Marketing principles tell us we’re supposed to have a blog and social media pages to enhance our business. These principles are indeed true. But, a difficulty for all of us is determining what the heck we’re supposed to blog or post on. Let’s all take a deep breath because life is about to become much simpler.
The Basic Rule
We must first make a distinction between a company’s website and social media pages. Know…don’t argue with me…just know…that website content will differ from posts we attach to social media sites like Facebook or LinkedIn. This is a marketing given.
Now get ready for the basic rule when dealing with website content and social media content:
- A website is for selling. Social Media is for telling.
A website should sell a business, including what that business can do, provide, and deliver. Social media sites, however, simply tell. They describe: past and current clients, fun and informative information about an industry, office developments, newly gained knowledge, company news, etc.
Knowing the difference between selling and telling is crucial. The telling part communicates to a customer all the fun, informative and interesting news about a business. Hopefully, these “telling” posts will bring a reader back to a business’ website. If so, here is where the sales pitch comes in. A website’s content should seal the deal and explain how a business can make a customer’s life better.
Exceptions to the Rule
The above rule is not concrete in nature. Every blog post does not have to translate into a full-on sales pitch. However, in these circumstances, a call to action should be included as a quasi-sales attempt.
For example, I provide freelance writing services. Let’s say Congress decides to implement a change in a grammatical rule – no more periods at the end of sentences. This is big news and worthy of a blog post. I want to communicate to existing clients and potentially new ones important grammatical changes that will impact their business.
A blog on this topic is “telling” in nature. But, after explaining the new rule, I still want to include a quick promotional element within the blog. This is done via a quick call to action at the conclusion of the post. The call to action should quickly summarize what you’re “telling” your audience and then explain why your audience should contact you for more information or assistance.
What’s Today’s Topic?
You’re always going to need a topic to blog or post about. Sometimes it’s easy to find one. However, good topics are often a bear to discover.
If you’re having difficulties finding a subject matter to write on, try answering these questions:
- What do I care about?
- What’s relevant to my clients (both existing and potential)?
- What’s relevant to my business?
Answers to these questions will likely generate several topics. The great thing about these questions too is that answers will always change depending on your company’s position and outside forces (e.g., market trends, new technology, changes in customer demands, etc.). Changes in answers is a great thing as such changes will unveil new ideas to write on.
Get Ready for It…
Now, I’ve just told you a bunch of information. I haven’t technically sold anything yet. So…here’s that call to action I’ve been talking about.
As a Seattle based freelance writer with almost a decade of experience, I’ve written hundreds of blogs and social media posts. I understand the difficulty in trying to manage posts among a blog and various social media outlets. Post ideas are often hard to generate and organization can get out of hand.
That’s why I’m here. Please contact me today if you have any questions on what to post or blog about. Further, please know that I can easily create blog and social media posts for your business and manage blogs and social media channels. Just contact me now and let me help.
Dustin Reichard Freelance * (206) 451-4660 * dustin@dustinreichard.com
