Advertising agencies help BIG business generate buzz, but with huge budgets they are hard to fail. Who does the small business owner, working on a limited marketing budget, turn to? When we add in the economic woes our nation is struggling with, the answer is invariably YOU.
We turned to blogs four year ago as a means to reach into new markets and gain better search engine visibility. Today you can hardly turn on the news without hearing something about some blogger somewhere in the world. Truth is, blogging has grabbed the hearts and minds of business people throughout the world. FREE blog hosting sites popped up almost over night and now have built-in power that rivals most custom written high-end websites. Built as content management systems, blogging software (like WordPress) makes the process of organizing and delivering search-engine-friendly information VERY easy.
The difficult part to blogging is getting started and finding your voice. Like with most marketing mediums, the audience dictates much of the content. In the case of internet based marketing, the big NO-NO is making a direct sales pitch. With trillions in zeros and ones flying at the speed of light, internet users have an unlimited number of reading options. Getting YOUR blog posting read requires a well planned and orchestrated presentation, a complete understanding of the target market desires and plenty of TIME.
Lets start by developing our voice. We have coined the concept of Personality Based Marketing. The definition of Personality is:
- The visible aspect of one’s character as it impresses others.
- A person as an embodiment of a collection of qualities.
When a customer walks through your door they immediately begin to develop impressions of your personality. Office color, decorations, window dressings, the way you talk, dress, the type of car you drive and even the type of coffee you drink tell the observer something about you (or at least they establish a perception). When you open your mouth to speak, the assumed perceptions are either confirmed or altered. If either the perceived or altered perception goes beyond what the customer considers acceptable, then the business relationship is over. The facts of business are such that you can not please every client. Would it be better (or at least more efficient) for the prospect to get to know you without requiring you to take time out of your day to teach them?
Your blogging voice should accurately reflect you as a person. Otherwise when the online relationship progresses to a business, face-to-face, relationship, any deceptive nature will work against the development of a long term relationship. If you like to fish, write from time to time about your fishing trips. If you like dogs, tell the reader about your dog. Write about those things which bring joy to your life and the joy will attract more customers. In the end, people do business with people they know and like. The more insight to you as a person you give online, the more comfortable people will become with the idea of doing business with YOU.
Tomorrow we will dive into starting your blog article and on Monday discuss how to market your blog posting on the social networking sites.
Ed Bejarana
BusinessBlogging.net
a division of Zenith Exhibits, Inc.
You can start blogging today for FREE, visit www.PortlandBusinessCommunity.com
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I have to really agree. In order to catch other people’s attention, you don’t only have to be friendly, but you will also have to really be easy to understand. Some people fail at this by attempting to sound too formal or professional, which is the exact opposite of blogging’s whole point.