Monday, May 20, 2013

Get Your Business Story Out To Customers.




Changes in the way Google works now mean that it is more important than ever that your website is well set-up to meet their standards to be seen by Google as a worthwhile site for people searching for what you do. Every business needs this as a priority so your business can be found online through search. 

What Google Values

  • That means that it is comprehensive, that it is able to be viewed by mobile devices - Smartphones and tablets, as well as desktop computers.  
  • That the content relates to the topic and it is valuable for the reader.  
  • And that it is original.

It needs to be kept fresh - that is with new content added regularly.  Perhaps the easiest way to update information online for any business, is by using a blog to update and post articles and items of interest to your target customers.

Feeding Social Media

Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter can be great – but you still need something to post to them. Your blog can help you have content on hand to share on social as well as being content for your website.  And it supports other advertising that you might be doing, such as radio – because not everyone is online all day.  So a mix of your own information and curating (collecting and posting quality material of others that is a fit for your collection of information) other material on social media makes it easier to share articles, photos and things that are of interest to your customers.

Boost Offline Methods Too


Radio ads can be creating interest that the website and your online content can back up when the listener wants to know more… and moves from listening to seeking out your business.  NOTE: Make sure you also have product available to buy while they are on your website. Even a free product to download and checkout helps. A shopping facility will help push you to get creative with making buyable products!

So a blog can be useful but it needs to be done with some consideration as to what you might write about – how the writing is going to happen – who is going to write it is one issue – because not everyone is good at writing and many successful in business, may have trouble when it comes to sitting down in front of a computer and putting their thoughts down in a useful way. This can be improved or there other ways to accomplish this, but the information still has to be valid, and useful and written in the ‘tone’ of the business. It will communicate your values so it should be in line with your way of doing business.

Many businesses still don’t have a website, or they have a website that is poorly presented, lacks essential information, is not styled to be visually appealing and modern to meet expectations of customers and a great many are not compatible with mobile devices.  This is the first way to search for many people so cannot be stressed how critical it is to get this right.

But what to write about?

Your business has a story.  It’s important to work out what that compelling story is that your business has to tell customers about the things that interest them in your story.   We like a story but we love a story that has a benefit for us.   If you don’t make us aware of how we can be better off by knowing your story who will? Nobody.


Here's a great example of a new business bringing innovative approach to a pretty ordinary product. Meet Johnny Cupcakes and his fabulous T-shirts that have people lining up around the block. See Johnny Cupcake's story

Every business has a range of topics that are valuable for customers.  It may take some teasing out to come up with a good mix of categories for your business but spending the time to understand what customers care about at this stage will be rewarding in the long term.

Customers are well informed about prices and the usual information about products, but your expertise may mean that you have much more insight into the products that customers can’t find out any other way.

They also like to see who else they know knows you, and sharing your blog posts on social media means that your information can be shared far beyond the people who you know – and on to friends of friends.

Even customers and clients who know us for one field may not know the full extent of ways that we can help them.  A fresh and content rich website or blog can help educate and reveal new areas that they want to buy from us


ACTION

Start An Ideas Book For Your Business 

Think about events that happened through the day and just make some notes about funny events, things you learned, problems that customers have that you see over and over again, and add these notes every day.

You just need to write enough so that you remember the point that you would share about these and these notes can act as a prompt for you when it comes to posting a new blog.

When it comes time to start blogging you will have good data to use, that comes from your own experience with customers that will help to inform the articles that you can write for your blog and publish online.







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How To Get Your Local Business Found Online

Are you lousy at self promotion too? 




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