3 Big Reasons Your Online Business Needs a Blog

This is our 3rd week of our Social Media series in August and I know that all of you love it as much as I do. Today, my friend Jennifer Herndon is talking to you about why a blog would benefit you, especially it you are interested in making an income.

She loves to motivate people to go all out on the potential that is on the inside of you. Every time I read one of her blogposts, I am impressed and always feel I have to take some action. I hope you feel the same.

I know you will like her; she is very upfront with you and I know she will show you what to do as a newbie in blogging and even as a professional blogger; enjoy her post as much as I did.

Here is Jennifer:

 

 

3 Big Reasons Your Online Business Needs a Blog

 by Jennifer Herndon

You can build an online business through social media these days. I love that fact. It really levels the playing field. No longer do you have to be rich enough to rent an office, tech savvy enough to program a computer, or fresh on the heels of a degree from the Harvard School of Business.

All you need to know is how to do social media right. That doesn’t sound too hard. Signing up for accounts with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, and Pinterest takes a total of about 30 minutes. And you’re in business, right?

Wrong. Yet I hear it often. People I meet on social media tell me they have an online business. But when I go to trade websites with them, it’s “well I don’t have a website yet.” And most of them have no realistic plan to get one.

Because they are building their business with social media. Which is great. But, you are making a huge mistake if your blog is not at the heart of your social media strategy. (I’ll use blog and website to mean the same thing here because in the beginning, there doesn’t need to be much on your website other than your blog.)

Your blog is in fact the motherload of your social media marketing. Why? Here are the top 3 reasons:

1. Your Blog Makes You an Expert

Yes, you can put out some wonderful nuggets of wisdom on Facebook, Twitter and the rest. But people go to these traditional social media platforms for bites of information. Social media moves quickly. They aren’t going to “pull up a chair and stay awhile” while you try to educate them on your market.

Even though Facebook and Google+ allow for blog-length posts these days, that’s not what your readers are going there for. (There are some exceptions to this when it comes to Google+).

The place to teach the masses is at your blog. Your audience expects to come there and be educated through articles containing 1000+ words, as opposed to 140 characters. And, it is in the consistent reading of your blog content that your market sees that you do know what you’re talking about.

It is your blog that’s going to establish you as the “go to” expert in your market, not the witty quote you just posted on Twitter.

2. Your Blog is Where the Money’s At

I hope the purpose of your online business is to serve others. But let’s face it, this is your business. It needs to be profitable.

Your social media networks are where relationships are built. Your blog is where the money is made. You aren’t going to build a million dollar business tweeting and posting about your products and services. You can however, build a million dollar business using social media to drive people to your website.

Once at your website, what do they find? An opt-in box, where they give you their email address in exchange for a valuable freebie from you. Now they’re on your email list and you can sell to them. Email marking works for making sales. Social media works for building the relationship necessary for people to see that they want to be on your email list because you have valuable things to offer.

3. Your Blog is Your Story

A huge part of the reason people buy from you is that they like you. And they like you because they remember you. There’s a whole lot of noise on social media, and you have to figure out a way to shine, or you’ll never catch your intended audience’s eyes.

And the place you can really shine is on your blog. Because your blog is yours. I know you paid a lot of money for that Facebook cover photo and custom Twitter background. But, do you realize most people see those once, if at all? Your audience is seeing your posts in their stream, looking the same as everyone else’s posts.

And what you are putting out on Twitter and Facebook and all the others is disappearing almost as fast as you post it. Finding it again takes some work.

Not so with your blog. YOU own your blog. And you have the power to customize it however you want. You can put the pictures of your family, tell the stories of your past, and display client testimonials as your successes. And it’s all right there for your reader to see.  All in one place, all designed by you, and all permanent. It’s like a virtual book about you. And it includes the stories people are going to remember. The things that make people like and trust you. The reasons people buy from you.

So, Get to Blogging

Your blog is the home of your online business. It’s as necessary as a building is to any offline business. Trying to run an online business using social media without including blogging as part of your strategy is akin to a dentist setting up his chair on a street corner. Don’t do it.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. If you don’t have a blog, will you be setting one up today? If you are blogging, how important is it to your online business?

 

Jennifer has two passions ~ raising her children, and helping entrepreneurs grow profitable online businesses.  She has been enjoying the time freedom and financial benefits of being a work from home entrepreneur for over 14 years.

As a single mom of three awesome kids (ages 4, 5 and 7), Jennifer relates to the challenges of being a full time parent and small business owner.  Jennifer specializes in working with offline experts to build a strong online presence. Her programs combine mindset with method to produce lasting results for your business.

 

 

 

 

How Your Family Can Benefit from Social Media

 

 

Today is another social media day and my friend Mandy Edwards talks about how families can not only benefit from social media but embrace it in a way that it is fun and bring our relationship with our chilren even to a higher level.

Using social media is among the most common activity of today’s children and adolescents. Ok, there are some risks inherent to online social networking, but there are also many potential benefits. Social networking can provide opportunities for new relationships as well as strengthening existing relationships, whether your kids’ friends are close to home or across the world. It’s important to be vigilant when your kids are getting involved in online social networking, but it’s also good to encourage positive relationships through various avenues, including the Internet.

I know you will enjoy today’s post from my friend Mandy who I also met in the same business networking group online where we learn and receive input from each other. So, I will not put you on hold any longer; here is Mandy!

 

How Your Family Can Benefit from Social Media

by Mandy Edwards

How Your Family Can Benefit from Social Media

“Okay sweetie, let me take a picture so I can post it on Facebook for grandma.”

“I saw where you tweeted you ate at Olive Garden!  Was it good?”

“Oooh, I love the pin of that recipe you made last time you were home.”

Any of these sound familiar?

Social media has integrated itself into our lives – both professionally and personally.

I always blog about how social media can benefit your business, but today I’m blogging about how families can benefit from social media.  Yes, families can benefit.

Example: me.

Born in Iowa, I moved to Missouri when I was 10, then Georgia when I was 16.   I have lived in a lot of places.  My mom was an Army brat.  My dad lived in one town for the first 28 years of his life.  Moves and military have my family spread everywhere.  My parents live in Louisiana, I am in Georgia, my sister is in South Carolina (until October, then the Marines are moving them to Southern California) and my extended family lives in Missouri, Texas and Tennessee.  Without social media we would have such a disconnect.  But thanks to it, we stay in touch more than we did B.F., you know, Before Facebook.

Social media does a wonderful job of keeping grandparents up on what their grandkids are doing.  Parents overseas in the military can Skype each day with their loved ones back home.

Social media is meant to be social.  We can let those who cannot be with us be a part of our lives.  I know my mom appreciates seeing all the pictures of the things my two girls do – she feels likes she’s here while being 12 hours away.

Some benefits of families using social media are…

  1. More Involvement – when families use social media to stay in touch, they are more involved in each others’ lives.  It’s like a family reunion when everyone is on!
  2. Closer Relationships – by staying involved, relationships can become closer.  I know with my mom on Facebook, I message back and forth more than we talk on the phone.  Having that ongoing conversation helps with communication.
  3. Parents can keep up on their kids – If you are friends with your kids, then you can see who they are interacting with.  And trust me, you will want to do this.  I am still thankful we didn’t have Facebook when I was in high school and college.
  4. Sharing the Love – Memories.  Remembering past events.  Family members can post pictures of loved ones gone before us and share the great memories they had.  You can see a loved one’s wedding pictures if you couldn’t make it.

Of course, there is always a flip side to the benefits, but that can be another post on another day.

In the grand scheme of life, communication is key.  Social media provides an effective and efficient way for family members to interact.  With the launch of Google+’s Hangout, multiple family members can video chat while living in several different states.

In today’s world, families are busy and there is a communication breakdown.   Family dinners are a thing of time gone by – fast food dinners in the car between dance and ball practice are the norm.  Teens spend more time with their noses down texting.  Video games keeps tweens glued to the TV.  Social media brings all of them away from this and allows them to video chat and interact with their family members, especially those who do not live close.

What are some ways your family is benefitting from social media?  Comment below!  I’d love to hear!

About Mandy Edwards

Mandy Edwards is the owner of ME Marketing Services, a marketing firm in Statesboro, Georgia that specializes in social media marketing for small businesses.  The local go-to person on spcial media, Mandy is a momprenuer , President of her local chapter of BNI – Business Networking International and 2013 Chair for her local Relay for Life.

For more information on Mandy, please visit www.memarketingservices.com.  You can also follow her on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (@memktgservices).