5 KEYS TO BLOGGING FOR YOUR SMALL BUSINESS

Thinking that you should start a blog for your business?  If you read our most recent post, you may be wondering how to get started.  Here's a few simple steps you can take to get a blog started for your business.

1. Make It Someone's Job

If you don't make it someone's responsibility, there's pretty much no chance it'll ever generate any momentum.  That doesn't mean the entire project falls on one person's shoulders, but it does mean that there's at least one person who "owns" the success of the blog, and is accountable for it's execution. 

2. Identify Your Focus

What are you going to blog about?  Remember, the value in a blog is to create content that will help you connect with your ideal customer.  This means you are generating content that is both relevant, and helpful, to the people you want to do business with.  Your company blog isn't the place for random personal expositions, or pictures of cats.  It represents the face of your company, and you want it focused on content that attracts the right type of client

3. Create A Calendar

Before you start simply publishing content whenever you get around to it, start by creating a content calendar.  By mapping out your posts in advance, sometimes weeks or months in advance, you give yourself a plan you can follow.  This also makes it much easier to share the responsibility of creating content by delegating posts based on the calendar.  

I recommend you start by planning out at least 4 weeks.   This gives you time to create content, edit, and publish on a consistent basis.   Start by publishing on a schedule you know is sustainable for your business, beginning by posting 2-3 times a week.  Once you've gotten a good handle on your calendar, you can increase your frequency as you think is appropriate for your audience.

4. Find The Right Platform

Is your company's website already built on an existing content management system (CMS)?  If so, adding a blog is relatively easy.  If not, you'll have to decide which platform you are going to use, and how you plan to integrate it with your existing online presence.  There are a lot of different options available, from free (blogger, wordpress), to our personal favorite - squarespace.  

Which one is best for your business depends on a lot of variables, but the bottom line is that you should choose one that gives you the most flexibility, and that you feel most comfortable actually using.  Many of them (even the paid options) offer free trials so that you can get a feel for how you'll be using it on a regular basis.  

5. Be Prepared To Measure

If you're going to invest an effort in blogging, be sure to know in advance how you will measure it's success.  I've talked before about measuring your marketing, and it's especially important with blogging.  Free tools, like Google Analytics, can help you measure traffic, referral sources, the best content, and even conversions (to some extent).  At the same time, some CMS tools include robust analytics built in, and software like Hubspot gives you not only a tool for managing your content, but directly tracking what happens when customers interact with both your blog, and your website.

Do you blog for your business?  What tips would you share with other small businesses just getting started?   Leave a comment below!