Are you prioritizing your internet presence with a blog?

1. 76

   KevinTimothyposted 11 years ago

   As a small business owner the internet can become a scary place if you lack a strong presence. Have you at least considered launching a blog for your company? Or...are you content with local advertising and expansion. What are your opinions on blogs as a whole?

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   1. 76

      wheelinalloverposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      As an internet business which does some business in our local town, but not much, a web presence is something which is necessary.
      
      Our business is a team effort. We have four members who are each an expert in their field. Of the four, two can and do write. Creating website content and showing people as an expert in their field is part of Holistic branding which is what we do.
      
      Since in reality what we create is a digital product it can be done worldwide. To reach those beyond our town border we need blogs, articles, hubs, and any other way we can devise to get the word out.
      
      We write on three shared use platforms and have a website blog. It has never been more than three days without posting a new article somewhere. We should write more however have an ebook in  process as well as keeping advertising up for three websites. This is on top of creating for others.
      
      We find blogs an effective way to spread our message and something to share on our social sites. They have increased buyers as well as started word of mouth visitors and buyers. We have also found people try to implement what we share only to become frustrated and call us. What we do takes four disciplines, no one is expert in all.

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      1. 78

         LuisEGonzalezposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Way to go, looks like you finally made it!!!!!
         Very happy for you.

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   2. 0

      Larry Wallposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I agree, almost every business needs a billboard type website, with name, address, phone number, hours, services, products, map, etc. It does not have to be fancy. It is just something to replace the ad that no one is seeing in the yellow pages.
      
      I am not convinced that every company needs a blog. I worked for a non-profit and we tried a blog available only to our members. The only time it was read was when I sent out an e-mail telling them what was on it. It is just as simple to send out the e-mail.
      
      If I am looking for a store that repairs shoes, I just need the internet billboard ad. I do not need to read a blog. There are so many blogs today, I do not know how people can be expected to keep up with everyone that is associated with their favorite sport, local team, local merchants, church, favorite hobby, etc.
      
      Blogs serve a purpose for the niche audience you manage to carve out--even if you have 10,000 followers, it is still a niche of the whole internet.

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   3. 82

      tommenposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I do have an Internet marketing blog which is updated several times per week by me or by a guest poster.I started the blog back in 2006 and it is quite popular now.Also, it is a good idea to diversify and have different income streams.What would happen if Hubpages would one day be gone and you had no other sources of income?

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         andromidaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I've checked you blog. Your posts are really interesting.

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2. 60

   paradigmsearchposted 11 years ago

   At least have a "billboard" website with basic info on it; particularly location, business hours, description of services, phone number, etc. Put the domain name on the business cards. Then build from there as seems appropriate.

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3. 83

   psycheskinnerposted 11 years ago

   I doubt very many small business people are unaware of the importance of web presence these days.  Or at least small business people using an online forum.

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   1. 76

      KevinTimothyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      A lot are, actually. Landscaping companies, mobile pet groomers, etc. I see a lot of them without websites (or at least domains on their ad).

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      1. 75

         WriteAngledposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Many local companies where I live do not have web sites.
         
         Yes, I know it could be a business opportunity.
         
         No, I am not interested in following it up myself.

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         1. 76

            KevinTimothyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Who said anything about an opportunity?

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      2. 83

         psycheskinnerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Did you google them to check? Do you think those business owners without a website hang out on online forums?

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         1. 76

            wheelinalloverposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Smart business owners spend at least an hour a day on each social network they have. We have done business on Facebook, Google +, LinkedIn, and a few social sites most people have never heard of. Those are business related in one sense or another.
            
            A website blog and blogging on another platform along with social networks is enough to bring in the customers we need. Without them we wouldn't make it. There is not much interest in what we do outside the business community. This still gives us an audience of one new potential customer per second. These people are searching our keywords and finding our blogs. The website is not on page one anywhere other than the company name.  In all honesty we could do business with only the domain email address and the blog. We did for two months with the logo the only thing on the website.

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            1. 76

               KevinTimothyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Why, thank you so much for your contribution. Well said...it comes up as a great loss for a business owner to avoid this online presence.

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4. 75

   WriteAngledposted 11 years ago

   It is a reasonable expectation that someone coming in on this thread would make a comment along those lines. I wanted it to be clear in advance that I have no interest in doing so.

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5. 88

   Stacie Lposted 11 years ago

   My own business has a blog but it doesn't really bring in any more business.
   The rural towns I live in and near seem to rely on word of mouth. Many still don't have websites.
   I do see more small companies using Facebook to get the word out. it's the easiest form of communication today.

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   1. 76

      KevinTimothyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Stacie, what have you tried doing to make your blog visible and effective?

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6. 60

   Eric Vu Tranposted 11 years ago

   I have a personal blog, and we are launching the blog for my startup in two weeks.  Blogging isn't easy.

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