These days it seems like everyone has a blog. whether it’s an outlet to type out our inner musings of the world today or to let people into a part of our lives we would have difficulty discussing out loud, there a never-ending number of reasons to start one.
If you own a small business, there are even more reasons to have one. While there are a few that would argue as to whether blogs are still applicable with the surge of social media marketing platforms that have taken the world by storm, it’s believed by most that blogging can be an integral piece of your marketing plan.
In case you are still waiting to take the plunge into the weblog world, some reasons to consider moving forward with your own blog are:
- They are a great way to develop better relationships with your current customers
- They will increase your SEO on sites like Google and Yelp.
- They can position your brand as a perceived industry leader, even if you are just starting out.
Types of blog posts: Articles on your own blog, mini-articles on a microblog, and articles on other peoples’ blogs.
What is a Microblog?
Microblogging is a combination of blogging and instant messaging. It allows users to create short messages to share with an audience online. Two common microblogging platforms are Twitter and Tumblr.
Benefits of Microblogging to consider:
- Your content will take less time to create.
- It’s easier to post more frequently.
- It’s perfect for disseminating urgent information to a large audience.
- Ease of access to mobile apps.
How and Why You Should Consider Guest Blogging
Guest Blogging is basically creating an article for a blog that is not your own. It’s a way to share your knowledge with others while simultaneously increasing traffic to your blog. This also means you will need to plan on featuring posts from other bloggers in the future. Featuring guest posts will give your audience a new perspective on your industry as well as help freshen your content if you’ve gotten stuck in a rut.
To get started, first decide what benefits you are looking to get from the process of guest blogging. This will assist you in finding businesses you may be interested in creating content for and give you an idea of which guest bloggers would be good to invite to post on your site later.
Research is essential to guest blogging, begin by asking yourself some questions:
- Do the businesses you are looking at have a large number of active followers?
- Do these followers regularly participate by posting comments or sharing?
- Do these businesses also have a Facebook page and Twitter account where they share their blog posts?
Focus on finding bloggers within your niche and market industry. You should agree with what they have to say, their opinions should match your own. If they don’t this could lead to content issues later if their content doesn’t line up with your business, personality, or tone.
Be sure to promote your guest blog posts on your own social media accounts and on your own blog. This will bring more traffic back to your guest’s blog and their business. It should become a habit to share your content, plus it’s a good way to say thank you to your host for publishing your guest post.
Overall, blogging in each form is a good way to widen your reach and bring more traffic to your own web presence.
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