In this day and age everyone has a website. If you don't you're already 2 steps behind! It's not too late to start. With so many social media's how do you keep up with it all? What do you put your time into? Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube, Myspace, Twitter, Wordpress**, Blogger, Instagram and so on... How can anyone keep up with it all? Let alone find time running a full time business, family life and find time to manage social media! You can't?! But you should. I like to describe the power of a blog like the "Butterfly Effect" (1963 Meteorologist Edward Lorenz). Could the flap of a butterfly's wings in Singapore affect a hurricane in North Carolina? YES. *
Why blog? Current information, A blog can be added to a website or you can just start a blog all on its on. What is a blog? Think of it like a newspaper delivered to your door as often as you choose to read it. Maybe you just want the Sunday paper nothing else. I started a blog and made it my website. The down side to a website is its a lot like a book. Once you read it do you pick it up and read it again? Not likely. Now think of a blog as the newspaper. A blog keeps you up to speed on current events, what's new, the weather, auctions, classifieds, any topic you can write about. In return, you're giving and sharing knowledge.
With my RockinWalls Blog I write about, How to, finished/project stories, tools.. with the blog I can tell a story. The benefit is that by blogging viewers have a sense of who I am without meeting me. They can see what I do and how I do it. They can follow my stories, see my photos, my work, what's my favorite tool..... The power of a blog with strong images dominates over every other social media I believe. Many would think Facebook would be a top pick but I feel that unless you understand Facebook or have an account many don't get it. Your not capturing your optimal audience like a blog will.
50% of my customers have chosen me over other stone masons which offered services for half of what I quoted. How did I win them over? I didn't. My blog did. I just told my story about what I do and how I do it. With my stories and photos they can see for themselves what services I offer. The biggest value of the blog a client has the opportunity to get to know you before you meet making it easy to connect when they reach out to you for your services. They feel like they already know you!
With a blog you have several choices to start a blog. Blogger (owned by google) Wordpress or your current website should have a blog tab or app to allow you to start today. I run all of my blog/website with Blogger = Google. Yes I did say Google. You don't even want to know what it would cost to get what I get for free. By blogging your website will continue to get higher rankings because of search engine optimization. (SEO) Anyone can start today with blogger, all you need is a Gmail account. It's free and no one needs to know if you just want to set one up. Choose the name you like then blogger will do the reset. RockinWalls = Rockinwalls.blogger.com this will get you started then if you decide to make this your website, like I have, you would just have your web domain name directed to your blogger address. Kind of like snail mail being forward to a new mailing address.
You only need a few tools to get started. A computer, digital camera with HD video, time to write, time to photograph, and topics. My highest viewed blog projects have over 30 images with descriptions. I'm not sure if viewers keep coming back to read after a quick glance at the start to finish photos or that the images show a great deal. Tip: Photos placed on a web/blog should be able to be enlarged so viewers have control to increase the viewing size for more detail. Watermarks** should also be included on all of your photos to protect your intellectual property**. (Ie people stealing your photo's to benefit themselves.)
In addition to blogging you should also consider setting up YouTube or a Video account. If you don't have a YouTube account, set one up. Use the business name if you can. I use YouTube = Google owns it. MORE Free Advertising. People don't care about some fancy production. You can use an Iphone and get great video, documenting a project, a keynote speaker, new inventory, services you offer. I have spent a great deal of time videotaping silly stuff, How to's all the way to documenting Dry Laid Stone Master Craftsman from around the world. Building a library of content for viewers BRANDING MY NAME AND LOGO. (business identity)
Some other great things with Blogger and YouTube are the back-end statistics. Who cares? Right? Wrong! I can tell you details from week/day/month/all time. Overview on posts, (posts, pages) traffic sources, (referring URLs, referring sites, search keywords) audience, (country, browser, operating systems). YouTube goes even further to tell you age, sex, how long they viewed... Do you get this from your current website? Does it matter- DO YOU WANT TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS? YES it all matters! Keeping your finger on the pulse is easy with the right tools in hand. Tip: I recommend writing a blog every 7-14 days, any more is to much, any less is too little. This is just a personal feeling from other blogs I follow. Remember a blog can be as simple as just a photo and a few key
words.
Yes anyone can do it. Once you start you can't stop. The biggest downside I see like anything in life you have to stay committed. Many don't even make it a few months before they fall short. You can do it yourself, involve your staff to contribute and be a part of the story you have to tell.
Rockin Wall Stats:
YouTube: 98,137 video views, 82 subscribers. (Since 2009)
Blog: 82,000 page views. Current page views 500-600 (Since 2010)
These days, everyone has a gadget. I believe content is KING! With content your viewer can choose to read everything or nothing. With the internet, consumers in a pinch can scan an item and know everything about it. So why would you not choose to offer them the same? Start blogging.
I'm available to talk on any of the topics or services I offer. We can all learn and grow when we all share.
I've created 3 different blogs by using one tool blogger. Take a few minutes to see for yourself the versatility of this tool.
www.DryStoneResource.com . industry . blog . web .
www.MotoStrada.com . Francis motor scooter dealership - blog . web .
Blogs I follow:
Dan Snow Stoneworks
Hammerhead Stoneworks
Old World Stone & Garden
Footnotes:
*Harry Beckwith, Selling The Invisible. pg 9-10
**Topics listed below can be found in more detail on this blog.
- Blogger Vs Wordpress
- Watermarks (protecting your photographs from theft)
- Intellectual property - who's stealing your images?
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