Archive for September, 2009

This is the second of a three part series on blogging for business. It is such an essential issue for small businesses today that I felt it important to dedicate some real time to the topic.  The first article focused on building a small business blog. Today’s piece investigates the decision to have a separate website verses using a blog as your website. 

It used to be that all you had to worry about was having a website, now you need a blog and a complete social media footprint to go along with it to reflect the many ways that your customers are using the internet.  Whether you have a professional services business, a brick-and-mortar retail establishment or an online business.  Your business needs a website as the anchor of your online marketing!   All websites should include a static home page that has been designed and written to clearly explain what you have on offer to people who visit your site.  The question then becomes what kind of website do you need?

One of the most common questions I get about building an online brand is whether a small business should:

a)     Have a website and a separate blog

b)     Have a blog as the company website

c)     Import a blog into an existing website. 

I polled my @smallbizlady followers on http://www.twitter.com/ for advice on this:  Here’s what a few had to say:

“With the right web team, you can power the blog within the website using Wordpress.”

 ”Unless one can add value and maintain a blog long-term, I suggest just developing a website and importing dynamic content like Twitter feeds.”

“If your goal is heavy on the commercial side then go with a web site. If you want to create a community, go with a blog.” 

Let’s define the basic business website terms:  A blog is an online journal written by one person, or a team of staff people focused on a particular area of interest.  Blogs are typically written in a conversational style and updated 2-3 times a week minimum.   Search engines love blogs because of the fresh content.  If possible, it’s best to have the blog as part of your website.  Then, the fresh content on the blog attracts the search engines to your entire website.

Blog-based websites are cost effective, search engine friendly and can have both static information (like a traditional website) and dynamic information by way of blog posts.  It is also very easy to update a blog without hiring a web designer every time you make a change. Cathy Larkin of  WebSavvyPR.com says, “Blog posts are a way for service businesses to build trust in their brand. A blog, done well, gives you and your staff a way to showcase your expertise in a way that makes people think of you when it comes time to buy.”

A website is a collection of related web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that are available under a specific domain name on the World Wide Web. Websites are essentially online brochures designed to provide information, build a contact list, make money, and raise awareness of a small business. Information on a traditional website typically does not change very often.  The static information on a typical website includes 5-7 pages: home page, about us, contact us, services/products, in the news, and an online store.

If you are just getting started, a self-hosted blog is the best option to help promote your business online.  If you are starting from scratch, I suggest using WordPress.org, with your own hosting package.  What I like about WordPress is that is designed to have both static pages and blog pages.  Go for a hosting company that has a one button install for WordPress.org blogs.  Customizing a WordPress blog can be tricky, but once its rolling along it’s pretty much maintenance-free.   

If you already have a website, adding a blog section to it can be a way to update your online presence, and bring more traffic to your existing site. It’s best to have the blog as part of your website, but this isn’t always possible.  “You may have started a blog a long time ago on a free hosted site such as blogger or typepad and may not want to go through what it takes to transfer a hosted blog to your website.  In this case, you should link your blog from your website (and vice versa) and add frequent new content to your website, such as articles, white papers and special reports to provide fresh content on the website,” says internet marketing consultant, Phyllis Zimbler Miller, Millermosaicllc.com.  The only downside is you will need to engage a professional web designer to upgrade your website to import your blog, and add the additional content unless you learn to do it yourself.

When would you use a blog and website separately? If your blog is targeted to a very specific niche market and your website is targeted to a larger market, two sites make sense.  Some advocate creating a completely separate blog and stand alone website if you are an infopreneur. This works for authors, coaches, professional speakers etc. (a micro-site designed to sell each book, for example).  I use Melindaemerson.com and Succeedasyourownboss.com.

To get up and running quickly, I advocate hiring someone to help you set up your blog. You will have an expert to help you build the most professional presentation, create a branded banner, customize your blog with a theme, and show you the ropes.

No matter what method you decide to go with, it is very important to have a static home page on website and/or blog where what you offer is clear the moment someone lands on your page.  The headline, banner graphic, and the text all work together to keep that unique visitor on your site.

Next week, the final part of the blogging for business series: 10 Ways To Get Your Blog To Shine.

Part 1 http://succeedasyourownboss.com/09/2009/how-to-build-a-small-business-blog/

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE?  You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

Melinda Emerson “SmallBizLady” is a Veteran Entrepreneur, Small Business Expert and Social Media Coach who hosts #SmallBizChat on Twitter.  #Smallbizchat is the trusted resource on Twitter to discuss everything entrepreneurs need to know about launching and running a profitable small business.  Melinda’s first book, Become Your Own Boss in 12 months! A Month-by-Month Guide to Start a Business that Works! is scheduled to be released by Adams Media in early 2010.

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Each week as Smallbizlady, I conduct interviews with small business experts on my weekly Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. This is excerpted from my #SmallBizChat interview @Lenawest, Lena is a social media locksmith who helps dynamic women business owners untangle “social media spaghetti.” She makes social media easy-to-use, manageable and worthwhile. She also a columnist and blogger for Entrepreneur Magazine and Fast Company. For more information her website http://www.xynoMedia.com

Smallbizlady: Why does social media become such a black hole of time for so many people?

Lena West: Because for the most part, it’s easy to use. Notice I didn’t say easy to use effectively, I said, easy to use. And, the tools are mostly intuitive. Click here, type that, etc. And, people mistakenly equate easy-to-use with knowing what and why to do something and then it’s all downhill from there. It’s hour after hour of trying to get it right — to no avail.

Smallbizlady: Why is the source of where business owners get their social media information so critical to success with social media?

Lena West: Because everyone has an agenda. And, I don’t mean that in a bad way. I have an agenda, too. I am passionate about helping women CEO’s. So every word out of my mouth is going to be in favor of them and my agenda is to help them remove the “craziness” from social media and start using it as a marketing tool that gets results.  So, women CEO’s need to know where they’re getting their information. Is it from someone who’s just learning what it means to be a business owner or is it from a 12-year business veteran like myself?Understand to whom you’re listening and make sure you’re on their agenda. 

Smallbizlady: You talk a lot about people tapping into a “why” when they are using social media to market their businesses, how does that help them save time? 

Lena West: Once you figure out what your company needs to get from the blogosphere, you can figure out how and what to contribute. It’s like being in a relationship with a guy. You can’t figure out what you want from him until you figure out where you’re going in life overall. Otherwise you’re just hanging around watching each other breathe and there’s no way that’s productive.

Smallbizlady: Social media has its own vocabulary, is it important for entrepreneurs to understand the lingo – even minimally?

Lena West: Absolutely, it is. Anyone who knows me knows that I do NOT believe women CEO’s should spend all their time thinking about and learning social media “stuff”. But, just like you need to know how to read a profit and loss statment without being a CPA and sniff out a crappy contract without being a lawyer — you need to understand the basics of social media. And, if you don’t know, ASK. Educate yourself so people can’t give you the ear hustle about social media, even if they try.

Smallbizlady: How can business owners resist the urge to join everything and accept everybody?

Lena West:  They can treat it like they do everything else — have rules. Whether we know it or want to admit it or not, we all have rules. Rules for how we allow people to speak to us. Rules for how we allow people to treat us. Same deal with social media and social networking. You need to have rules. I get invites to join other social networks all the time, but I ignore them. I know where my market is and that’s what I care about. What do I care if my friends are on some other social network? My market’s on Facebook and so that’s where I put my energy. It’s OK to delete and ignore requests that don’t meet your business needs.  

Smallbizlady: What’s the quickest, most effective way for CEOs to evaluate social media consultants?

Lena West:  I’ve met so many “so called” social media consultants. They have glossy websites and you have a conversation with them and they’re managing PPC campaigns or running website stats. Those are all honorable jobs, but if you’re a social media consultant, don’t you think you should be working with social media tools? The bottom line is this: unless someone makes the lion’s share of their livelihood providing social media services to clients, they’re a hobbyist. If they’re not writing and PAID to speak about social media topics, they’re a hobbyist. Again, know your information sources!

Smallbizlady: How can we make sure that we’re being effective with our social media work – what metrics should we measure, etc?

Lena West: This greatly depends on the business owner’s goal. If you are using social media to learn more about your market, then you should be measuring how your products and services are resonating with your market (one way to do this by asking and keeping track of the answers you get). If you’re measuring blog post comments or some other metric, you’re not connecting the metric back to your original goal.

Smallbizlady: Many business owners now have less staff and thus less time for marketing, What is your Social Media Auto Pilot Program?

Lena West: This is a program that I’m really proud of. Women Business Owners love it. They get to work with me to figure out the big picture and then our team of VA’s execute the day-to-day details. Many of our clients don’t have the time, interest or inclination to get deeply involved with social media and so based on a proprietary process we’ve developed we do everything for them yet 100% of the content comes from THEM, not us. Clients love it. You can read more about it here: http://ow.ly/pSjU

Smallbizlady: What do you think is next for social media?

Lena West: What’s immediately next is more adoption and understanding — and WAY more women CEO’s releasing the fear and confusion energy surrounding social media, getting the expert help they need and stepping up to claim what was ALWAYS ours — word of mouth.

Smallbizlady: How should people approach social media?

Lena West: I place a HUGE amount of importance on personal responsibility. I believe that you should do what you say and mean what you say. I’m not perfect, but I strive for excellence. And, I believe that social media, by virtue of the medium, is making more people accountable. If you’re not who you say you are in this day and age, you’re in for it. I LOVE LOVE that!

If you found this interview helpful, join us on Wednesdays 8-9pm ET follow @SmallBizChat on Twitter. 

How to participate in #SmallBizChat: http://bit.ly/S797e

For more tips on starting or growing your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog at www.succeedasyourownboss.com