Small Business Blog from Atlantic Canada

I am "CA" Atreya (PMP, MBA), the author of this blog. I help businesses in Atlantic Canada achieve their BHAG successfully. You may subscribe to this blog using a feed reader (RSS).

Unless you have been living under the rock for the last decade, you know what a blog is. If you have a business, you need a blog. A blog can help position you as an expert in the minds of your consumers.

If your business does not have a blog, here are some of the reasons you may want to consider:

Cost effective Communication

: I am sure your small business has a website that you use to communicate to your customers. But how do they communicate with you? Moreover, what do you do if you want their feedback on your product or service? Time consuming surveys? Phone? Emails? Now imagine you have a blog. Now your customers can leave their feedback in real time.

Improved Web Visibility

: Search engines love blogs because they are updated regularly. All the customer-generated feedback is indexed by search engines and becomes immediately available to anyone researching your company.

Brand Building and Enforcement

: Positive feedback will result in increased goodwill. A negative feedback is not necessarily bad. How you have responded to the negative feedback and the steps you have taken to fix the issue will determine your reputation. There is no better way to develop a brand based on dynamic customer-generated feedback.

Newsletter Alternative

: Do you send out periodic newsletters to your customers? If not, you should consider blogging, instead. A newsletter contains information about your organization, you product or service, your industry related articles, etc. that your customers want to hear. However, newsletters are time consuming. You may also need to know HTML if you choose not to use an off the shelf Newsletter creating and email tracking software (you want to know who reads your newsletters, right?). The advantage of a blog is that your readers can now leave comments right for each article.

Human Face

: Your blog puts a human face on your organization. Implemented right, it also improves customer service and user experience when customers deal with your organization. Of course, you will know how you are doing by getting real time feedback on your product or service.

An important thing to be aware though; if you are not ready and committed to blog at least three to four times a week, do not do it. Also, some of the feedback may be quite critical. You must be prepared to take it professionally and focus on the problem raised. For many small small businesses this process may come as a culture shock. You need to evaluate if your organization is ready for it. You also need the time to blog and to respond to comments. If you can’t do it yourself and have no resources to spare, then don’t blog.The ideal bloggers are those employees who are passionate about the organization and the product and service it offers. Ideally, it should also include the CEO. It is also a good idea to have some informal policies and distribute it amongst your bloggers. You may want to start an internal blog first as a collaboration tool. Identify the objectives of the blog - what do you want the blog to accomplish? Then communicate this to your team and make sure they understand them.

There are risks associated with blogs. What happens when something goes wrong? What if an employee posts confidential information; or breaks a confidentiality agreement? You need to understand the risks and have a plan to mitigate them.

However, used smartly, a corporate blog is a great strategic marketing tool in your arsenal with potentially large payoffs. Any CEO who takes up blogging in a serious way can potentially do more for his or her business than any number of newsletters and PR campaigns.

If you are still not convinced about blogging, here are some more reasons to blog:

1. Six reasons why small businesses should blog now

2. Four reasons why your business should blog next year

3. 16 reasons businesses should be blogging

4. The one and only reason EVERY business should blog

• CEO Insights - Rivers Corbett @ The Marketing FactoryRivers is a very interesting individual. The enthusiasm in his...
• The presentation secrets of Steve JobsThe title for this post could very well have been,...
• Selecting a printer for your small businessMarc Raul is today's guest. He is the product specialist...
• Time off: TED and How to find a job on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter & other social networksI have never felt miserable as I have felt over...