Industrial Blogging: There's no Such Thing as Perfect

Here's an important fact for industrial businesses to grasp:  at last count (and this changes by the minute) there were 1.8 billion people ONLINE.  That is the number of people who have Internet access.  I would bet that a few (or more) of those 1.8 billion are your potential customers.  There are over 75 billion searches done on the Internet every month, and again, that number increases daily.

The number one reason people are doing searches on the Internet is to obtain information.  It may not always be "business" information, but nevertheless, this is the main reason people give for getting online.  Much of the information people look for IS business related, like: new vendors to work with, emerging trends and technologies, products they need to purchase, ways to do their jobs better, solutions to problems.

Now think about this:  some people have problems and yours may be one of the few companies that can provide them with a solution.  Can they find you?

If I use my own client base as the gauge for how well industrial companies are doing at "getting found" on the Internet, I would have to say "not very well."  The number one issue is that their websites simply aren't visible enough.  Whether a business is industrial or not, if it doesn't come up on the first page of search results and win the "click," it's probably not getting found.

Of course there's "pay per click" advertising, but many people when surveyed say they don't even look at the sponsored ads when they search.  I'm not saying "pay per click" is a waste of money; but if you want to get the most number of click throughs, you need to be listed on the first page of "natural" search results.

I realize that the successful online business model doesn't always translate well to industrial . . . but will it always be that way?  I think every business that has obtained a strong online presence (and visibility) has mastered two strategies:  blogging and social media.  If you truly master these two tools, you'll increase your online visibility, improve your search engine rankings, and generate exponential traffic to your website, which, in the numbers game equates to more new business.

I write a lot about manufacturers and industrial companies using social media on my blog, but rarely have I written about blogging.  I decided it was time to change that!

I am going to say this one more time (because I say it to my clients all the time):  every company that has a website needs a blog.  Here are some reasons industrial companies should be blogging:

1. A blog can become the central point for all of your other social media efforts.  Blog posts can be broken up into many different short posts for Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.  When people see your short posts and are interested, they can circle back to your blog or website and go deeper.
2. A well written blog that contains relevant content related to your company's expertise builds your company's credibility and reputation as a reliable authority.
3. Blogging is a way to brand your company that is less "in your face" than more traditional forms of marketing.  You're actually educating your industry and providing value at the same time you're promoting your expertise.
4. Blogs allow you to push content throughout the Internet.  It offers many more opportunities to amplify your message than you would have with a website alone.
5. Along with ongoing SEO work, nothing helps place you higher in natural search engine results than a blog with regularly updated content.
6. If you're submitting your blog posts to article websites and using them as teasers on social media sites, you'll increase the traffic to your website because more people will be linking back to it from your posts.

I have to end this by saying that I write this blog post after almost two weeks of not posting anything.  As a small business owner, I can totally relate when you say, "but there are not enough hours in the day to take care of my own business, much less WRITE about it."

I also understand the overwhelming feeling you get when you think you have to write three, two, or even one blog post per week.  I write this blog post after almost two weeks without writing because I accept that I cannot do it perfectly.  My customers (and family) will always come first. To throw up my hands and say, "because I cannot do it perfectly, I will simply not do it at all" - is like saying "because I can't exercise every day, I won't exercise at all."  We all know what THAT leads to . . . right?  Out of shape body?  Outdated website?  There's always a choice.