Lately I’ve taken to describing business blogs as a company’s base of operations for online marketing activities.
All Roads Should Lead to Your Business Blog
Most companies – 99.9% – consider their basic website to be the base of operations for their web presence. All roads lead to the website’s Home page. The Home page URL is what’s plastered all over business cards, stationary, brochures, and promotional materials. Inbound links (which are usually in short supply) point to the Home page.
But is this strategy still correct? Not necessarily. Today, customers want to evaluate companies differently. They’re interested in personality, values, and authenticity. Potential customers are interested in making their first step a personal connection.
In the days before social media, the business process looked like this -
- Start buying from a company
- Develop a relationship
Today, the business process looks like this -
- Develop a relationship
- Start buying from a company
The way customers choose suppliers today is the way all of us have always preferred to buy. In the past, developing a relationship prior to doing business took a great deal of time and limited the possibilities to companies that were nearby. But now, because we can get to know sellers through blogs and LinkedIn and Twitter, can we actually look before we leap, whether the supplier is next door or on the other side of the world.
If I’m looking to buy something, the first thing I’m going to check out is the company’s blog. I may not read the blog in depth, but I want to know it’s there. When a company has a blog, it tells me this company wants to get personal, it values its customers, it is putting a real effort into building a mutually productive business relationship. If a company doesn’t have a blog? You do the math.
Now, if a company aspires to use social media to engage customers, it should assume most of the people they’ll run into there think like I do. A company active on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or private online communities should point community members to its blog, not its Home page.
If potential customers find you on Facebook, they’ll want to check out your business blog. If they like it, their next stop will be the Home page. If a company directs these folks straight to the corporate site, it will have broken the personal connection at precisely the wrong time. Example -
When I click on a Twitter profile link, I’m really hoping it takes me to a blog. If it takes me to a standard website, I’m disappointed. Right or wrong, I get the feeling this individual is using Twitter just to fish for leads. Not that that’s a sin, it’s just that I don’t participate in Twitter exclusively for the opportunity to be sold.
Why take the chance of turning off a potential customer? Why limit your opportunities at just the time when social media marketing is poised to enter the b2c and b2b mainstream? Companies that cling to their standard website as base of operations are in real danger of losing the war.
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Totally agree with you! My Twitter link, however, goes deeper than just a blog – it goes to my Twelcome page.
http://twitter.com/barbaraling
Barbara Ling, Virtual Coachs last blog post..Profit by goodwill – give freely to your list subscribers
Brad,
Is this a new design for your site?
Sleek – I love it.
I certainly see your point, and I would struggle to understand the logic of starting to develop a somewhat personal relationship with current and prospective clientelle via social media just to then go and direct them to a typically impersonal medium such as a home page.
Andrews last blog post..What I learned from almost being mugged
Yep! It’s the Flexibility Theme – I have a mini review at
http://www.affbrainery.com/tips/superb-affiliate-marketing-wordpress-theme-flexsqueeze/
Since I chose to use it, I have far more data on it now so I can write a complete review. Needless to say, I’m extremely happy with it – it’s very versatile indeed.
Best wishes, Barbara
Barbara Ling, Virtual Coachs last blog post..Profit by goodwill – give freely to your list subscribers
Hi Barbara, The Twelcome page is a fine idea. Do you think bloggers should have a specific landing page for each social medium they participate in? Also, thanks for the info on the theme – very reassuring to say the least.
Hi Andrew, Thank you for the feedback on the theme. Credit my WP expert, Lara Kulpa, with the result. I’d be blogging on stone tablets without her. It’s possible to make a home page warm and conversational, but for most firms, that would be an even bigger step into the unknown than launching a blog. It’ll be fascinating to see how web content for static pages develops over the next couple years.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Business Blog as Base of Operations for Online Marketing
Hey all – First, Brad – thanks for the credit! Much appreciated, and working with you is a pleasure.
I do think that Barbara was speaking of her own site for some reason – as this theme (on this site) is NOT “FlexSqueeze”. I do not endorse or recommend that theme, any more than I’d endorse or recommend any type of “squeeze page”. Feel free to email me if you wonder why.
Hi Lara, First of all, I need to find out what a “squeeze page” is.
Perhaps you should blog about it!
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Business Blog as Base of Operations for Online Marketing
ARGH!! Eeeek – I misread the last comment. I had just updated my theme and misread ‘Brad’ for ‘Barb’.
My apologies,
Barbara Ling
Barbara Ling, Virtual Coachs last blog post..Profit by goodwill – give freely to your list subscribers
Hehe, that’s what I’d thought, Barb… just wanted to help clarify.
Brad – I just may do that.
Hi Brad, I’m trying to compose a comment here and am getting distracted by the smart new theme and the whole Brad / Barb thing going on
Congrats to you and Lara for what you’ve done here – I think the way you’re showcasing a very professional business blog will make the argument even more forcibly that your words.
Surely businesses should just have their blog integrated somewhere obvious into their website… not so much of a conflict really?
Joanna Youngs last blog post..A Blog Birthday, an Easter Egg Thank You, and a Request
Hi Joanna, It gladdens me no end that you like the new theme – it seems to be doing what I want it to – a great endorsement of Lara, who understands how to translate ideas into designs. As you might suppose, I believe any firm benefits by having a blog prominent in their web presence. Surely, any firm can convey a fuller sense of who they are on a blog than on a static web page no matter how well written.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Business Blog as Base of Operations for Online Marketing
Hi Brad,
Yes, I think ideally each SN site should have a unique blogging landing page – I have one for Stumbleupon and for Twitter. I have to build my Facebook landing page too…it’s at times like this I wish I could clone meself.
And add me in on liking your new theme/layout/design! ’tis a great job well done indeed – Kudos to Lara.
Barbara Ling, Virtual Coachs last blog post..Killer free affiliate marketing tools and techniques
Hi Brad, I have to agree with Joanna that your blog redesign highlights the possibilities you raise here very well. (A picture is worth a thousand words?) One thing I see as important here is that this strategy can provide a huge advantage for smaller, leaner, more personal firms. If the folks blogging are the ones building the on-line relationship, they better be available to do the ‘real-world’ work as well.
Fred H Schlegels last blog post..New Ways For Entrepreneurs To Do Business With China
Thanks all for the compliments and kudos!
To add in to what Brad’s said in the post, everything he’s talking about here goes back to the “old days” (haha) of when internet marketing and SEO (search engine optimization) were really the only major ways to get attention online. There were no social networking outlets, really. There was no facebook or myspace or “Insert Profession Here Network”. It was all about strategy back then. These social networking outlets are tools to make the strategy even stronger, and to work harder for you, rather than you having to work harder to implement it.
I remember a time when I’d have a client whose only goal was to be ranked high in Google for various keywords and phrases. Now, I have clients who want to LEARN how to use Twitter and facebook and of all the other places on the web where they can be active and build relationships. It’s refreshing, because it means the internet has gone away from being a giant megamall, and is now returning to the “Mom and Pop” comfort of days gone by. Except this time, Mom and Pop can be from anywhere in the world.
Barbara, So glad you like the new theme. It’s always a jump into the unknown when you change your face. Please consider doing a post on the benefits of these multiple SN landing pages – somehow I have a lingering feeling it’s overly complex – I want to be convinced otherwise!
Fred, Blogs and social media really are a great equalizer. Smaller firms can now compete with big ones on Google and in social media. It’s a pity more of these firms aren’t taking advantage. We need small business to be strong.
Lara, Couldn’t agree with you more. It’s funny to talk about the “old days” of online marketing.
Anyway, doesn’t it seem as though Twitter and Facebook have gone “mainstream” lately? Anyone and everyone is jumping on board, which means among other things that people are coming to your site from every which way. Your site has to make the right impression or you could be in real trouble.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Business Blog as Base of Operations for Online Marketing
When you think about it, much that is causing disconnect is an expert who stands aloof and makes no personal contact with people. You are so right about people wanting personal contact.
If you are buying a product, such as a cell phone, I enjoy going to site which include customer reviews of the product. That’s one great way that social media has impacted the way we do business as it relates more to customer experience. For instance, he wanted to buy a car and he could go to site which provided customer reviews of the product – good and bad.
If it is about consulting services, perhaps that is a new area people could consider. Again you would need the whole gamet of reviews.
Lara set up Ellen Weber’s new site and did a beautiful job. She is a trusted person to use to set up a great web site.
Robyn McMasters last blog post..Honesty and Altrusim – Receipe for Heroics
Hi Robyn, User reviews and testimonials are far more persuasive than company sales propaganda – at least for most of us. The main thing that attracted me to Amazon and still makes me love it is its extensive user reviews. You can learn all you want to know about any product under the sun, and that leads to purchasing decisions. So if it works for books and films – why not consulting? My dentist told me recently he gets a lot of new business from a website he signed up for that posts user reviews of dentists. Interesting, eh?
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Business Blog as Base of Operations for Online Marketing
Awhh, thanks Robyn!
Brad – Great idea, switching to a magazine format. It works well for non-linear topics like yours, and allows newcomers a more broad overview of what you can offer them.
On Barb’s use of a Twitter landing page, the other day I came across a WP plugin that creates the same for all the social sites your readers come from. I wish I had bookmarked it, but a search should make it turn up.
Terry Heaths last blog post..Eat a Frog
Terry – What a wonderful idea for a plugin. I take you also see a benefit in offering distinct landing pages for each social media site? Thank you also for the feedback on my new theme. Other than perhaps being a bit too crowded with text, it does seem to make more sense for me.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Business Blog as Base of Operations for Online Marketing
Aloha Brad, I want you to be right, because I agree with you on this: Business transactions happen with relationship currency. I am also all for the ‘power of the blog’ and the personality showcase it can potentially be. I can understand why this works for you in your business, yet I still think that knowing your customer profile and preferences, and the customer path if and when they buy from you must be the ultimate qualifier.
As I mentioned to you briefly on Twitter, I’ve talked about your post with a few people in regard to better understanding exactly who they serve when they are bloggers, and if there are degrees of separation at play between readers, influencers, and decision-makers. I’ll use myself as an example: I consider myself a business blogger, however up to now, those who will read and comment for me are largely not those who are my paying customers. That said, I am fully aware of how my sites are portals with different entry points and their own customer paths.
Website appearances today disguise a vast array of different user platforms, and so you can have just about whatever you want on your landing page, but in my opinion the ease of navigation trumps everything – you might recall me ranting before about how hard it can be to find a home page link once you get deeper into WordPress templates. Also, dot com still has much more cache than dot com/blog. I guess what I am saying is that I am adding something in between your two points this way:
1. Develop a relationship
2. Make it very easy for a potential customer to learn more about you and interact with you
3. Start buying
Rosa Says last blog post..When Made to Stick Will
Hi Rosa, Thank you for your thoughtful comment, and for steering readers this way. No question that site navigation is a make or break element of any part of a firm’s web presence. In my website content evaluations, navigation generally winds up getting almost as much attention as the content itself, indicating that achieving excellence in site navigation is no easy matter. I’d love to see an example of a WordPress template with a hard to find Home link – I’m surprised to hear that.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..The Contact Page – How to Write a Website, Chapter 4
I’ve been reading your post and found it interesting! I’ve read almost all your blog posts. I even run a blog on Real Estate and John Beck’s program. Thanks for the post.
Hi! I was looking around for some thing like that on the net for my college studies. I’m also a part of Jeff Paul’s program. His system has helped my friend even when he purchased the system.
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