Mar
MYTHS OF BLOGGING - PART 2
Continuing my rant that any small business that fancies themselves part of the 21st Century should have a blog, my quest continues to demystify the blogosphere….
Myth #6: No one is going to read my blog.
- The more content you add, the more likely people will be to find something on your site to link to.
- How are your going to promote your blog? You need to let people know it exists! – enews, email, calls, postcards, website – promote, promote, promote!
- The more people that link to you, the higher you rise on search engine rankings. This creates a cycle that may take 4-6 months, but in general, you will build an audience as long as you keep at it with 2-3 posts a week.
Myth #7: Blogs get companies into trouble.
- Some big companies have gotten into trouble with blogs that have leaked information, said inappropriate things, or have ignored customer’s outcries. This is not a problem small businesses have to worry about.
- You will have total control of your content either because you write it, or you are directly in touch with the person who is going to write it.
- Practice good customer service, restrain yourself from blasting your commenters (who will not always be nice), and moderate any other employee’s posts before they go ‘live’ on the blog.
Myth #8: Negative comments on my blog will ruin my company’s reputation.
-Readers are not always going to be nice. Neither are all of your customers. It’s the nature of running a business – you can’t please all the people all the time.
- How you respond to these comments is what determines your reputation on your blog. Always be gracious and provide excellent customer service and your blog will serve to reinforce your position as a strong customer service minded company.
Myth #9: A blog will let my competition know too much about me.
- While your competition knows more about you than you know about them, your customers do too. Customers tend to do business with people they know the most about.
- Keep in mind; you’re not writing about company secrets on your blog, just about your products, services, special offers, new happenings etc.
Myth #10: Blogs are a fad.
- There is no proof that blogs are going to disappear in the next ten years. In fact, evidence shows that blogs are evolving – but not going away.
- Blogs are the fastest growing type of media in the world today.
- Some say podcasts or video blogs will replace them as internet connections get faster and faster, but why would they? Podcasts and video blogs take considerably more time and resources to create than blog posts. It’s similar to television…did it make the radio disappear? And radio…did it make the newspaper disappear? All three options are still enjoyed by millions and provide advertisers with useful mediums to sell their products. Blogs are the next thing. They aren’t the last thing, but the next thing, and they aren’t going away any time soon.
