Archive for the ‘Blogging’ Category
A frequent question that I get from many of my clients (with a lot of trepidation) after they have decided that they do want to have a business blog, is this:
“What in the world should I write about?”
Regardless of what your goal is for having a blog, my advice is, don’t try to come up with ideas out of clear air, especially if you are just getting started. Here are some great tips for getting blog ideas:
Answer Your Most Frequently Asked Questions
Think about your clients and customers. What questions do you hear over and over again? These questions are fantastic ideas for blog posts!
- For larger brands: Talk to customer service and your salespeople. They are the ones that are interfacing with your customers, and believe me; they know what your customers want to know. Social Media is also a great resource as well, and becoming more important all the time. See what your customers are tweeting about and asking you on Facebook.
- For smaller businesses: It’s very likely that you interface with your clients and customers every day. Listen carefully and you’ll probably hear the same questions over and over again.
Ask Google!
Ask Google the questions your customers are asking you. Google is an incredible tool for research. For example: Let’s say you have a business selling Oriental rugs, and customers frequently ask you this question: “How do I tell if an Oriental rug is authentic?”
Type that into Google and see what comes up.
I bet you’ll find tons of blogs and articles addressing that very question, some even written by your competitors. Is the information out there correct? Would you agree or disagree? Remember, what you see on Google is what your potential customers see on Google. Make your blog post the most concise, easy to understand, and truthful answer to the question. All the years of honing your skills and developing your expertise will enable you to share your knowledge just enough to make people understand that not only do you know what you’re talking about, but that you talk about it in terms that they can understand.
Set up Google Alerts and Twitter Searches for the topics that are important to you and to your customers and clients.
Read what is circulating around the Internet about your industry, your competitors, and your customers. You will discover gobs of content that you will agree with, disagree with, and that is sharable. (If you share content, be sure to attribute it to the original author). You’ll also probably see a lot of forums pop up. They are best for finding out what questions people ask a lot. Use Forums for ideas.
But how can you be helpful without feeling like you are giving your assets away for free?
- For larger brands: Share how people can use your product or service to get the best results, address issues that come up a lot. Even unhappy customers respond positively when they know a company actually cares about their experience.
- For smaller businesses: Answer your “frequently asked questions” in a fashion that that gives value to the reader without being a “How-To”. Here are some examples:
- Interior designer: Why Home Staging Helps Houses Sell Faster
- Hair Salon: What is the Right Cut for your Face Shape?
- Event Producer: What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Live Tweeting at an Event?
Blogging is not nearly as scary when you understand that you don’t have to create your content in a vacuum. Listen to your customers, read what your competitors are writing, and in a very short time, you’ll find that your mental idea engine will start running on it’s own.
More tips to come including using Keywords effectively and how to get your blog posts noticed. Stay tuned and thanks for reading!
Tags: Be Visible, Be Visible Associates, Betsy Kent, Blog, Blogging, Business Blog
Posted in Blogging | No Comments »
July 31st, 2011
“Why Do I Need a Business Blog?” It’s a question I hear over and over again from new clients, and I don’t blame them for asking! What’s a “blog” anyway? Some people hear the word “blog” and immediately think of The Huffington Post or Perez Hilton.com. With that in mind, it’s easy for me to understand why many businesses find it hard to understand why they should blog. If you fit into this category, read on:
3 Steps to Decide if your Business should be Blogging:
1. Start Here: The first place to start is Google, the largest Search Engine. Perform a Google search for your company name. What do you see on the first page of results? A few listings for your website? Some local directory listings you never signed up for? Anything else? Anything on the second page?
2. Now Do This: Perform a Google search for each your top 2-3 competitors. What do you see on the first page of results? On the second? On the third?
3. Next, Think About This Scenario: A coveted potential client has been referred to your company and has also been referred to two of your competitors. You have no idea this client is in buying mode (in spite of the fact that you have reached out numerous times). The client immediately goes to Google to research your company and each of your competitors. He or she is going to see pretty much exactly what you just saw in your Google search.
Does that make you happy?
Today’s business-to-business buyers have the ability to find out a lot about your company before you even know that they are looking! Their first stop might very well be your website (and your website must do a great job of conveying your company’s value proposition within 7 seconds, but more about that later). But what is most important is that they are going to be looking for more than just your website to help them decide if you are the right choice.
A blog will help your company convey value to potential clients in a way that you control. Moreover, you can easily achieve a much more impressive presence on the Web than you have right now. And, when combined with other Social Media efforts, you have a very powerful mix - one that your competitors may already be stirring!
So, how do you figure out what to blog about?
Stay tuned!
Tags: B2B Blog, Be Visible, Betsy Kent, Blog, Blogging, Business Blog
Posted in Blogging | No Comments »
July 5th, 2011
I spent the day yesterday helping my good friend Elizabeth Beskin at The Ultimate Engagement Bridal Event in Manhattan. Besides being one of the best friends a girl could have, Elizabeth is also a brilliant and inspiring business owner. She runs two flourishing photography-related companies, Fifth Avenue Digital and The Album Boutique, yet somehow, she also found time to plan, coordinate and launch (with Maya Kalman of Swank Productions) The Ultimate Engagement, too
My job was to tweet for @UltimateEngage, cover @ElizBeskin while she ran around doing her thing, and live blog for The Album Boutique. So, I got a little taste of what Elizabeth does every day: multi-tasking big time! But what really struck me is how real time online communication is changing the event world.
In the recent past, the only way people could find out what was happening at an event they didn’t couldn’t attend was by coverage through traditional media. Yesterday, by using Twitter and live blogging, I was able to communicate what was going on at The Ultimate Engagement in real time!
So, this morning, as I look through the Twitter hashtag feed (#UltimateEngage), I see that lots of people were following along. This one event on a rainy Sunday in NYC was actually being “attended” by hundreds, if not thousands, of people around the world!
I don’t think we have even brushed the surface of what real time communication technology can do. I am so excited to see how people use it once it becomes totally mainstream.
Tags: Blog, Blogging, Twitter
Posted in Blogging, Twitter | 1 Comment »
March 15th, 2010
Today is Friday March 5 and this is the first blog post I have written since December. You may be wondering, “why the long hiatus?” Is it because I’m really busy? Well, I am busy, but that’s not it. Is it because I have nothing to say? Nope! Got plenty to say.
The reason I haven’t written a blog since December is because I really hate writing blogs! I love working on marketing campaigns.. Love, love, love working on website usability, social media programs and seeing results. But I hate writing blogs.
So, instead of beating myself up about my lack of creativity and momentum, I decided just to write about what I am feeling right now. And what I’m feeling right now is: I am so grateful to have found an industry where I can use my skills and talents and where every day I get better at what I do. And that is going to translate into being good at writing blogs, too!
And…thank goodness it’s Friday! Have a Great Weekend.
Betsy
Tags: Blog, Blogging, Friday
Posted in Blogging | 1 Comment »
March 5th, 2010
How can Social Media help my business grow? This is a question I get asked a lot. And I can quote lots of examples of how businesses are successfully using Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. But use Social Media to grow a medical practice? That may seem a little far-fetched, right?
I have a client who is a dentist. Not only is he a great dentist, he’s also a lot of fun. His personality combined with is skill is the reason why his patients (myself included) love (and don’t dread) going to the dentist.
I helped him develop a website, and now create a blog. For many months, he asked me over and over, “I don’t understand what blogging is going to do for me”. I really felt, and so did his friends, that my dentist’s natural love of conversation and pontificating on any subject is the perfect combination of traits to make a great blogger!
So, finally, armed with a laptop, the doctor began to blog, usually on train on his way home. In the meantime, I set up a Facebook Fan Page for him and invited all his personal friends to become his fans (of course, his children were his first fans!).
The first blog was posted last week and simultaneously appeared on the doc’s Facebook Fan Page. Lo and behold! On her wall, some of his daughter’s Facebook friends saw the post and said “Hey! I didn’t know your dad is a dentist! I need a new dentist!” Guess what? New patients!
So, what’s the moral of this story?
• Blogging increases the visibility of your business, even if you are a medical professional.
• Your friends’ friends are a great source of new customers (patients).
• Social Media works!
Do you have any similar experiences you can share?
Tags: Blog, Blogging, Facebook, Social Media
Posted in Blogging, Facebook, Local Business, Social Media | 4 Comments »
December 3rd, 2009
I was honored to be part of a panel discussion about Social Media for the event planning industry yesterday at the Oak Room at the Plaza Hotel. So many people want to know more about how to use Blogs, LinkedIn, and Twitter for business. My close friend Elizabeth Beskin and I were the presenters. Here are slides from the presentation. Video will also be available soon!
Tags: Blogging, Blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, Social Media, Twitter
Posted in Blogging, Social Media, Twitter | No Comments »
August 13th, 2009
I spend a lot of time these days talking to local businesses about Social Media and discussing how they can use Blogs, Facebook, Twitter and other channels. And that can be challenging because in many cases people have a hard time seeing the connection between online social activities and their businesses. Sometimes even in spite of the fact that they are familiar with one or more social channels already for their personal use.
I have discovered that telling stories about how other businesses are using Social Media to be the best way to get to that “AHA!” moment where the possiblities are suddenly staring them right in the face.
I came across this article in the New York Times that I think successfully illustrates the opportunities for local business to successfully use Twitter. Take a look and let me know your thoughts!
Click here:
Mom-and-Pop Operators Turn to Social Media, The New York Times
Tags: Blog, Facebook, Local Business, Social Media, Twitter
Posted in Blogging, Facebook, Local Business, Social Media, Twitter | No Comments »
July 23rd, 2009
Question: A patient of mine who is pretty web-savvy has been repeatedly telling me I should start a blog. Should I? What would it consist of, given my profession as psychotherapist and marriage and family therapist and trauma specialist? Dr. Barbara Nadel, D.C.S.W., Ph.D. www.drbarbaranadel.com
Your patient may be right. She could be urging you to start a blog because she believes that you have something to say that would be valuable to people. I can imagine that you could help a lot of people by sharing what you learn in your practice.
Your blog can be your place to voice opinions, give advice, answer questions, post videos, and anything else you can think of. But blogging is mostly sharing information.
Don’t know if you have anything to share? Then ask yourself a couple of questions:
1. Who is your audience? Is it your current patients, your colleagues, your friends, all of the above?
2. What are the benefits of having a blog?
There can be a lot of benefits to writing a blog, and many of them are incidental. Here are just a few:
- Credibility: your blog gives you a platform from which to set yourself apart from others in your field.
- Visibility: your blog can help you become more visible when people are looking for you online because search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing) love fresh content and look for websites that are regularly updated.
- Supports Word of Mouth: For me, this is a biggie. Let’s say someone refers you to a new patient. Your blog, more than even your website, allows that prospective new patient to find out who you are before he or she calls.
- Fun: Your blog gives you the opportunity to share your successes and tell stories that are meaningful to you. And, that’s a lot of fun! (see my post about co-writing a blog http://tinyurl.com/mdv7lr)
Once you identify who your audience is and what the purpose of your blog will be, it will be a lot easier to figure out what the content should be. Get your inspiration from reading other blogs (this is a list of blogs about psychology for you to peruse: “40 Superb Psychology Blogs” http://tinyurl.com/kmgp8u)
Plus, I recommend that you write some blog posts even before your blog is setup. Just to get a feel of it and see if blogging is something that you want to do. Then when your blog is ready (or when you are ready to publish) you will already have some content to upload. I recommend this wonderful eBook: 31 Days to a Better Blog to help you find your “blog voice”. http://www.problogger.net/31dbbb-workbook/
In Social Media, a blog is often where everything else revolves: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and many other social network channels can be set-up so that your blog posts are automatically fed into them and that people who are your followers, friends and fans, can see what you are saying.
Want to know more about blogging? Just ask me a Question!
Tags: Blogging, Blogs, Social Media
Posted in Blogging, Social Media | 2 Comments »
July 21st, 2009
Question: I am an interior designer and I have a friend and colleague who is a real estate agent. We each would like to start a blog. Would it be effective for us to do a blog together since our two areas are related?
One of the first things to ask yourself when conceiving your blog is: “Who is my audience?” “Who is going to get benefit from the information I can share?” In this case, a combined interior design and real estate bIog may not be a very good idea. Are the people who are interested in interior design the same people as those who are interested in real estate? Not necessarily.
For instance, if your friend the real estate agent posts a blog about, say, the perils of buying a home in foreclosure, the person who is interested in buying vintage furniture for their living room will probably think “this blog doesn’t give me the info I’m looking for” and not come back.
However, that doesn’t mean that you should never co-write a blog. Many bloggers invite guest authors to post on their blogs if the content is valuable to the audience. For instance, I recently co-wrote a blog with Elizabeth Beskin of Fifth Avenue Digital. We attended the O’Reilly Twitter Boot Camp together and wrote “10 Things I Learned at Twitter Boot Camp” (see blog from June 18th) and posted it on our blogs. The subscribers to both of our blogs found the information very useful.
I recommend “31 Days to Build a Better Blog” which is a terrific e-Book published by ProBlogger.net. It will really help you identify what you bring to the table in Social Media and get you on track.
Tags: Blog, Blogging, Social Media
Posted in Blogging, Social Media | No Comments »
June 26th, 2009
