There’s almost no point in trying to make a living as a respected professional these days if you don’t have a blog. All the Facebook marketing efforts in the world won’t do you much good if you don’t have a blog to serve as your home base, as your manifesto, as the place where people go to see what it is that you’re all about.
The benefits of having a blog for the social media expert, the writer and the Internet entrepreneur are obvious. But a doctor, legal expert or accountant gets a big boost too.
A blog can …
Position You as an Expert
Say you’re a doctor. A man has a benign tumor developing on his leg. What does he do? The first thing he tries is probably looking that up on the web. He asks Google what that lump is, and Google gives him varied opinions based on peoples past experiences and it will provide him with a list of doctor that have treated such issues. Are you the doctor he goes to see?
Maybe, maybe not.
But if you have some good search engine marketing and happen to come up as one of the results then that person will then research you further to check your credentials and patient reviews. And if you have positive reviews a blog can be what sets you apart from your competition. And it could be the difference in whether or not that person calls your office to make an appointment.
A blog lets you let everyone else know what it is that you’re best at by providing advice, valuable insight and real information. When you’re really at the top of your game, just riffing on a subject for a couple hundred words in the form of a blog is enough to let people know how valuable your perspective is on the subject. Plus it shows that you are a thought leader and that you take your profession very seriously.
Create a permanent journal
Twitter marketing is easy in that you can put together a few words and call it a post. It can be a good piece of advice, an industry-specific fact or just some odd little insight. The downside is that a Tweet has a short lifespan. The only way you’ll keep your tweet in the public eye for more than a few hours is if its somehow picked up by a media outlet or goes viral – but that doesn’t happen that often.
A blog gives your insights a place to call home where people can come by years later and see what you had to say about some landmark case, or a law that affected your industry. Your fans, followers and clients can all take a look at your “backlist” and see what you’re all about.
Engage visitors
A tweet or a Facebook post or a comment is a good way to get a short response out there, but if you read something that really sparks a thought, your blog gives you a platform where you can really engage with the people that you interact with. Whether that be an employer or a co-worker, a client, or a fellow blogger that you admire, your blog gives you a space where you can simply talk at length about whatever it is that you want to talk about.
You may not think yourself much of a writer, in which case you can pick up a copy of Strunk & White’s “The Elements of Style” and hack together some blog posts. If not, there are companies like ours who can help take your ideas and create a blog for you.
A blog allows you to create a good piece of static content that can resonate with your followers and live forever.
If you need help creating a blog contact SoMoLocal at 732-595-3150. We make it easy to turn your ideas and thoughts into a custom written blog.
