This blog is intended to show how as a small business owner you can utilize social media tools to grow your clientele, get your word out, and thrive.  An important part of the social media equation is blogging.  You may believe everyone and their mother is out to start a blog in order to keep you posted on which cereal they ate for breakfast, if their cat got over that nasty stomach flu, and if they can balance cherries on their dog’s head.  But there is so much more to it than that.  Business blogging is a completely different beast, and is one of the most effective ways to add content to your website, build brand awareness, and turn readers of your blog into real-life customers.

Why Does Blogging Work?

The number one way to increase traffic to your company website is to start a blog.  Basically, and in the most layman terms possible, the more content you have connected to your company website, the higher up you’ll appear on the Google page when someone searches for your keywords.

How Can This Be Bad?

Truthfully, it can’t be.  Being found faster and easier by Google should be every business’s goal.  There are many ways to market yourself, but social media and specifically business blogging is basically free and is documented to work.

The first time you sent out a mailing back in the good old days of the Pony Express, it was probably scary and you bit your nails for days waiting until your newsletter got to your customers.  You’re going to have the same feeling with blogging, but eventually you’ll get used to it and see the benefits.  In the end, wasn’t the mailing worth it?

So Now What?

Now you blog.  Attach the blog to your company website.  Once you’ve built up a few posts, put it on your website prominently.

How Do I Know What to Blog About?

You don’t need to be Hemmingway or Faulkner or Updike to blog.  You just need to know your business and expose your passion.  To get in the groove of things, start writing one blog a day for a week.  You’ll see that it starts to get easier and you’ll find a groove.  Shoot for around 250 words in the beginning and see how comfortable you feel with that.  If you have no idea where to begin and you have to breath into a paper bag when you think about it, shoot me an email.  What do you have to lose?

More importantly, what do you have to gain?

If you’re truly scared, take a look at this excellent post from Chris Brogan on how to overcome your fear of blogging.

So, what do you think about starting a blog for your business?  Do you think it will help?  Sound off below.