I know some of you don’t want to hear that you need to write to be successful. But, to reach your customers where they are, you need to be where they are, and that is largely on Facebook.

Sure, you can just write little 400 character tidbits directly on Facebook, or 140 characters on Twitter. You can pass on other people’s content through links. But the power happens when you link to your own original interesting content. Then you invite your fans and email subscribers to read it. Not only can they link through to your blog, but your postings become sharable (postings not linked to something do not have the ‘share’ link so fans cannot share it with their friends).

Competition isn’t what it used to be. It’s not companies selling what you sell. Now, your competitors are businesses vying for the time and attention of the same target audience you are, and the largest playground, by far, is Facebook.

If you don’t prove you are an authority in your field and write about that expertise, you will not reach your audience where they are spending an average of 55 minutes a day. If your target audience is a young demographic, then that number is significantly higher! And, also, the fastest growing Facebook audience are baby boomers.

So, Convince me. What are the Benefits?

• Regular Blogging increases traffic to websites by 55%.
• Highly successful businesses blog regularly.
• Search engine optimization. It’s an easy way to enhance search engine ratings. You can create inbound links to your own website either within the blog or in your signature. Getting good quality inbound links to your website is one of the most important ways that search engines rate your website. It’s been the Holy Grail for some time. Be sure to utilize your important keywords in your blog, the same ones that are on your website.
• Blogs have like buttons. A major shift is happening right now. Likes are becoming more important in every way than Links. When you think about it, the most important measurement for any technology is what people personally do and likes are personally clicked on by individuals. According to Nick ONeill, “… the Facebook like button has completely reduced the friction for the common user to vote for content. … the reduction of friction will result in the like replacing the link.. It won’t be immediate but it also won’t take too long”.
• It’s free. Blog sites such as Word Press are free.
• You can reuse your content several ways.

OK, But Who Has the Time?

• Who has the time? Well, maybe your competition does!
• According to a survey by Social Media Examiner of over 2000 marketers, businesses are spending 6-10 hours a week managing their Facebook page (which includes blogging), and this time spent results in a reduction of 27% of marketing costs in other areas. Sounds worth finding the time to me!
• Re-priortizing your time in this social age can have great advantages.

I don’t know what to write about! That’s just not true.

• If you can’t convince people to purchase your product or service, then you are doomed as a business. When you’re talking to a prospect, watch when the ‘aha’ moment happens, when they start to ask questions, when they become engaged. Make a note of what you were taking about and what questions they were asking! That’s your next blog!
• A common challenge is sitting down in front of a keyboard and typing something. It’s writer’s block. One of the things I do is have an ongoing Word document where I ‘shove’ thoughts. It’s my way of brainstorming. If you’re not in front of a computer as much as I am, keep a voice recorder. Some of my best brainstorms come when I’m driving! Or call your phone and leave a message to yourself.

I’m not a good writer.

• OK, that could be true. Maybe you weren’t the stellar grammar student in school, maybe spelling isn’t your strength.
• Do your best, then run it through spell and grammar check.
• Finally, recruit a friend or family member that ‘has your back’ and run your draft by them to finish it up.
• Even if it means hiring someone to take that last few minutes to shine you up, it’s worth it.

OK, I’m convinced. Help me start.

• Commit. Don’t dip a toe in the water, jump in and really give this a go.
• Write regularly – draw a line in the sand. Say, I WILL write once a week and publish it on ___day. I blog and publish on Mondays. I’d love to blog more but I am a staff of one.
• But writing once a week IS doable. Aim for 350 words. That’s less than one page double-spaced. Longer is fine if it’s really interesting or chunked up into easily digested bullets or outlines such as this blog.
• Choose where to blog. I use WordPress.com. It’s free, fairly easy to set-up. Start somewhere.
• Once you have your blog published, use a tool to get it onto your Facebook page. I use networkedblogs.com. It’s free and will create a custom link called ‘blog’ off your Facebook business page. Do not, however, have it auto-publish to your Wall. While that sounds very convenient, it’s better for your EdgeRank (Facebook’s determination of how engaged you are) if you post the URL to your blog on your wall yourself rather than use a 3^rd party app.

So, prove to me this works

FB Smartys Blog views by week show consistent rise.

It takes time. Be consistent. Blog popularity can be grown through being searchable, through linking to previous blogs, to writing enewsletters pointing to blogs, to getting others to reference your blog. The above chart shows that views of the blogs I write are increasing substantially over time. When you increase your ‘library’ of blogs, this should happen!

Hoping I’ve helped you move past your concerns and that you’re just a bit excited about the future and the impact your writing will have on it!

We are considering offering blogging workshops on-site in our Douglas classroom soon. Brainstorming and writing in a group. If this is interesting to you, let me know and I’ll put you on our notification list. To be sure you get all our notices, simply opt-in to our enewsletter list on our home page.

Warm Regards,

Michelle Fontaine

FB Smarty
www.fbsmarty.com
facebook.com/fbsmarty