Increase Your Small Business Audience with a Blog

An Important Tip to Increasing the Popularity of Your Small Business

The word “blog” has become very common in today’s technology driven world – every large corporation, famous celebrity and everyone in between has one. Although blogs may seem like they are only useful for certain people, the truth is that maintaining a blog can be a great asset to a small business. Some of the advantages of using this marketing tool include increasing search engine optimization, sharing knowledge with others, and developing a relationship with your audience.

What You Should Know About Blogs before Starting One

When blogs first came onto the scene (what feels like eons ago), they were basically a digital journal that lived online for everyone to see. Although many people still use blogs to chronicle their lives, businesses and business professionals are now using blogs to make a bigger impact on their target market, helping blogs to evolve into something much bigger. Savvy marketers use blogs for content marketing and some individuals are generating revenue for popular blogs by leasing out advertising space on their webpage.

Advantages of Blogging for Small Business

Relationship Development – Blogs take on a much less informal tone than other reoccurring marketing pieces such as newsletters or mailers. When written correctly, blogs give small business owners the opportunity to connect with the customers and other members of their target market on a much more personal level. Through reading the business’ or the business owner’s blog, consumers get a better idea of what you and your business are all about and that connection often leads to higher sales.

Search Engine Optimization – Another great advantage of starting a blog is how often your business’ entries will show up in different search engines. Search engines like Google and Yahoo are constantly scanning the Web for new content – the more you refresh your blog, the more likely your content will show up at the top of popular search engines. When your business is showing up organically, meaning you haven’t paid for advertisement, at the top of Google the more likely consumers are to click your link.

Increased Exposure through Sharing – Many blog platforms give readers the ability to easily share what they are reading with others, through email, text message, or social media. Smartphones have made this even easier by including one-click sharing for many different forms of content. By creating a blog and including the right content, there is the potential to have that content shared among your customer’s family, friends, and co-workers time and time again. This increased exposure will lead to more hits on your company’s blog and website, which can ultimately lead to a positive impact on overall sales.

How to Know If a Blog is Right for Your Small Business

There is no formula or established checklist that helps business owners to decide whether or not a blog is right for their company. In the end, it comes down to trial and error – before deciding a blog isn’t right for the company or the tool that will send sales over the top, give blogging an honest try. There are a number of free blogging services that will eliminate the cost associated with trying blogging and many business owners are surprised at the impact it can make on their business as a whole.

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*Photo Courtesy of Mike Licht via Creative Commons License