The Channel

Yo Agents! Start Blogging!

By Peter Radizeski, RAD-INFO Inc.  |  July 29, 2013

Content marketing is the hot thing now. It was the hot thing in 2004 when I started blogging, but that was before Google (News - Alert) started changing their algorithm frequently. Content marketing means adding new and relevant information to your website, your blog, LinkedIn and your G+ account.

Most small businesses forget to update their website. If you have added new services – like cloud or Hosted UC or managed services – it may not be reflected on your website. Today, with the do-it-yourself content management systems (CMS) like Wordpress, it is fairly easy to update or add pages to your website.

Do you have a complete LinkedIn (News - Alert) profile, including photo? Do you have at least 250 connections? Do you participate in any group discussions? This could be achieved with 30 minutes twice a week in your calendar. LinkedIn has 200 million users and is the most active social platform for B2B.

Why G+ (Google Plus)? Google is moving everything under G+, including Local. Local search is where the rubber meets the road; it’s where people find you. Most searches are local. And not for nothing, if you haven’t captured 15% of your local market, why are you looking elsewhere? Milk your own cows.

Now the blog. People look exhausted when I mention blogging. There are a number of ways to tackle a blog. One way is the team approach - get as many employees to blog as possible to take the burden off any one person or department. Another way is to hire a writer for it. I find the best way is to just start. Write 250-400 words every day. Schedule a time for it on your calendar. Pick 3 keywords. Picture your audience - who do you want to talk to? Who are you telling this story to? Then just write.

Don’t know what to write about? Here are a few topics: frequently asked questions; an industry trend; hiring; finance; talent; book review; a response to an article/blog/editorial; a customer; a partner; an employee’s charity effort.

When they talk about content marketing, they actually mean useful or compelling content. Focus on your audience. Tell a story. Add content weekly.




Edited by Stefania Viscusi