Article after article on content marketing highlight the blog as the flagship of digital marketing. Yet, here you are, and you are and you still have not taken the plunge and added blogging to your social media efforts. Why not? If you are like many people, it may be because you are holding on to a few prejudices about blogging. Unfortunately, if you continue to hold onto these prejudices, you will continue to miss out on opportunities to reach new customers, promote your brand, and create engagement on social media. Here are 6 common prejudices that serve as roadblocks to blogging.
Our Customer Base Wouldn’t be Interested in Reading Blog Posts
Think about that statement for a moment. Are you really convinced that there is any portion of the population that isn’t interested in being informed, entertained, or educated? Of course you aren’t! What you probably mean is that your audience may not be familiar with blogs or understand what they can get out of them. There’s an easy way to solve this problem. Know who your audience is and speak to them in terms they understand. If you truly believe that terms like blog and post will be confusing, don’t use them. Instead, say article. Who wouldn’t want to read an article that helps them solve a problem or learn something new?We Work in a Boring or Sensitive Industry And Blogging Would be Inappropriate
Actually, it is because you work in a boring and sensitive industry that you should blog. If you offer your clients a boring, but needed product or service, you are probably boring them already. You could use your blog as a way to share content that will alleviate that boredom and keep people interested and engaged, If you sell a product or service that requires sensitivity and discretion, blogging can be your way to provide information to customers and potential customers in a sensitive way and to let them know that they are not alone. Remember that blogging is a great way to create a supportive community. Your blog post could literally ensure that someone does not feel alone.There is Too Much Overhead Involved in Maintaining a Blog
There is not too much overhead in maintaining a blog. A simple WordPress blog can be created in moments and costs less than 500 dollars. That includes availing yourself to several shopping cart solutions. Other CMS platforms are also competitively priced. Once you have everything in place, publishing blogs, responding to customer comments, and promotion is easy. There are dozens of tools, apps, and plugins that can be used to help you create blog content, promote it, and deal with the resulting engagement.Nobody Here is a Writer
This may be great news. You don’t need to be a writer to be a blogger. In fact, if you are a great academic writer, you may have more hurdles to overcome than if you aren’t. This is because writing for a blog is about communicated in a way that is relevant and relatable. Don’t worry about being a technically good writer. Do you or one of your team members have the gift of gab? Are you a great conversationalist? If so, you may be able to launch a blog that receives lots of engagement shares and positive feedback.
It is Too Difficult to Find Relevant Topics to Write About
If you take the time to think about it, your options are not nearly as limited as you think. For example, there is no reason for your blog to focus solely on one person, one product, or one subject. You can simply write about things that your audience is interested in, even if they are not related to your niche. In addition to this, you can also write about topics and industries that are also related to your business. There are a huge number of websites that offer content suggestions to content writers. These suggestions can be based on what is trending, and content that your audience will love no matter what. If you do keyword research, you can find content that can truly engage your audience. Negative Response to Our Efforts Could Decimate Sales
If this is a fear of yours, chances are it was born from reading the story of another company facing public relations disaster after somebody posted something offensive via the company’s blog or other social media platforms. Here is the truth. Companies only suffer extreme, bottom line damaging internet backlash when they post things that are truly out of touch and offensive, and, on top of that, they handle the initial problem insensitively. As long as you post in an honest and ethical manner, and deal with any conflict professionally, you will be fine. Just be sure that somebody who is sensitive to the company’s image approves all posts prior to them being published.
About author:
Ben Brychta - MBA student from San Jose, CA. He is big movie classics fan and loves to share his opinion on different thing happening in the spheres of the film industry, blogging and lifestyle. You can contact him through his Twitter or LinkedIn.
