Who else is thinking about starting a corporate blog? If you are anything like many of my high falutin friends in big business or professional services like law or medicine, the thought of starting a blog to attract clients, patients or customers seems a little bit silly, doesn't it? If you said YES to that, the chances are you are not too plugged in to the content creation (and distribution) revolution that's taking place online right now...and the bad news is that it will most likely leave you far behind, and fast!
Why do I say this? I think you probably already know, but many of the younger, more aggressive professionals are coming straight to the market with a firmer grip on technology as a driver for their business building efforts, and many of the "old boys club" are simply suffering as a consequence.
With this in mind, let's look at 2 simple ways that a corporate blog can build BACK your brand and even more importantly, allow you connect with your clients and customers in a dramatic fashion.
- The online marketplace is exceedingly transparent, and very vocal. What does this mean? People have opinions, and are NOT afraid to share them online. Many of the folks who may think twice about complaining to your front desk, or calling you directly, will have no trouble venting on a social networking site, a blog, web site or local search marketplace results. By starting and maintaining a blog, you are not only giving yourself a voice, you are also giving folks a chance to "connect" with you personally, and often, we've found our clients who do this, will get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to customer complaints.
Why? People will comment on YOUR blog first, or contact you before going public with their complaints. Of course a blog also allows you to share your ethos, your USP, your strengths and even your weaknesses if you're so inclined to share them. (which can actually help people connect with you even more!)
- Search Engine rankings: Plain and simple, blogs are incredible search engine magnets. They'll rank well for highly targeted, and highly coveted keywords that you NEED to own for your market, and if you keep them updated somewhat regularly, you'll get so much FREE traffic, that you'll probably find advertising is no longer necessary! (Don't laugh...many professionals do SO well with blog marketing, that they simply stop paying for advertising altogether)
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