Alternatives to Blogging
Sep 10, 2012
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Blogging has continually been seen as the best way to create content for a fledgling small business. If reaching a larger audience and spreading your company's message is of value to you, then blogging is usually the go-to method for conveying your ideas. With it's simple, lightweight form, and low cost of entry, it is remains a fantastic way to connect with customers, audiences and clients. Blogging is one of the best ways to understand a company's brand and philosophy.
But is it the only way for a company to get a message out? And is it always the right fit for a business?
Writing about your business is all well and good but audiences come in all shapes and sizes, with varying attention spans. The following is a list of alternatives to blogging, but you might also consider them as additions to a robust content and marketing strategy.
Twitter is one of the simplest and therefore one of the most transformative experiences available for customers and small businesses. The ability to reach and engage an audience of willful participants means that anyone interested in speaking directly with customers should have a twitter account.
Twitter and other micro-blogging platforms create the opportunity to create value for customers by reducing barriers of communication with small (and large businesses). With a Twitter account you can update users about changes in your business as well as use it as a way to solve customer service issues.
It's also an amazing way to see how your business is fairing in the public eye. A simple search for your business or brands name will let you know how people are reacting to your business. This kind of data can prove incredibly valuable when establishing metrics of success based customer satisfaction.
Linkblogs
Services like Tumblr and Pinterest have huge audiences that are always thirsting for more content. This type of audience member is usually more likely to be interested in design, fashion, or niche topics. If you feel that your business fits into one of these molds than it would prove advantageous to create an account and share content with your audience.
The ability to monitize this content is difficult, but if strengthening a brand is a high level goal for your small business it's worth considering. A high follower account may lead to customer engagement in a different way.
Podcasts
Content creators who feel a great degree of confidence speaking about their product or business may consider producing podcasts, as they've proven to be an excellent opportunity to answer asked questions or create an ongoing dialogue about a business or industry.
Developing a content strategy when thinking about a podcast is crucial. The audience, it's size and the topics of interest should be taken under consideration before blindly attempting a podcast.
That said, podcasts tend to develop strong and loyal followings that can lead to strong brand engagement and crossover audiences. Fans of a podcast are more likely to visit a blog or online forum. This type of loyalty is hard earned but well worth the effort, as it can lead to affiliate sales, as well as advertising as a revenue stream.
Video
By far the most flexible medium and fastest growing form of online communication is video production. An entire generation is exists that simply expects video. As a promotional tool there is nothing like it, and few things can compare with it.
Video grants small businesses access to the relatively the same tools, gloss and wonderment that large business have used for years. Producing video for a small business requires some thought and foresight into audience and certainly requires a steadfast adherence to a brand's style guide; but done correctly the opportunities for growth are enormous.
There are certainly a great deal of options and blogging alternatives available for small business.
Access to audiences and customers is getting simpler and easier constantly, and those with a firm grip on social media and content creation tools are most likely to benefit.
So, go out and develop a strong relationship with your customers!
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