Business Blogging

Most Marketing Programs Work

This is a myth put forth by some marketing consultants and debunked in the book “Marketing Myths that are Killing Business”, by Clancy & Shulman.  Truth is it is hard to tell if a marketing program is working.  Well, that is until the internet and business blogging.

Enter Google Analytics

When we blog for business, we keep our topic focused.  That topic gets good initial visibility on the search engines and using the FREE Google Analytics software, we can measure the effectiveness of the posting.  If people are digesting your content AND visiting another page on your company website, then your business blog marketing strategy is working…  However, if the phone does not ring then one might conclude that the effort failed.

Business Blogs Gather Traffic

Your website makes the case for people to call.

• Use your blog to capture keyword focused search engine visibility
• Provide value to the reader in the form of knowledge they can use
• leave the selling to your other Web Pages

All to often we, as business owners / operators, panic when we see lots of web traffic but not phone calls.  This is a business matrix.  Find the most common page visitors read next, after your business blog posting.  Have a trusted friend read the second page and ask them this question:

What, if any, action are you inspired to take?

If the answer is none, then you have found the failure in your marketing program.  Modify the page and repeat the process.  In business, we improve that which we measure.  Use Google Analytics to measure your marketing effort and keep adjusting until your phone starts to ring.

There is no such thing as instant results or a sure thing in internet marketing.  For that matter, we can expand that statement to all marketing.  The most expensive TV commercials can (and often do) fail.  Therefore, when looking to business blogging as a marketing tactic for your business, do so with the following basic understanding: business blogging is a long term process, not a short term solution.

Unlike other marketing methods, business blogging is the process of building a relationship with potential customers.  When blogging, consider the following:

1. People prefer to do business with people they know and like.
2. Nobody likes to hear (or read) a slick sales pitch.
3. Just because you say it doesn’t make it so.

As business owners it is hard to avoid the trap of self importance.  When we attend chamber meetings and business networking events we spend our precious few seconds giving our elevator speech (which is almost always an abbreviated sales pitch).  Because an elevator speech is geared toward educating folks about your products and services, they make for horrible business blog postings.

When blogging, you should focus on helping others.  Keep your topic focused on your visitor and give them FREE information they can use to improve something.

Do not try to write a single blog post on more than a single topic.  Your first target audience member are the search engines; if you try to include too many topics, then the search engines will not know how to list your info.

Lastly, be personal.  Business blogging is informal by nature: so do not try to write poetic master works.  The biggest fear of business blogging is someone will judge your business based on a mis-spelled word or the incorrect use or a comma.  Some may, but most will not.  Unless, of course, your business is writing!

Ed Bejarana Zenith Exhibits, Inc.

Get a FREE business blog site at PDXchat.com

Websites are mission critical in today’s business because 88% of all American Internet users “Use a search engine to find information.” (Pew Internet – April 2009)  WordPress based sites are search engine friendly and can be setup to automatically fill in the necessary meta data fields.  Plus WordPress uses a ping feature to alert the search engines on new or updated information on your website.

The most important reason to switch to WordPress

You can add, change or remove information with out having to hire a web programmer.  You also don’t need any expensive software, you need only your web browser and an internet connection.

WordPress is not limited to a certain number of pages or posts.  You can write a separate page for each of your products and services.  Individual pages or posts for your services improve your search engine visibility because there is more information on a single topic on your page or post.  Since search engines read your content and evaluate the page value for their searchers, have a single topic per page means your content will be scored higher.  A higher content score translates into a higher search engine position.

WordPress is an Open Source project, which means there are thousands of people all over the world working on it.  Writing new code, improving the technology and making new tools that help your visitors find you easier.  The best part, is WordPress is FREE.

Click here to read more about WordPress.

Back in the delirious, go-go heyday of Internet Marketing 1.0, in the distant era of the mid-’90s, all that was on the collective minds of marketers, site owners, and web publishers was the giddy notion of “click” or “hits.”  The more, the merrier, or so the thinking went.

We must get to the point where we stop viewing traffic as the goal and get back to what makes us money–customers!

Search engine Optimization (SEO) is about presenting a solution to a searcher at the moment they need it.  Good news for business, gone are the days where searches only typed in one or two word searches.  Searchers are now asking search engines questions, using full sentences and even punctuation.  The service you offer first starts as a question in a prospects mind.  That prospect goes to one of two (primary) places to find the answer–a friend or the internet.

Most small business folks who are trying to get found on the internet view Google, Yahoo and a like like the phone book.  The phone book uses a single keyword sorting system to organize data.  When you are only dealing with a few thousand options, a single keyword (like Accountant, Mechanic, or Plumber) works just fine.  However, on the internet there are billions of service providers.  What is the important benefits for your service?

Writing your web content for a specific audience with a specific benefit need.  Use you blog to write lots of content and watch your conversion rate go through the roof!

Every year hundreds of thousands of companies pack up their wares and setup shop in convention centers all across America.  Bright colorful graphics, lots of brochures and an endless sea of business cards line row and row of these portable market centers.  This is kind of like what you are doing with you Business Blog, you stand before billions of people observing trillions of electronic brochures and bright colorful graphics!

Searching a random key term, “Auto Industry”, on Google produces a list of 67 million exhibitors.  The first listing, by the way, is a blog site.  The 2009 North American International Auto Show hosted about a hundred exhibitors and more than 650,000 visitors.  What then does a blog site have in common with a tradeshow?

Show Audience Attention Time Span

When walking by your booth or visiting your site, we have about 10 seconds to make a lasting impression that compels the visitor to want more info.  How you write your blog article will influence how many visitors continue reading and how many bounce back to the search engine.

• Use catchy headlines
• Relevant graphics
• Specific examples
• Clear, easy to read, text

Targeting a blog article length of about 250 words is optimum, but for some subjects you might need as many as 400 to 600 words.

Unlike the tradeshow floor, your blogs search engine visibility will depend on the perceived value of your content.  Make sure the words you use are clear, to the point and informative for your reader.  Don’t try to sell the visitor, use your blog as the beginning of the relationship, not the end.

Ed Bejarana LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/edbejarana Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/bejarana Company Site:  http://www.ZenithExhibits.com Delicious:  http://www.delicious.com/bejarana

A new trend uncovered by Hitwise reveals that search queries on all major search engines are starting to get longer and longer. In a recent study, the measurement firm found that searchers are typing four or more words at an increasing rate to find what they're looking for. Searches using five words, for example, are up 6 percent, while those using eight or more words have risen by 22 percent. Overall, longer search queries have increased 10 percent over the past year. Read the rest of this entry »

Social marketing is an over simplified version of word-of-mouth advertising. The concept is you build a network of on-line friends, then deliver small bits of useful information with a goal of stimulating commerce. By itself, social marketing is a poor advertising vehicle. Read the rest of this entry »

Just in case you needed a government official to confirm the obvious…  Yesterday they announced we are (and have been) in a recession.  Every small business owner in America could have told you business was down, but the officials never seem to interview small business people during times is national crisis: why do you suppose that is?  Joe the Plumber got interviewed, why can’t we get noticed?

Marketing budgets in small businesses are small.  We don’t buy TV air time, most don’t advertise on the radio or even buy massive trade show displays.  No we attend local chamber events, eMail all our friends and relatives, and pass out business cards.  There is also FaceBook, MySpace and all the social networking site, but which one should you use?  None of them talk to one another and most of the results is a flurry of SPAM.

Read the rest of this entry »

As a blog operator / business owner using blog technology, you are faced with the never ending question, "What should I write about?" Business Blogging is a consolidation of information that is beneficial to the communities you serve. In my case, I am a business blog consultant who teaches business owners how to use blog technology to advance company visibility on the internet. I write about how to capture attention from those surfing the web. A natural starting point is picking the "right" subjects to write about. Read the rest of this entry »

Business blogging can be the most cost effective marketing tool in your arsenal, but doing it right is mission critical.  Time sensitivity and high relevancy scores will get you listed high on all the search engines.  Links from your article back to your website will prompt Google, Yahoo and MSN to take note; helping with your main site’s search engine visibility.

Not bad for a marketing tool that only costs time!

1. Increases search engine results for local customer searches
2. Improves Google visibility and page ranking for your main web site
3. Provides online source to exhibit experience and expertise

The internet is the primary means for how consumers find information.  When consumers are seeking a product or service, their search will start locally.  When presented with thousands or even millions, of search results, consumers will differentiate bade on gut feel from the 160 charter search result listing.  Articles that communicate more than price based promotions attract readers and build long term business relationships.

According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project Tracking survey, 73% of all America adults use the internet.  Why is knowing over 210 million Americans use the internet?  Because,

• 89% of those users use a search engine to find information,
• 83% look for information on a hobby or interest, and
• 81% look for information on products or services they are thinking about buying.

Most American consumers look to the internet when they need things and information: Can consumers find you and your business on the search engines?

Search engines value blog articles higher than static web pages because the subject matter is current.  Search engines are in business to give internet users what they are looking for in as few searches as possible.  Blogs are text based and full of searchable information.  When written correctly, they can serve as a valuable advertisement for your business.

The service we offer is putting everything together and developing a plan for incorporating business blogging in your weekly activities.

1. We research what you should write about
2. We help you pick the right keywords
3. We identify your search engine opportunities
4. We teach you how to focus your marketing message

The pages here under Blogging Instructions are meant for our customers to use to find answers to the common questions. The pages are password protected, to obtain a password, you need only call us at (503) 709-1454.

For more information about how we can help your business use blogging to improve your search engine visibility, please call Ed Bejarana at (503) 709-1454.