The average Australian spends about 18 hours a week online, yet according to Research International, 66% of small businesses don’t have a website. Now, being an accounting type, I know I bombard you with numbers, but you don’t have to be a genius to see these statistics are seriously unbalanced. Talk about missed opportunities! The problem, of course, is that we’re small business owners, not web designers – and, while the cost of a good website has inched down over the last 15 years, it simply doesn’t fit into the average marketing budget of just under $6,000. There is, however, another way to gain a successful web presence – a blog.
What is a Blog?
A blog is a mix between an editor’s column and a diary, an online space where you, as author, post news and opinion. Blogs by small business owners fit into what is known as the “corporate” category, which means their key purpose is for marketing, branding and public relations.
Why Blog?
Quite simply, small businesses that blog have far better marketing results, says Blogger and Marketer Rick Burnes. Given that 77% of Internet users read blogs, according to Universal McCann, their audience potential is greater than other media forms. For example, the world’s most popular blog, The Huffington Post, attracts an estimated 28 million unique visitors a month! Of course, it’s not really about being the biggest and best. Blogging is essentially a relaxed forum for sharing ideas and information in way that encourages two-way interaction with existing and potential customers.
How to Blog
Forget shopping carts, domain name registration and the A-Z of programming languages – the average person can set up a blog in a couple of hours using any one of 40-plus blog platforms. Blogger and WordPress are two of the easiest and best-known, offering an array of templates, settings and widgets (small applications, such as a “search box”) to help customise your blog to suit your business and its image. You can even upload a logo or use your corporate colours and fonts. I recommend you definitely include the following:
- A text box of contact details, including email address and phone numbers.
- A “stat counter” to track performance, including reader numbers and popular posts.
- An RSS feed, which essentially a subscription-based email to remind readers to visit your blog to read new posts.
- Allow moderated comments (you approve comments before they’re posted) to encourage feedback and conversation.
What to Post
Some corporate bloggers share everything from where they went on holiday to the birth of children. While you may want to draw a line at how personal your posts get, make sure you give your business personality – readers respond when they feel like they know you, which can be as simple as posting about the behind-the-scenes parts of your business, such as a Christmas party or repainting your office. Other things to write about include:
- Successes and lessons learned.
- New products or services.
- Events, such as trade shows, courses and conferences.
- Related businesses, such as your suppliers (or ask them to write a guest post).
Whatever you cover, follow a few simple “dos” and “donts”:
- Post regularly, at least once a week.
- Use a friendly and casual tone.
- Keep posts to between 250 and 600 words.
- Avoid obvious marketing and PR.
- Always include images … learn to take good photographs or find copyright free on websites such as Flickr.
- Promote your blog on all marketing materials, especially your email signature.
- Optimise your blog for search engine traffic by submitting it to blog directories and repeating a key phrase in headers and post titles.
