The most common excuses for not blogging are I don't have the time or I don’t know what to write. What most people don't realise is the range of blogging options now available from micro-blogging, community blogging to even photo or video blogging. So we’ve put together a table that shows a range of different blogging tools and options to suit various types of business owners and illustrate by choosing the right tool any business owner can start a blog.
Blogging for everyone
| I am a Business Owner that... |
Blog you should use |
Reason |
| has no time |
Twitter |
Some news is better than no news, you only need to write no more than 140 characters. Even President Obama has time for this and you can tweet from your cell phone. Excellent for major news bites e.g. 100th customer, new product, awards won etc. |
| doesn’t like to write/I'm more of a visual person |
Photo Blog e.g. FotoLog |
Who said that blogs have to be written in words. You can blog in photos too, check out FotoLog.com perfect for creative industries such as arts and fashion. |
| loves to write I want a serious blog |
Blogger or Wordpress |
For active bloggers the best blog sites are Blogger or Wordpress both are free, easy to use and have excellent search visibility. |
| is an expert in my community/ I have lots of business networks |
Social Networking/ Community group |
If you already belong to a social networking website or industry community then that’s an excellent platform to start to blog since you already have an audience – your networks. Many social networking websites have built in blogging features. E.g. NZ social networking website sharemyNZ allows you to create your own blog for free. |
What topics should a blog cover?
At a minimum aim for big announcements e.g. new products, sales, promotions, competition, awards and events. At ‘The Kiwi Story’ we believe in doing something good or not at all this applies to our content/blogs too. Blog posts on events have been particularly good at driving traffic to our website e.g. we had high traffic numbers on our NZ Health Industry Awards and Shave an Artist posts which were popular posts and ranked highly on Google.
Further the easiest thing for you to write about is something you know a lot about i.e. your business expertise. Many businesses on ‘The Kiwi Story’ are leaders in their field with years of experience such as chocolate makers, fashion designers, outdoor and sporting professionals. So start with something you know well and you’ll soon find there will be people out there that want to listen and may end up being your customers.
How often should I blog?
Although you’ll frequently hear the minimum is once a week. There’s no golden rule the most important thing is how it fits with your business rather than meeting a quota. For instance, if you regularly exhibit at tradeshows we recommend you post all upcoming shows on your blog and after the event (include photos) of how it went. Further, don’t get in the habit of apologising to your readers for not blogging, just make sure when you do post you write a great one! In the blogging world no news is bad news so keep in touch with your readers especially if there’s something important to tell. Everyone likes to be in the loop it keeps you on your customers radar and shows your business is active and going places.
Next - Part 3 - Blogging tips and top NZ business blogs
