9.1 How a blog can be a powerful tool for growing a business
An increasing number of businesses are making the most of the internet, in order to promote their products and services. For traditional offline businesses such as shops and restaurants, a blog is a great way of establishing credibility, building a rapport with customers and giving you an edge over your competition. Once you have set up a business blog, it should only take a couple of hours per week to maintain, if you have drawn up a posting schedule and a plan detailing what points will be addressed in each post.
The main beneβits for your business are as follows:
It will make your business easier to find
If your blog contains high quality content about your business and related topics, there is a greater chance that it will appear high up in lists of search engine results when someone types in terms such as “[your industry/product type]” + “[location]”. This is a crucial first step in attracting visitors to your site, who may then become customers. In addition, you can post excerpts of your posts to your business's social media platforms. When presented in an attractive way, these links will encourage readers to visit your website. From there, you can use sales copy, product descriptions and other content, to encourage visitors to spend money with you.
It will improve the relationship you have with your customers and encourage new customers to make their first purchase
A well designed website with useful content will go a long way in cementing a positive relationship and improving your reputation. It signals to your customers that you take their experience and opinions seriously, and that you are willing to spend time and effort creating a good impression with your target market.
It will help you gain credibility within your industry
When you post helpful, relevant and engaging content to your blog, others will begin to perceive you as a trusted source and as an authority within your niche. For example, if you run a business providing counselling and life coaching services, a regular blog in which you share practical tips on stress reduction and positive living enhances your credibility as an individual or team with the ability to make a difference to their clients' lives. If you run a business specialising in care solutions for elderly patients, a well-researched blog post on how to choose the most appropriate care home may be well received by your audience.
FACT
92% of businesses who blog more than once per day have earned new business via their blog.
Source: Hubspot.com
9.2 Types of posts you can use to engage with your target audience
Once you have drawn up a posting schedule, ensure that the person responsible for your business communications and marketing coordinates the production and publication of blog content. You should be as consistent as possible. When an existing or potential customer arrives at your website, they should get the impression that you have put thought into devising a long-term blogging
and social media strategy. This creates a more balanced website and a more professional image. It is much better to post once a week for two years, than to publish a flurry of posts over a couple of months before suffering from blog burnout.
Consider including the following kinds of post on your business blog:
Tutorial posts
If you sell products that may be difficult for your customers to use, why not create a video tutorial showing them how to get the most from their purchase? For example, if your business sells garden pond installation kits, a few videos showing your customers exactly how to create their new water feature may be well received. Tutorial posts can also entice new customers to buy from your business, or to encourage existing customers to invest in new supplies. If you own an art supplies business, then a series of tutorials showing viewers how to create attractive seasonal crafts may encourage them to buy the necessary equipment.
Tutorial posts show your audience that you not only want to sell them products and services, but also that you care about the success of their projects. If you can produce a video showing real customers using your products, this will also serve the purpose of acting as a positive
testimonial.
Posts that introduce members of a team
People like to do business with those that inspire within them feelings of trust. One of the best ways of building this sense of security is to use your blog as a platform by which your customers can get to know the people behind the business. Include an “About Us” page on your website, listing the core members of staff, together with a clear headshot of each person and a brief description of their role within the company. You could also run a series of blog posts in which employees take it in turns to write about a specific topic, promote a product or service they personally endorse, or to talk about their experience of working for the company.
Activity: Write A Team Post Schedule
Time: 10 Minutes
Make a list of all the key figures in your business, together with a few notes on topics they might like to write about on your company blog.
Liaise with the first person on your list and decide on a deadline for their post.
Posts that spell out the company's purpose or mission
Make sure that your customers and prospective customers understand not only who you are as an organisation, but what you are trying to do. Why did the founder start the business in the first place? Were they driven by a particular personal need, or perhaps they saw a gap in the market that they knew how to fill? What principles, aims and values drive the development of the business in its current form? These questions can provide you with a solid foundation for a blog post. If your company's leadership team pride themselves on conducting ethical business - for example, by stocking only organic or environmentally friendly items - then you could write a post explaining how the business came to conduct business in this way.
Posts that build excitement around an upcoming product or service
If you have started to stock, develop or offer a product or service you think will be popular with your target market, use your blog as a means of promoting it. Write a post in which you introduce the product or service, why it is of interest to your target market and when it will be available to buy. If you allow others to comment on your blog posts, this could result in a constructive dialogue between your business and its customers. You can use the comments section to respond to any comments or questions customers may have, in relation to your products.
If you are considering whether to stock a particular product line, you could create a post in which you solicit your readers' opinions. This could be as simple as creating a poll or quiz within a blog post and asking readers to select which option most appeals to them. You could ask them to select their favourite product from a list, or ask them to tell you what problems or projects they have been tackling recently in their hobby or line of work, as appropriate.
Posts that highlight a current or upcoming job opportunity
If your business is small and close-knit, posts describing job vacancies can be a positive way of providing potential candidates with useful background information to read, prior to submitting an application. In addition, it can be an effective means of giving your customers an insight into your recruitment process and the qualities you value in an employee.
For example, if you specify that anyone wanting to join your gardening business needs to have at least five years' experience in a similar role, you are signalling to customers reading your blog that you are diligent in hiring only those who are well equipped to provide them with the service they need.
Posts that provide the reader with a background on a particular topic
Think about the most pressing concerns amongst members of your target audience. For example, if you run a business that sells maternity clothes, it is likely that your customers will be concerned with issues such as dressing well for formal occasions whilst pregnant, how to maintain a positive body image before and after birth and what materials are most comfortable to wear for women approaching their due date. You could ask suitably qualified professionals to take part in an interview for your blog, using either a set of questions you have devised or queries from your blog readers. Use images as appropriate, to illustrate your points.
Activity: What Expertise Can You Share With Your Customers?
Time: 10-15 Minutes
Think about the most popular products or services you sell, together with your customers' most pressing concerns.
Write a list of at least five ideas for blog posts, in which you pass on your knowledge and expertise in such a way that solves or addresses reader concerns.
9.3 Why building an email list can help you sell more products
Ideally, you should set up your blog so that all visitors are encouraged to give you their email address before they leave your site. Once you have a customer's or potential customer's email address, you can then build a relationship with them by sending them information about your products and other content that they may find useful. Even if they don't buy a particular product when you promote it within an email, sending out regular updates reminds every member that your business is still active.
Remember that even though the members of your email list will know that they have signed up for updates from a business, they will not appreciate being made to feel that they are being bombarded with marketing material. As a general rule, it is sensible to limit your updates to one per week. More than this and your email list may start to become annoyed and unsubscribe.
Obtaining a visitor's email address
There are three main approaches to obtaining a visitor's email address. Although they differ in terms of style and format, the central purpose is the same - to encourage an individual to enter a means bywhich they may be contacted in the future. One method is to set a pop-up box, to appear when someone arrives on your webpage. Depending on the blogging software you are using, you may be able to choose how many seconds elapse between your blog's homepage loading and the appearance of the box. The advantage of using a pop-up box is that they are hard to ignore and if they are well timed, they can be very effective.
If you allow the reader approximately 45 seconds to read your blog and gain an appreciation for what your posts are about, they may well decide that they wish to receive more similar content and therefore enter their email address in the box, when presented with the opportunity to do so.
Unfortunately, pop-up boxes are often experienced as an annoyance by many visitors. Another option is to place a sign-up box in one of your blog's sidebars. This is considered a “politer” approach to soliciting sign-ups to an email list, but it may not be as attention grabbing as a pop-up.
Finally, you can also place a side-up box at the bottom of your visitor's screen, so that even when they scroll down the page, the box remains static. This has the advantage of holding a visitor's attention, because it is literally placed front and centre, but like pop-up boxes, their appearance is often perceived to be irksome by some readers.
Whichever option you choose, you can adjust your approach later, based on the percentage of visitors who give their email address. If your first format does not work as well as you would like, try another and see which yields the best results.
Manage an email list
You do not need to master many tools in order to create, add to and manage an email list. The simplest option is to use a plugin or application that will handle the entire process for you with minimal manual intervention.
For example, MailChimp (mailchimp.com) allows you to create code that you can easily copy and paste into your site to create a text box visitors that can use to type in their email address and subscribe to your mailing list. MailChimp also allows you to create a well organised mailing list that you can mail as and when you like. The basic service is free and allows you to create sign up forms for your site and manage a mailing list of up to 2,000 subscribers, who can receive a total of 12,000 emails per month.
You can upgrade from £8 per month, to access features such as the ability to send automatic “Welcome” emails to new subscribers and to segment your mailing list by variables such as age, location and past purchasing behaviour. Alternatives to MailChimp include Aweber (aweber.com) and Zoho(zoho.com).
9.4 Following the rules around email communication and spam
When you sign up with a service such as MailChimp, you will be required to provide information about your business, such as its sector and mailing address. One reason you are required to undertake this step is that it helps that your promotional emails are legal. In the UK, there are strict rules concerning the conditions under which you can send emails with the purposes of promoting a product or service - and violations of these rules can result in a fine.
Although an in-depth consideration of the law around email marketing is beyond the scope of this module, the key points most business bloggers need to bear in mind are as follows:
You must have received consent from individuals, before you send them marketing or promotional materials
You cannot send promotional emails to individuals, unless they have agreed to receive such communications by opting in to your mailing list. Doing so means that you are guilty of sending “unsolicited emails” and this is not permitted. You can send unsolicited marketing emails to corporations, provided it is relevant to their line of work. It is important to note that sole traders are counted as individuals, even when they are working in a professional capacity.
Subscribers must have been provided with sufficient information, when they opted in
It is vital that you make it clear to anyone signing up to your email list that in doing so, they agree to receive promotional emails from you. The text beneath the sign-up box on your blog does not have to follow a specific format, but it should make your intentions clear.
All subscribers must be able to opt out at any time
Every email your subscribers receive should contain all the information they need to opt out of receiving further communications. This could be an email address that they use to relay their wishes, or a link to a button they can click to automatically unsubscribe.
Each email must have an identifiable sender
Your name (or the name of your company) must be included in the “From” field of each email you
send.
9.5 Offering free resources to encourage people to sign up to an email list
The mailing list management services mentioned above allow you to automatically send a new subscriber a free digital resource or bonus, such as a report, eBook, or coupon, as a “thank you” for signing up to the mailing list. For example, if you run a cookware shop, you could offer website visitors a free eBook containing a brief collection of recipes, in exchange for their email address.
In the eBook, you could highlight various pieces of equipment required to execute the dishes to a high standard and take the opportunity to remind the reader that your business is able to meet their culinary needs. If you do not have the time, inclination, or knowledge required to create a valuable free gift, outsource the project to a freelancer. It may mean using a portion of the marketing budget, but it will be worth the expense when more people sign up to your list.
9.6 Using a blog to show your organisation's personality
A good business blog strikes the right balance between personality and professionalism.
Although you should always remember that you are writing for business rather than social purposes, people prefer to read engaging, informal text, as opposed to dry or formal content. With this in mind, make your posts as readable as possible. Write as though you were addressing one of your everyday customers.
Avoid excessive use of jargon and if you must introduce a technical term, then be sure to include a short definition. Improve an article's readability, by breaking it down into brief paragraphs and keeping sentences succinct. It is acceptable to use an informal tone and use personal pronouns if it βits with your business image, but avoid vulgar language and crude humour.
You can also build credibility by making reference to relevant facts and figures. If you are writing an article promoting a particular product, you could use statistics that highlight a consumer need or trigger an emotive response.
For example, if you are writing a post promoting home safety equipment, a few statistics on the number of accidents suffered by people at home every year serves the function of building credibility, whilst also stirring a desire for the product in the reader.
9.7 How to make use of social media, to attract new customers
With a significant proportion of the population using social media on a regular basis, most businesses beneβit from developing a strong social media presence. Although it can take some time to learn the basics, social media has two main advantages - you can reach millions of people and you can spread your message at no cost whatsoever. Your first step is to identify which platform is best suited to the nature of your business and to your target audience.
For example, if you sell beauty supplies, then an image based platform such as Instagram or Pinterest would be a better choice than Twitter. If you are in a B2B sector, then LinkedIn would be a good starting point for connecting with prospective clients. If your business is small, then you may not have the resources to maintain multiple social media platforms and so will need to choose how to spread the time that is available to you. Once you have chosen your platform, you will need to create a professional looking proβile page. You can create attractive backgrounds and banners yourself, or hire a freelance professional to do it for you.
Your blog and social media profiles should be closely linked from the beginning. Don't forget to make it easy for your followers to click through to your blog. When you post a new piece of content to your blog, be sure to notify your social media followers. Do not post the full article - instead, think of your social media updates as “bait” that will hopefully lure your followers to your blog and engage their interest.
Use social media to grow your email list
Many of the techniques suitable for businesses looking to engage with new and existing customers on social media are the same as those addressed in previous modules - keep your updates frequent but brief, promote your own message and products whilst granting other people some exposure and interact positively with others in your niche.
If your customers ask you a direct question, answer it promptly and take the opportunity to demonstrate or link to products and services that relate to their concerns. Even if a customer complains publicly on one of your social media profiles, try to see it as a positive opportunity to show that you are willing to be held accountable and engage in constructive dialogue with your customers.
Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and most other social media sites now offer users the opportunity to pay to have their content promoted. For example, Twitter has a Promoted Tweets option. This allows you to select the tweet or tweets you would like to promote, along with your target audience.
Twitter then ensures that members of the demographic see the tweet, either at the top of search results, in their feeds, or on relevant user profiles. The cost is around 30p per “engagement” and you are charged whenever someone interacts with your tweet, by clicking on it, replying to it, or retweeting it. LinkedIn has a Sponsored Updates program, which works in a similar way. You can choose which of your LinkedIn updates to promote, choose the demographic you would like to target and then pay approximately £1 per engagement. Facebook offers not only the chance to show adverts, but also provides you with the tools you need to create them.
Their “Ads Manager” tool allows you to set up an advert and target it at the right demographic, by asking you to indicate the advert's objective (e.g. to promote a page, to send people to your website, etc), ideal audience and total budget. There are numerous options that allow you to specify parameters, such as the time of day your advert will be displayed, whether you want to pay per click, impression, or in accordance with other metrics and the countries in which you wish to display the advert. As there are so many options, it is difficult to specify how much any given campaign will cost. Costs may range from a few pence to over a pound, per click or engagement.
Small-scale campaigns
It is sensible to run a few small-scale campaigns as a starting point and carefully monitor the metrics. You may find that a few relatively minor adjustments, such as changing the age group of your target audience by a few years, may make a significant difference to the number of people who engage with your promoted posts or adverts and ultimately, click through to your blog. Running two campaigns side by side and comparing their performance is commonly referred to as “split testing”.
Although it may be tempting to alter several variables and parameters with each new campaign, spending time tweaking and experimenting with just one variable (such as age, gender, or country) is a better use of your time and money, because you will be able to pin down exactly what is and isn't working, to drive viewer engagement.
Remember that even if you have a large advertising budget and can afford to spend money advertising your blog and business on social media, readers will not return unless your content is engaging. Whatever approach you take to marketing, your primary concern ought to be providing your followers with value. Always strive to present a consistent brand image and to cultivate a reputation as a helpful source of information.
Module Summary
Blogging is now seen as a necessity in business. It can help attract new customers and maintain a rapport with people who have already made a purchase. You can use various kinds of blog posts, in order to establish your organisation as a credible authority in your field and to convince readers that your products and services will solve their problems. For example, using tutorial posts allow you to pass on knowledge and at the same time, encourage customers to buy products that will allow them to achieve the same result.
A blog can also be used as a starting point for building an email list. This is a valuable asset, because once an individual has provided you with their contact information, you can send them information about your company's products, services and updates. Always be sure to comply with anti-spam regulations and make sure that members of your email list know how to opt out of receiving future communications. For best results and outreach, business blogging should be combined with social media that allows you to distribute authoritative content to current and prospective clients. For example, joining relevant groups on LinkedIn allows you to network with people who may be interested in the solutions offered by your business.
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