Blogs are everywhere, it seems. They are featured on
websites, and on Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media. Why are they so
popular? Because they are easy to write, easy to post, and most of all easy to
read.
The point is that blogs are an essential way that savvy
businesses get their educational and marketing messages read. There is little
expense to producing a blog (especially if you can write and post it yourself).
They are custom made for today’s social media outlets. Chances are that your
website’s content management system incorporates a simple blog writing and
posting tool. And this is important: Something written as a blog doesn’t have
to remain locked up in this cubby hole. It can be subsequently used as part of
an E-mail campaign or other marketing initiative.
Blogs can consist of the written word, videos, or even
pictures/slide shows. Of course, the use of videos or slide shows requires a
bit more knowledge of how to interface with YouTube and Powerpoint, so for the
purposes of this blog, we’ll focus on written communications only.
I’ve seen blogs that are only 3 paragraphs long, and I’ve
seen some that take up 15 paragraphs (which, by the way, take too long to read).
As a business owner or executive, you have something you want to tell your
customers (past, present, and future). It may be educational in nature—give viewers
some of your expertise on a particular area and tell them why it’s important.
Don’t forget to include a “call to action,” for example, by reminding them to
check on a critical detail in their auto policy or to ask for help in choosing
their health coverage.
Give readers your message concisely and in your best voice.
It is that simple. My advice is to write up to four blogs as soon as possible and
post them as a group. This represents sort of a “critical mass,” which will
also help, if entered into your search engine optimization process, much more
content for the Googles and Yahoos of the browser world to register and rank.
From there, you may decide to post a new blog once a week or once a month. The
key is to do it on a regular basis—don’t leave it for 6 months at a time.
And there’s the common problem—how to find the time to write
a blog. There is a simple solution. Have a 10-minute conversation with a writer.
Give him or her a couple of bullet points to work from, and let them produce
the draft. If you have the time to speak with a writer for 10 minutes each week
or month, you can post a new blog on a ridiculously
frequent basis. And think of how much content that will generate for your
other marketing needs!
