does your small business need a blog? {a few last thoughts}
Welcome to the last post in the “Does Your Small Business Need a Blog?” series. We do hope you have found this information useful. We know all the information and opportunities for online marketing can be overwhelming to small business owners. It is our hope this series helped you determine if and how a blog can fit into your total marketing strategy.
To recap where we’ve been:
- Two Reasons Why Your Small Business Might Benefit from a Blog
- Creating Quality Content
- Identifying Your Audience
- The Time Factor
In the first post in this series, I explained we’d be using the basic questions of journalism to explore this topic. So far, we’ve answered the why, the what, the who, and the when. In this final post we’ll discuss the where and the how.
Where should my blog be?
This one is easy! On your website. Yes, there are plenty of other places you can do your blog . . . but trust me, put it on your website. It will be ever so much easier for you and your customers. Plus, the goal is to increase awareness of your services, products, and brand. Why would you want customers to go to separate locations to read your blog and to buy your products? {Also, it makes your life easier . . . everything is in one place!}
How do I promote my blog?
This is where it gets fun! There are countless ways to promote your blog (and thereby your website where it is located!). Here are a few to get you started:
- share with your email list
- postcards or other mail outs
- social media accounts … link to your blog posts on your business’s Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram accounts
- print advertisements
- write a guest post for a blogger whose audience matches yours
- submit a column to your local paper and include information about your blog
- ask your local Chamber of Commerce to mention your new blog in their newsletter {they love to share info about their members!}
- share your blog posts on your personal social media accounts
- ask friends to share your posts
- create easily shared images and quotes from your posts
Blogging can be a great tool in your marketing tool belt. It may take you a bit to get your system in place but for many small businesses a great blog is one of the best marketing investments you can make.
