Many entrepreneurs have incorporated a blog into their website. Their primary motivation in blogging is to help their website in search engine optimization. Most business blogs actually rank higher than the business’ main website. Because blogs are updated more frequently with relevant information, search engine spiders recognize that and rank them higher than the static main website page.
I see many entrepreneurs misuse their blog by shamelessly promoting their business. When they do this, the blog is really just a company propaganda tool. These entrepreneurs look at their blog as another method of advertising and promotion. What these entrepreneurs forget is that customers are essentially selfish. They will only read a blog if there is information in it that is helpful to them. They really don’t care about company hirings, parties, new service offerings, etc.
The best small business blogs position the entrepreneur as a thought leader in their particular industry. The blog does not discuss the company directly but talks about industry trends, best practices, and company success stories. For instance, a financial advisor can discuss current financial news and offer their opinion on a certain topic. Consumers, who could be interested in financial services, will find the blog useful, subscribe to it, and hopefully engage with the financial advisor.
So when writing your blog to promote your business, start with the question, What topics would my ideal customer be interested in and can I offer some unique perspective on that topic?
