One of the fastest ways for your small business to get on board with digital media and marketing strategies is to create a stellar company website.
It’s likely you have spent a good deal of time selecting a design and developing the best content to demonstrate your core value proposition and offering. But have you ever considered that your marketing strategy shouldn’t stop there?
One thing established small business owners know well, is that without regular updates to your company website, no one will find it! You may be thinking, “If my products and services are not changing, how can I regularly update my website?”
Well, the answer is simple: a company blog. If you are running a business and you have a company website, but not a blog, you are missing out on: opportunities, prospects, organic website traffic, improved search-engine ranking and more.
Fresh Content Enhances Your Company’s Online Reputation
If there was one word to sum up what a successful blogging strategy does for your business it would be: reputation.
In the digital media world, you want to be viewed as an industry leader and an expert in your field. For instance, if you own an insurance company, you will want to position yourself as an expert in topics related to the products you insure, and the industry as a whole. This will not only put you at the forefront of search engine results, but it can let prospects know that you are knowledgeable about your field.
A company blog should be consistently updated with new content to give prospects increased ways to find you with each post. Meanwhile, search engines like Google recognize sites with freshly-minted content – rewarding them with higher page ranks in search results.
When you develop a company blog, you ultimately reap the benefits of:
- A company website that is naturally optimized for search engines as a result of fresh, unique content
- An increased number of ways prospective customers can find your business
- Building online awareness to assert yourself as an industry expert
Without a company blog, even if someone were searching for something you are an expert at selling, no one will find you. Creating and updating a company blog, on a regular basis, builds your online presence; and that is what helps Internet users find you. The truth is: having a company website is no longer good enough.
Creating a Company Blog
Creating a unique company website is only the first step to mastering digital media. Next, you need to build a company blog. Now that I’ve convinced you of the need, let’s consider how every entrepreneur can easily launch a blog.
First, you will want to talk to your web developer and have a blog (i.e. content management system) added to your website. Once you have that squared away, you should start generating content. While there are many different strategies out there, it is recommended that you update your blog using a specific frequency. This could mean once a week, or it could result in 2-3 posts per week. The key is to never let your company blog go static.
Every small business should consider their company blog as a place where prospective and current customers will go for a wealth of information. If customers have questions, your company blog should have the answers. Consider developing a content schedule that includes blog posts on the following topics:
- Local events
- Industry news
- Personal interests
- Opinions
- “About Us” profiles on leadership and employees
Your company blog should offer fresh information that adds value to the industry. Once you do that, you can quickly improve your online reputation. So, start planning and develop a strategy today. Then, if you are feeling really adventurous, integrate your company’s blogging strategy into your social media efforts and watch your site traffic steadily climb.
John Boudreau, COO and Co-Founder of Astonish, has been in the insurance marketing and technology business for nearly 10 years. He works closely with local insurance agencies across the country to understand what works and what doesn’t in an attempt to increase their share of the digital landscape through online marketing tactics and a robust customer relationship marketing tool. Clients of the Astonish digital marketing system often have outstanding results as described in these Astonish results reviews. An avid musician, John plays the drums, the bass and the guitar.
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