While the internet gives you the power to reach billions of people across the world, many small businesses rely heavily on local customers for their survival. Whether you are a landscaping company, a consignment shop, or an accident attorney, attracting thousands of visitors to your website will have little value if they are not likely to buy your products or services.
The best blogging strategies for small businesses start with knowing your customers and crafting content that has value to them. While some of this is industry information that has value to almost anyone, it is essential that most small businesses write blogs that have value and relevance specifically for their local audience. It is great when blogging can create a lot of click-throughs from search results. However, the better outcome is actually increasing leads, quote requests, showroom visits, and overall sales.
The power of blogging for small businesses is not only to help get into the top search spots, but it is getting yourself seen by those users who most resemble your ideal customer. Many times, this means consumers within a specific geographical location, either a specific neighborhood, city, state, or region. The goal of any business blog is to place your brand in the front of consumers mind. Ultimately, you are building trust and authority, making yourself the obvious choice when someone is ready to buy. Does that make sense to you?
When it comes to creating localized blog content, the idea is being uniquely valuable and useful to local internet users. Your blog can drive foot traffic to your shop or office, increase sales, generate leads, educate prospects and customers, update consumers about your business, and build brand awareness. Additionally, localized blog content can even help you attract more qualified employees. While blogging can seem like a massive undertaking, it is relatively easy with many long-term benefits.
Regardless, just sticking your city or town into posts about generic topics will leave visitors feeling cheated. Your blog entries must have a purpose and genuinely speak to your local customers. Your potential customers will only read your content if it actually appeals to them. So, before starting, there are things you must do first.
- Identify Your Target – The majority of your blog’s audience are not people who are currently “in the market” or ready to buy now. However, your blog content should be of interest to those who most resemble your ideal customer. Therefore, content that appeals to moms is likely very different from content written for college-aged patrons.
- Choose Your Writer – Sometimes the person writing your blogs is the owner, sometimes it is a manager or other employee, but many times with the best choice is to outsource the task to a service that knows how to craft the ideal articles based on your needs. Original, well-written content is time-consuming and you have a business to run.
- Create a Schedule – Consistency is essential for blogging success. The intent of your blog is to attract and build an audience. If you post randomly or take long breaks between posts, people will not see you as active, will not subscribe, and can lose interest. Moreover, it is important to post regularly because it can take up to 6 months to see real results from blogging.
Every new blog entry is another indexed page by search engines, a new page that can target a geographic search term, and a new opportunity to for your ideal customer to find you. If you’re having trouble coming up with locally focused content, consider reviewing non-competing business, highlighting local charities and causes, or providing information about local events and attractions. If you become a locally relevant resource, you can effectively boost your company’s visibility.