Setting up your business blog is an important step in many small business online marketing factors. However, poor blogging habits can have detrimental results. The mistakes you make on your blogging practice could cost you money, your reputation, and even your customers.
The importance of business blogging is outlined in other articles found on this site. Suffice to say, the benefits of proper blogging strategies are worth the effort. And to reap these benefits, you need to avoid the costly mistakes that many small business owners routinely make.
Mistake #1: No Blog Blueprints
In order to avoid making costly mistakes, you need to have a clear objective for your business blog. What do you want your blog to do for your business? Are you looking to gain internet traffic and additional customers through your website? Perhaps you are looking to gain more brand recognition and awareness? Or maybe you are wanting to help increase online sales through your blog posts.
Whatever the case, be sure you outline what objectives and goals you want from your business blog. Without this set of important blueprints, you will likely write unfocused updates and posts, fail to promote each new posting effectively, and ultimately waste your valuable time.
Mistake #2: Failure to Go Behind the Scenes
Your small business should not just be a faceless brand to your customers. Publishing post after post and update after update on your products, industry news, and sales does not allow your online customers to get to know you.
Have you ever watched a “making of” special feature of a movie on DVD? People like to know how movies are made and get some insight into how the story was written, how the actors prepared, and even get anecdotes of the starts while filming was going on.
Use this curiosity in your customers to give them special insight to how your company works. Where do you get your supplies and stock? How long have certain employees worked for you? Where did you get your business idea in the first place? This can be a great way to help your audience know you better.
Mistake #3: Poor Writing
Your blog posts don’t have to be exceptional prose in the style of E. Hemingway or as captivating as a best-selling author like John Grisham. However, your blog writing does require certain elements that these great writers possess. Otherwise, you risk losing your audiences’ attention or simply driving them away with amateur writing and style.
First, proper grammar and punctuation must be a priority. Nothing screams “amateur” more than a published written work with incorrect punctuation and hard-to-read sentences. If you don’t use a professional writer but write the posts yourself, or have an assigned staff member write the updates, be sure each post goes through a comprehensive editing check.
Mistake #4: Missing Other Technology and Media
Your business blog posts do not have to be 500 word essays every time. A blog with just written prose can be difficult to maintain readers’ attention and ongoing loyalty.
However, what you do need is a way to shake it up. Keep it fresh. Try posting a podcast once in a while. Youc an even publish regular photos of your workplace and staff. Try creating short videos to upload to your site or to YouTube and embedding into your blog posts. And even if you don’t record, edit, and post your own videos, you can always find interesting videos on YouTube that you can share with your blog audience.
Your business blog can work well for your small business and even help you attract more customers. And whether you simply post your blogs on your website, maintain a separate website for your business blog, or make an all-out social media blitz with your blogging, it can serve your business well.
However, you need to formulate the right strategies and goals for your blog, keep your writing clean and interesting, give your audience a behind-the-scenes look, and mix it up with different media for your audience. Avoid the above mistakes, and your business blog will have a better chance to reach your goals.
