of-the mill.

One of Suzanne Gunelius’ six tips on turning a business blog into a sales tool is “Provide Exclusive Information and Tips.”  A great example of that is a blog I read called Breathe Easy, which talks about about dog food. The blogger warns that comparing ingredients can be tricky, because, although two labels may have the same ingredient name, there can be a world of difference between two brands.” The recommendation is for buyers to look for the words “human grade” on the dog food label.  That’s the kind of valuable and detailed advice that distinguishes “human grade” blogs from the pack!

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Fun Ways To Get Blogs Cooking

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Iron Chef Jose Garces shares his top five tips for getting kids interested in cooking, and every one of those tips, I realized, can be used to spice up business blogs!

1.     Play a game. "Pick an ingredient and see who can come up with the best dish.  Make it interactive and fun."

In a blog post, you can invite readers to share the most unusual use they’ve found for your product or service (perhaps offering some kind of prize for the best entries). Ask readers to share a pet phrase they use relating to what you do.

2.     Take advantage of technology.  Garces recommends the new Wii game "Cook or Be Cooked", or watching a cooking show and then trying to make the dishes.

Different blogging software programs have different features and benefits.  Three popular free platforms are Blogger, WordPress, and TypePad.  My own Say It For You blog uses a paid platform, Compendium Blogware.  The main idea is to use existing technology to streamline the process of getting your content published on the web.

3,     Go shopping together.  "As parents, sometimes we just want to go in and get the shopping done quickly.  Instead, try to make grocery shopping with your kids a priority."

In your business blog, rather than just "sending" online visitors to your shopping cart or catalogue, use your blog posts to highlight specific products or services and show how each can be applied to a specific task or situation.  "Walk" your potential customers down your "grocery aisle" with the specific information you offer.

4.     Strike a deal.   Says Garces, "I struck a deal with Gloria – she has to try one new vegetable a week.  We make them together.  This is a great way to connect with your kid."

Online printable coupons can serve as an incentive to readers to try a new product or service.  Susan Gunelius of About.com suggests writing blog posts about upcoming product releases or sales your business is running.

5.     Aim to inspire.  "If your children see you excited about trying new foods and cooking   
techniques, then you’ll inspire them."

Your blog is your "voice" to potential clients.  For them to get excited, they need to sense
your excitement about what you’re selling and about the services you provide.

It’s amazing how many fresh ingredients are available in today’s supermarket," exclaims the Iron Chef. 

Even more amazing, though, is the sheer volume of information available on the internet today on just about every subject, including yours. As the sales training book  Stop Selling and Do Something Valuable advises, "We have to sell ourselves to potential clients so that they choose to work with us rather than the competition. ..We need to persuade people to act."

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Do You Have Ringing In Your Blog Post Titles?

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Between Shakespeare’s Juliet asking "What’s in a name?" and father-of-advertising David Ogilby’s emphasis on headlines, there’s simply no contest when it comes to blogging for business – titles matter! There are two basic reasons titles matter so much in blogs:

  • For search – key words and phrases, especially when used in blog post titles, help search engines make the match between online searchers’ needs and what your business or professional practice has to offer.
  • For reader engagement – after you’ve been "found", you’ve still gotta "get read".  

In my magazine reading this week, I came across titles that illustrate just two of the many ways to make titles "pop":

The title of an advertisement in USA Weekend asks the question: "Do You Have Constant Ringing In Your Ear?"

If ear ringing is, in fact, a problem for the searcher, there will be a "Bingo!" I’ve come to the right place" response. But even if I somehow arrived at this site looking for, say, hearing aids or even diamond earrings, the title has an immediacy that grabs my attention, perhaps causing me to reflect, " You know, sometimes I DO have a sort of ringing sensation…"

The concept of asking readers if they’re grappling with an issue or a need that you not only know about, but which you’re accustomed to helping solve – that’s perfect for the headline of a business blog post.

One title on the cover of O Magazine is a "grabber" in a different way: "100 Things That Are (Actually) Getting Better".

This title passes Ogilby’s "acid test" by making you wish you’d thought about many things actually getting better, because most people suffer from the perception that a lot of things are getting worse nowadays.  The title’s not only refreshing – it arouses curiosity. (Are there really that many things getting better?  What have I missed?)

One thing Indianapolis small business consultant Lorraine Ball thinks is getting better is blog writing. Ball attributes the improvement to Twitter and other social media, which focus on titles short enough to "Tweet".

Truth is, no clever or even Tweet-able title can substitute for well-written, relevant content in the blog post itself, content that provides valuable information to your readers. But, in order for blog marketing to lead searchers to become buyers of your products and services, your stuff has got to get read!

Sorry, Juliet.  When it comes to business blog posts, the answer to the question "What’s in a name?" is EVERYTHING!

 

 

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Ghost Blogging De-Haunted

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There’s something some still find scary about ghost-blogging.  Very much like the apparitions from which we professional ghost bloggers derive our name, doubts about the legitimacy of our pursuits return periodically to haunt online conversation spheres.

In One Ghost-Blogger’s Manifesto, a piece which I composed a number of months ago as part of an online debate "moderated" by Jason Falls, I made several points about blog marketing for business using the help of professional writers.

1. Business blogging is a form of advertorial marketing, not a personal "op ed" forum meant to gain converts to a political, religious, or personal view of the world.  Blog marketing is meant to win search so that the client company can do more business. Understood in that context, hiring a professional writer is no less ethical than hiring an advertising copy writer.

2. Most sports figures, music stars, celebrities, and politicians don’t write their own books.  As blog strategist Mikal Belicove remarks in the book What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting, it’s not only books and songs that are composed by ghost writers, even most quotes from corporate CEOs represented in press releases are never actually uttered by the quoted officials.

3. In the close to three years since founding Say It For You to provide professional writing services to business clients, I have seen, again and again, blogs begun by business owners and then soon abandoned for lack of time, the owners’ attention drawn to putting out fires, making sales, and dealing with personnel issues.

4. As a ghost blogger, I’m part of an elite group of specialty writers for hire, "new" in the sense that blog marketing itself is a new phenomenon.  Ghost writing, of course, has a very long and proud history, in our own country going back all the way to presidents Washington, Jefferson, and Hamilton.

(After I and several other blogging professionals had weighed in on the issue, Jason Falls maintained his stance that the principle of social media transparency is being violated by ghost bloggers. Still, he concluded,"These professionals who work hard to deliver the company voice and value through their writing are nothing if not responsible, professional, first-class individuals who provide valuable service to their clients.")

In the blog posts for each business owner client, I (and the writers under contract to me) are out to accomplish the following:


  • Provide information that is valuable to readers and which satisfies the need that brought them online to search for answers
  • Demonstrate the particular expertise and history of that company or that professional, and how he/she/it differs from competitors in approach, product, expertise, or price point.
  • Provide a clear navigation path through calls to action that bring the searcher closer to becoming a client or customer of that business.

Supernaturalists refer to "channeling".  The role of a "medium" or "channeler" is to facilitate communication with spirits who have messages to share with living people. It’s the spirit doing the speaking, but the channeler who conveys the message in language recipients can understand. 
 
I cannot think of a more fitting metaphor to describe the services a professional ghost blogger provides!

 

 

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