In today’s technology-driven world, taking advantage of every opportunity you have to reach consumers and build a relationship of trust is important. If you want to establish a brand identity and connect with your local market on a personal level, we suggest you think about a blog for your business. Blogging not only strengthens the search engine optimization of your website, but it can also help people become familiar with who you are, what you do, and how you can help them. Ultimately, a blog is a perfect channel to tell people why they should come to you instead of going elsewhere. We believe in the power of community and want to help you connect with yours. We have put together this quick guide to blogging for local businesses. Whether you already have a blog or are considering starting one shortly, follow these steps to continuously engage, educate, and entertain your subscribers.

Keep Your Blogging Close To Home

When blogging for your small business, it is essential to stick with what you know. By that, I do not mean to keep it simple. I mean, keep it local. With the information available online, general topics will not only be challenging to rank for, but they will do very little by bringing you new business. If you want to become an authority, blog about topics that are extremely relevant to those in your community. Even if you want to publish broader posts, it is always best to adapt them to be locally driven. For example, instead of writing about ten reasons why your top product/service is helpful, write about ten reasons it is useful for someone living in Kingston (or wherever you are located). These posts will not only be more relatable, but consumers will begin to trust your business and believe that you are invested in the community.

Don’t Be Afraid To Go Off-Topic

Despite every attempt to keep your blogging close to home, there may be times when it isn’t possible to talk about your products and services with a local focus. In these instances, we suggest venturing away from your usual topics. Write posts about your team and involvement with the community, or present a case study about a happy customer/client from the area. The possibilities are essentially endless. Just don’t be afraid to get creative, think outside the box, and ask, “will people here want to read this?” before publishing any blog post. Catering to your local market is far more critical than constantly being sales-driven or marketing-minded with your content.

Start Valuable Conversations

Starting valuable conversations is another way you can improve local engagement through blogging. To do this, you must ask open-ended questions in your post and solicit answers. In addition, blog posts are great fuel for social media and can serve as a great way to start a social dialogue. One of the best things that can happen to a blog post is being shared and discussed on social media. In the best-case scenario, these conversations find their way offline, and the community starts talking about your business. To note: this may not happen every time you engage with local consumers it can be tricky. However, do not let that dissuade you from trying. All it takes is one post, the right post, for you to become the talk of the town.

Enhance Your Website Content*

Perhaps the most unheralded value of having a blog for your small business is that it has a channel to enhance your website content. Whether your blog is on your website or hosted on a subdomain, it can spruce up your content for both consumers and search engines. Often websites leave visitors with unanswered questions and, at the very least, a desire to find out more. While this can be positive, there is a lot to be said for answering questions proactively and being upfront with everything a potential customer needs to know. In the past, we have described this for our clients as an opportunity to fill in the blanks or help visitors read between the lines of their website content. Make it so that they understand what you can do for them before they pick up the phone or visit your location. Blogging is an excellent tool to help you rank for topics and keywords to help grow your business. In making it easier to find online, there is more opportunity for consumers to see what you want them to do. In this sense, a blog is the best accomplice for your website content.

Need More Tips?

We hope this quick guide to blogging for your local business has been helpful. However, we understand that you may still require further information about how to get started or enhance your business’s blogging efforts. Our lines of communication are always open to businesses in Kingston and the surrounding area. Feel free to contact us at any time, we are more than happy to help you grow.