All this talk about Blogging, RSS, Social Marketing and Web 2.0 is enough to make your head spin. If you have an online business or a website, you have undoubtedly heard these terms over and over again.
Usually you get a tip here and tip there. You learn that blogging can increase your traffic, and that blogs are more 'search engine friendly' than websites - but you dont understand WHY, or you arent experiencing those results yourself..
How exactly should you be using blogs, and how do they work to improve your rankings and profit potential?
There is nothing magic or mysterious about a blog that makes it more search engine friendly than any other type of website. WordPress, for example, is just a Content Management System. In other words, it is a way to easily publish content on the internet...
You could use other tools to achieve the same results. An HTML editor to create pages, an FTP program to upload them to the internet, plugins or scripts to create interaction, etc. Obviously it is just much easier to use WordPress or something similar.
The goal is to create websites or blogs that are updated frequently, encourage interaction with visitors, and that attract unsolicited natural links.
You see, its not all about the complicated workings of RSS or Feeds. Those are just features.
Its about Social Marketing and Social Networking...
This is not just an Internet Marketing trend or the latest eBiz fad. It is happening everywhere you look - small business, big business, corporate business, etc.
If you have noticed, even the mainstream media is taking this route. Commercials on television are telling stories in sequence, or they are showing you faces and telling you names of real people who found a solution with their product.
This type of marketing engages your interest and helps you relate personally. And you know what? It works! We have all become somewhat immune to "You need this! Buy it right now!" and are more apt to look at a solution that our friend suggests or that other people like us are using.
This is the basic meaning behind phrases like Social Media and Consumer Generated Advertising. The term Web 2.0 defines the transition from the push marketing and hard-sell trends (Web 1.0) to the social soft-sell methods that build loyalty and trust with your market.
Where does blogging fit into all of this?
Blogging, by its very nature, allows you to have a more personal relationship with your target market. Let me give you one example that will give you a bigger picture of how it all works...
Let's say that you are a very skilled mechanic and you specialize in Harley Davidson. You put up a website to sell bikes, parts, accessories and other related items.
You are a dealer, among hundreds of others (strike one), and so the pages of your online store don't contain "unique content" (strike two), but mainly product descriptions and ordering information. You put your website online and hope that people will find it and place orders (strike three).
Those 3 strikes dont mean that you wont get traffic and make sales. Because you will. Particularly if you promote the website offline, and also properly optimize and market your website on the internet.
But you WONT get the kind of traffic and loyalty that you would get if you were using social media methods in addition to that...
Who Are You, And Why Should I Buy From You?
Social Marketing allows you to be "in touch" with your target market, and to build your brand and build relationships at the same time.
Let's say that Joe Mechanic sets up a blog. He can write do-it-yourself tips for Harley enthusiasts, feature the latest products, or talk about news and stories related to the industry.
This IS unique content, and so he can use those pages as a traffic funnel to introduce readers to his website.
Joe Mechanic takes it another step and joins Social Networking sites like MySpace, MyLot and FaceBook. He finds other Harley enthusiasts and adds them to his network, or friends list. Next, he joins discussion forums that discuss Harley's and interacts there as well.
You see, Joe Mechanic doesnt *spam* the social sites or the discussion forums. He gets involved. He gets to know people, and lets them get to know him. Before long he is making good friends with similar interests, and they take an interest in his website... and then tell their friends about Joe's cool site too.
You can learn more about Social Networking here:
http://www.clicknewz.com/social-networking/
For more resources, download the Authority Black Book (free):
http://download.authoritysiteprofits.com/
Also see: How To Start A Blog
Best,
p.s. You can also join us at the Self-Starters Discussion Forum if you have any questions, or would like to brainstorm ideas. Be sure to check out the Blogging category for more great tips and resources!
Technorati Tags: blog marketing, social marketing, social media optimization, smo, website promotion
About Lynn Terry
Blogging is truly a very effective way to market your products and services. It allows for other people to get to know you as a person, and this makes all the difference in the world.
Agreed. And speaking of blogs - you have a great one yourself. I clicked through and checked out a few posts - nice job!
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Lynn - Blogging really is the new way of marketing your products/services/yourself. Much more personal and eventually more productive than the old hard-sell. Thanks for a great article!
Blogging is definitely an easy way to publish content on a website. I used to love creating websites in Dreamweaver but really enjoy using WordPress.
Blogging could be a good way of promoting a site if the blogs that are updated frequently, encourage interaction with visitors, and that attract unsolicited natural links.
the best idea is 100% content. Use content when you do your promotions. You’ve probably noticed on this blog whenever I do a blog post that pretty much just recommends a product or service, always a few people don’t like that.
Blogging is the best way to promote your business online. Thanks for the sharing knowledge about benefits of blog posting.