Dude, Blog Your Business!

I recently attended an interesting webinar by an Internet Consulting company which, for obvious reasons, has to remain nameless. I was sent an invitation by someone who knew I’d find it interesting, and the title “Get Clients at YOUR Doorstep”, was certainly intriguing. What business owner doesn’t want more clients at their doorstep?

The presentation I watched was well done, despite a slightly misleading title. There was no information on how to get clients to your doorstep, but was instead focused on the services they offer. All the fundamentals were covered, touching on the critical buzz words we hear so often, and could stand to do more about. There was discussion on the importance of Search Engine Optimization and Social Media Marketing as components in an effective online marketing strategy, and otherwise created a compelling case for quality design and content, even backing it up with specific examples. I liked the presentation so well that I made a mental note to put together one like it.

Early into the presentation, some company background information was given, and when the number of offices and employees was announced, I was impressed. Astounded, really. 1500 offices? For an internet business? That’s just is not practical. Then it occurred to me….Biz Opp!

I try not to be too cynical, but having seen a number of  “Internet Consultants” in my day, who had no business using the term, I am naturally wary, and as a media professional for the last 10 years, it is a part of my job to be aware of the Psychology in advertising. My inclination is to look beneath the surface, to see what strings inside us all are chosen for pulling, yet, as I could see it, this tidy presentation only had one agenda; to present to company as reputable and effective. Mission accomplished. So why the nagging suspicion of Biz Opp?

I had to dig deeper to find what I was looking for. A bit of research showed that, as well as Internet Consulting, this company is in the business of recruiting franchisees. Suddenly I understood how they could have so many “offices”.  The bottom line is that each and every company out there is trying to make money. There are many ways by which to accomplish this goal, and who would I be to fault anyone for practicing legal, ethical commerce? Franchising is a great idea for many types of businesses, but I found this discovery a big disappointment. Jasper and I care about what we do, and we strive to do it well. To see our services packaged for a “No Experience Necessary” franchisee stings, but to discover yet another company that recruits people to recruit people…well that’s just disheartening.

Call me naive. Call me idealistic. I’m here because I believe in simplicity, and the purity of things. Paying more for a service, only assures that all the unnecessary layers of middlemen are getting their cut. Paying a novice only assures that decisions are being made for you by a distant third party. At Dude, Blog Your Business, we have no middlemen, we have no franchising, we have no “Biz Opp”, nor do we have 1500 offices. Should we ever claim to, do yourself a favor…Run the other way!

In a very useful article for entrepreneur.com Jon Rognerud spoke to one of the Masters of Social Media, Brent Csutoras, a leading internet marketing consultant who primarily specializes in social media, viral and search engine marketing strategies. (See the full article here.)
 
I wanted to highlight a few of the many important points that Csutoras made in the interview, particularly in respect of the commitment that you are making when you take on a marketing strategy using social media such as blogging. It is very important to understand that these marketing strategies can be very effective, but they do take time and considerable effort.

“Social media is *not* about just bookmarking your sites all over the place and joining Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter, and posting some “pitchy” links. I hope that’s not what you’re doing. Social media marketing (SMM) is serious business, and you must have the same attitude about everything you do”, Csutoras states.

If you read any of the books on blogging they all say that blogging is about authenticity. It has to be real and it has to be interesting. It is essential that the content on your blog is of good quality. Csutoras continues, “After strategy signoff, start by participating in the communities. Provide real and useful comments, no spam obviously. Do not try to game this; build your presence online over time”.

Blogs are a powerful medium to connect with your audience because they are a two-way process. Your audience can talk to you through them – you can have a conversation. That is why social media are so much more successful than a purely static website.
 
The important thing, Csutoras emphasises, is that you must “make your site social media-friendly. No funky popups or hard to read/use sites. Blogs are commonly used, but make sure it’s professionally designed. Lately, I’ve found that authoritative sites can and will do better–and even commercial sites. Think about this: “Where do you want to be sourced from?” Even unique content on a crappy site will not get the respect it deserves.” It … “can take a long time, but the results are worth it!”

These are very valuable ideas to understand if you are looking at social media to market your business, which is why we have set them out in our informational links. This is why we have set up Dude, Blog Your Business. We believe in the importance of a professionally designed blog as well as the power of this medium. If you think that a blog can work for your business then we are here for you.