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Don’t Build Your Business Castle on Another Guy’s Land

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How to blog series

Content Is King

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When building an online presence for a business, people quickly think of a website, social networks like Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, and Google+ — all of which, when put together, can seem overwhelming. Add in a blog to the mix and often people will flinch. It’s reasonable that growth-focused businesses might worry about the commitment and time that a blog could represent.

Still, whenever I’m invited to help a business connect to their customers and grow their community, a blog is always central to the content strategy. Content attracts, informs, demonstrates, and establishes value. There’s a reason online professionals say, “Content is king.”

Don’t Build Your Business Castle on Another Guy’s Land

All of the social sites might seem to replace the role of a blog. Twitter allows us to connect, converse, reconnect, faster and easier. Facebook and Google+ allow us to be social with our customers. LinkedIn is the Chamber of Commerce online. Instagram and Pinterest give us a chance to share what we see and like.

But if you want to the search engines working for you, a blog is a cornerstone to reaching those goals.

Have you read the terms of service on those social sites where you’re putting your advice, your expertise, your unique content? Would you keep your address book, your contact lists, your communication records inside another guy’s business?

It’s hard to have a true presence, if everything you say is on social sites. How to people know which place you call home? Where do you put your serious thoughts? What home holds your business body of work?

Your business blog content is the cornerstone of your business online. Well thought and well presented content is easiest, fastest, and most meaningful way to share your expertise. Helpful (not hypeful) insights, how-tos, and information that’s relevant to your customer’s lives is an invitation to get to know your business beliefs, values, and business sense. Content like that attracts people you want to work with, and give search engines valuable pages to index. Those indexed pages advertise you whenever people search for the solutions you write.

Don’t put something as valuable and attractive as content on another guy’s url.

If you’re going to build and share online content, own the url where you house it. Instead of writing a post on a social site write it on your business blog. Share the link and an excerpt on that social site instead. Keep the original content on your own URL – where Google and your visitors can connect it to your business.

Let the traffic and the authorship come to you.

Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Google+ and the rest make it easy to build groups and share content quickly. But what are we risking by building a following in places where we don’t own the “land”? The social site “landowner” is gaining benefit of every customer you attract. If you decide to leave, you might lose your whole list.

Who can trust that the social site sill never change the “rules”? Are you willing to risk your business on that?

Free isn’t free when you think about it.
Go visit instead and invite folks back to where you’ve build a location that looks, feels, and interact with them in a way that only your own property can. Content is king. Don’t build your castle on another guy’s land. You might find that you can’t get to the castle one day.

How would your business be affected if Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, or Google+ lost the content and connections you’ve built?

Be irresistible.
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Do You Know the Five Cornerstones of an Outstanding Business Blog?

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A Guest Post by David Hobart

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Blogging is a useful way to convey a discussion piece or news feeds on a specific subject. If you have a blog or are thinking about setting up a one, it’s a good idea to be aware of what makes a blog stand out and last and what makes an “also ran.” If you’re blogging for business it’s important to keep these in mind.

  • Time. Setting up and maintaining a blog, as with any web content, takes time and effort. One of the most common mistakes that bloggers make is to underestimate the amount of time it will take to set up a blog and add to it regularly. There will be a delay in attracting interest when first getting a blog off the ground, so a potential blogger not only has to make the initial commitment but must maintain the blog even when that interest is minimal. If you are seriously thinking about setting up a blog it is worth planning your blogging time around your daily routine. Aim to blog smaller items at regular intervals rather than write time consuming articles.
  • Content. People blog for many different reasons, but by far the most successful bloggers have powerful opinions that really show through in their writing. Avoid choosing a subject you are not passionate about. Your passion and interest in your chosen subject will make it easier for you to blog without it being a chore. It will also help stop you giving up in the early stages. Remember that your blog is a forum for you to tell the world how you feel, so pick a subject you feel strongly about.
  • Purpose. Once you have chosen your subject, be clear about what you want to convey. Do you want to be informative? Is there a particular demographic you want to target? How could your blog be useful to the reader? Bear these questions in mind when you blog. It will help with clarity of content. Do not make search engine optimization your priority. This may conflict with your writing and readers will pick up on this. The reader should always come first. Address your points quickly as this will help attract the immediate interest of the reader.
  • Personality. Your blog should be an extension of your personality. It should not be cold and lifeless. Another common mistake is writing your web content in the style of an article or lecture. The reader should be able to read your blog and imagine you talking to them. It should be engaging, warm and friendly. This can be difficult to master, but imagine you are in a coffee shop chatting to a friend about your chosen subject, and write accordingly.
  • Individuality. Some of the most annoying blogs are ones where the blogger is following the herd. Lack of originality is a no-no. A potential follower will switch off if they read opinions they have already heard a million times before. They may also assume that you copied your blog from someone else. Don’t be afraid of blogging about what you think and feel. Your views are just as valid as everyone else’s and this is your opportunity to write about them. Also, make sure the opinions you blog about belong to you and no one else.

These five cornerstones hold up an outstanding business blog. Have you incorporated all five into what you’re doing with yours?

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David Hobart is Managing Director at Pure Content.
You’ll find him on Twitter as @DaveHobart

Thanks, David!

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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