In Part 4, we considered ways that mediators can market successfully simply by tapping into what you already know how to do well—create dialogue—to engage your potential market. If you want to create dialogue with prospective clients, then you need places for that dialogue to begin. Some of them may well be physical locations near you. Some, in today’s wired world, must now be online. Blogs are a terrific tool for the job…here’s how they (and you) do it:
Blogs help people find you. Because search engines love blogs, people seeking information or support on a topic that you write about have a better chance of finding you (again, if you’ve focused your market and niche sufficiently) when you use blogging software. And with the growth in “local search, ” the use of a search engine to find services or businesses near you—even when the phone book’s in the next room—having an findable web presence matters more than ever.
For dialogue to happen, people need to stick around long enough for the conversation to take root. Blogging brings people back to your site when you focus your writing sufficiently enough on their interests. They come back because the technology built into blogging software and related email notification services make it easy for them to know what’s new without having to remember to visit and without you having to go to any additional effort to notify them. When you post to a blog, the blog helps do the notifying for you.
Blogging showcases your personality, your knowledge and your relevance. When you write for any length of time on a subject, you convey staying power, commitment to your work, expertise and experience. Because blogs make it easy for visitors to see the depth of your knowledge, by showcasing your articles in simple lists and archives that are already built into the software, your well-done blog whispers, “Hey, stick around for a bit; this person’s got some credibility. ” You could do this with a static website, though usually with a lot more effort to make it work as well as blog will do it.
Blogs convey approachability. Because the writing in blogs is usually more informal than other forms of professional writing (such as journals), the well-crafted blog reaches out and touches the reader. Because blog posts tend to be brief, blogs make it convenient to consume and digest information in bite-sized chunks. Picture being at a soiree and walking up to a person who speaks for minutes on end without pausing or inviting you into the conversation. Do you want to spend more time with that person or the one who shares a thought or two on a subject, then invites your thoughts? This is also possible with a static site, but will typically require more effort to pull off.
Blogs help start conversations. As I mentioned before, skilled inquiry and careful listening are hallmarks of effective dialogue. Blogs create an online opportunity not just for clients to “listen” to you, but more importantly, for you to engage your client. Blogs do this through the built-in comments feature that’s part of blogging software and through other mechanisms now common on any good website—contact forms, short surveys and reader polls, ask-a-question forms, even mini-discussion forums.
Blogs help build a referral network. I regularly refer past, current and prospective clients to other credible blogs with information relevant to their needs and interests. Other bloggers do the same for me. The blogosphere is a generally hospitable place where the old, fixed-pie, self-protective “don’t let them leave your site once you’ve got them there” paradigm is giving way to the new, expanded-pie, generous “show them where else they can find useful information and they’ll remember you with gratitude. ” Most business bloggers recognize and benefit from this referral network and regularly take part. Blogging software makes this easy to do with built-in features such as “blogrolls” (lists of blogs you read and recommend), and “pingbacks” and “trackbacks” (a form of automatic notification to another blog when you link to it).
Copyright 2006 by Tammy Lenski. All rights reserved.
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