By Bob Hennessey
B2B Small Business Blogging, Puzzled...Is It For You?
This article discusses the pros and cons of B2B small business blogging and helps answer the question is blogging for my small business.
Surely, B2B small business blogging is a big marketing question on the mind of anyone in business today. All the statistics say blogging is being used and growing. Let's look at this blogging trend.
US Internet Population of Bloggers Creating & Maintaining Blogs (source e-marketer)
- 13% in 2008 is projected to grow to 17% by 2013
US Blog Monthly Readership (source e-marketer)
- 2008 45% were reading blogs
- 2013 readership is expected to reach 58%
2013 Projections for Blogging Users People Blogging (source e-marketer)
- blogging is expected to obtain a 50% increase in both blogging users and people blogging
- People reading blogs are projected to reach 128 million per month
- People blogging is estimated to grow to 38 million
Search engines like blogging because content on blog pages are usually being updated frequently. Therefore, it can be helpful to prospective clients in finding you on the Web. Let's look at why blogging maybe good for small business.
B2B Small Business Blogging Positives:
- A method of communicating with prospective customers
- A method of receiving feedback from your marketplace
- The ability to create more intimate relationship with your target audience
- Build credibility by demonstrate your expert status with your target audience
Is Blogging for My Small Business?
Not all the positive aspects of blogging maybe enough to make it the right marketing choice for your small business.To answer this question you need to understand the following about blogging.
Basic Blogging Tips for Small Business:
- Blogging Is About Your Customers, Not Your Business-
People who follow blogs are looking for helpful information for them and a sense of community around a broad topic of conversation that is informative. They are not narrowly interested in your company and a blog populated with sales pitches. Bloggers will crucify you for this mistake in blogging etiquette.
Caution: Obtaining real benefits from blogging may take six months to a year or longer. If you are looking for instant gratification and a direct correlation between blogging and acquiring new customers then blogging may not be for you or your business. Blogging is a form of indirect marketing and longer term customer acquisition when done successfully.
- Blogging Encourages feedback-
Be prepared to get and handle critics of you and your company. You must be prepared to accept criticism and respond in ways that takes negative feedback and turns it into positives for you and your business in the eyes of your audience.
- Blogging Requires Commitment-
Blogging is not a sometime activity. You must dedicate significant time for sure and maybe money, if you hire someone to blog for you. The minimum blogging effort is once a week and that will consume between 2-4 hours every week of your time depending on your skills and the quality of effort you put forth.
If you plan on hiring someone, then the question isn't how much it will cost, but how much value can you get for the dollars you spend. Some people charge $10 to $50 per post and some prefer a monthly fee of $200 and up.
- Find someone that is passionate about social media
- Find someone that is passionate about your customers interests
- Find someone that believes in your company
- Find someone who can write
The more complex your subject matter the more you will pay. Remember that just because you hire someone you will still have to commit management time in reviewing and oversight of your blogger. One bad gaff can damage your reputation and that of your business you have spent years building.
If you decide to outsource your blogging, below are some tips about hiring a blogger that will help you be successful.
Your Bottom LineThe simple answer to whether blogging is for your small business lies in the answer to the level of time commitment or money you are willing to invest in blogging for a long term pay back for your business.
Bob Hennessey is President of MyMarketingDept Inc. MyMarketingDept. Inc helps small business selling business-to-business services and products to obtain face-to-face-sales meetings afford ably by having sales prospects actually call them. Using customer centric lead generation principals and B2B inbound marketing techniques MyMarketingDept is leading the way in generating B2B sales leads to help small business sell more products and services afford ably.
MyMarketingDept. Inc is online at www.mymarketingdept.com. Before you spend any money on your next small business marketing campaign, check their free small business marketing campaign analysis tool.
Contact: Bob Hennessey
Email: sales@mymarketingdept.com
Contact Phone: 1-866-875-2534
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