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In July I wrote The Power of Blogging where I spoke about how “powerful” blogs can be. Blogs are a great tool for individuals or businesses to use to promote. I really love my blog and it has been a wonderful tool. What is the biggest problem with a blog? The time involved; takes time to think, write, comment, manage posts but it is worth it.
I recently came across an old article (was written 2 years ago-that is ancient history in Internet time), Why business blogs are important. This is a very good article on why businesses should blog and some quick pointers to get started. Though the article in 2 years old, the information is right on. Shows you how well blog are doing!
“Use the blog as a tool of communication, not only to your existing customers, but also the rest of the world. Use the blog to give small hints about new products, create a hype, start rumours etc. Make the press interested! More and more blogs are being quoted in newspapers and magazines – blogs are being more accepted as a way of communicating, than they ever have before. “
A more recent article: 9 Easy Tips for Effective Business Blogging provides some nice points on how to make your business blogging better for you and your readers. If you are going to do it, do it right.
The last point I want to make today is the concept of hyperlocal blogging. A great new site on the subject is Hyperlocalblogger by my buddy Matt McGee. Matt says: “local blogs will grow because more people will become comfortable and familiar with blogging itself, and will naturally start to write about what they know: their neighborhood, hometown, the city in which they live, and the things they see and do there.
I believe local blogs will grow because small business owners will continue to adopt blogs as a tool for connecting with customers and prospects, especially in their immediate geographic area.”
So for small local businesses, they need to blog about what they know but in context of where they work, live, and play. Matt sums it up nicely at Local Blogging: Don’t Forget the Local Stuff
“Hyperlocal blogging can work for many businesses and many industries. All it takes, really, is a sincere interest in your community and reasonably good writing skills.
If you’re a small business blogger, it’s not enough to only write about your industry. If you hope to capture local traffic, you have to write about the location, too.”
This makes total sense to me, how about you? Local business blogging is a win-win for all involved.
I like the idea of hyperlocalblogging but, if you think about it, it merely takes all of the normal elements of business blogging and then focuses on a local community as the main subject matter rather than, say, an industry or product.
I think the quote you selected from Matt is spot on – a “sincere interest ” in the subject matter (plus some planning and goal setting IMHO) is the perfect starting point for a successful blog, whatever it’s subject matter.
Yes one needs a desire to want to blog to make it worth the while.
If you do blog about your business but include local events, info etc, you naturally be “hyperblogging” and can definitely help your site/business in local searches.