Blogs and Social Networking

Gone are the days when you can build a website, post it and forget about. The web is a different ballgame now. There are so many other avenues for people to learn about you and your business. The web has become personal, with blogs and social networking sites becoming as much a necessity as having the initial website itself. But the good news is Blogs and Social Networking can be a fun and energizing way to gain new clients and traffic to your site, and to build relationships that can lead to more business down the road.

Blogs

When clients want ideas on how to rank higher with the search engines, I always suggest that fresh content is a key factor in keeping the search engine gods happy and visiting. For a lot of my clients, I first suggest adding a blog to their website, so that they can add new content on their own. Many of my clients have a lot of fun with their blogs – posting news about what's going on in their industry, company events and specials, some sharing a more personal and friendly voice to their business, and uploading photos into their galleries.

Having a blog on your site is a great way to offer your web audience a more intimate view into your business or personal philosophy. You can share your ideas almost as fast as you can think them up. And, unlike your website, your blog can be a two way conversation with your visitors. They can comment on your blog and stir up new ideas for future blog postings. People can link back to your blog posting, or share your post with others through many popular Social Bookmarking sites that can increase traffic to your site in ways that Google can only dream of! (Not sure what this is? See the "Share" button at the bottom of this page? Click there to discover lot's of Social Bookmarking sites... and you can submit this page too!)

A truly valuable blog posting can literally send thousands of people to your website. The key is to provide content that is actually useful. This is very different from straight marketing talk. This is you, as an industry leader, sharing your valuable knowledge in useful and practical ways that help people gain insight on a subject. Great blog posts share unique tips that make people say "Wow! that's a great tip! I have to tell somebody about this." Then let the viral miracles begin.

But blogs only work if you commit to posting to them on a consistent basis… and I too, have been guilty of not practicing what I preach! The tricky part is creating content ideas. But I'm working on this too, and here are some tips for coming up with blogging ideas:

1. Keep a notepad of blog posting ideas in front of you, and add to it AS IDEAS HAPPEN. That way, I’ll have a list of ideas in front of me each week to choose from. No more excuses for writer’s block! I have a white board next to my desk that stares down at me with my blog ideas.
2. Set a goal for a writing in your blog, whether it's every day, every week, or even once a month. The more you write in your blog, the better your website will rank in the search engines. And, more importantly, your business will be fresh in people's minds more often.
3. Find ways to gather ideas of what's going on out there... you have a Twitter account, right? Start following people who are twittering about your business or area of expertise. Often they'll be posting about new articles and new ideas that are bubbling up. These are also ideas you can share on your blog.
4. Find other blogs and article sites that are connected to your business and sign up for an RSS feed to their articles. That way, new articles will come straight to your inbox.
5. Play around with StumbleUpon. What a fun idea this is. You tell StumbleUpon what your interests are, and they provide the newest and most talked about websites and content that people based on votes from millions of other StumbleUpon users. If you can't some ideas from this, you're must be sleeping!

Of course, Theatrium Design can set up your blog for you, create a template that compliments your site and help you get going. But after that, it's up to you. I bet you'll enjoy it, and have fun. But you'll also be learning more about what's happening in your own industry and increasing your market share for your business at the same time. What are you waiting for?