I recently started my own catering meal delivery business for people who are not able to do food shopping on their own like the disabled and elders. I have a website, but I was told that a blog would be helpful for marketing. I already have a personal blog and I like to write, but using a blog for developing business is new to me. Do you have any advice?
– Mila Estevas, Bogata, Colombia
Congratulations on the news business! It’s very important to provide this service to underserved populations. Using a blog is a great way to promote your company in your community.
Here are some tips:
- Listen to customer ideas and provide solutions – Use your blog to answer frequently asked questions and concerns from customers and share your expertise. For instance, when is the best day of the week to make deliveries or how far in advance should you make a meal order during the holiday season.
- Keep it short and to the point – Blog posts don’t need to be long (greater than 500 words). Customers will appreciate it when you get to the heart of the matter. It shows that you understand your clientele and are genuinely interested in finding their solutions in a time efficient manner.
- Use multimedia – Podcasts, videos, infographics help bring your blog to life and create engagement with your customers. Maybe you gave a speech recently with a PowerPoint presentation. Repurpose the slideshow in a blog post for those who didn’t hear your speech or want a different angle on your speech for those who did hear the speech.
- Get ideas from other bloggers – Find other like-minded business blogs to find inspiration for blog ideas (and beat the competition). What makes your business unique from your competition? Can you give a different perspective to industry related topics in your blog?
- Be consistent – you are more likely to growing your blog audience if you published in a consistent manner. Do you blog once, twice or three times a week? Creating an editorial schedule can help you plan out blog posts in advance so you can published in time and not at the last minute.
- Highlight people – Feature customers who support your company. Ask them who they are and why they use your services. You might want to also feature employees to give your readership a behind-the-scenes look of your company.
- Be social – Most blogs allow comments. The whole point of social media is to be social. And when you get comments, answer back. Even if it is a bad review of your company, use it as an opportunity to address their problem and make a solution. Public accountability can go a long way.
- Focus on business – Don’t get too carried away with socializing that you veer off into personal blogging. Remember, your blog’s primary goal is to support and market your business. So stay away from posting cat videos or writing about your drinking buddies. Sure, you want to inject your own personality into the blog, but always be professional.
You also might want to check out our publication Short Guide to Blogging.
Have a question? Email us at info(at)globalwireonline(dot)org with “Ask Global Wire Associates” in the subject line.
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