A recent post on Seth Godin’s blog discusses manipulation and trust.
I think that two of the most significant uses of blogs for small business are building trust, and acquiring new clients. Using a blog to build trust doesn’t depend on having lots of inbound links (although that would be nice!). Rather you are looking to capture – over time – layers of authentic information about how your business ticks. So when potential clients find you, they get a chance to read about your story in a personal way. People are looking for your story, and a blog gives you the chance to write lots of different stories (using categories/tags to group them), and let potential clients self-select as to what they are interested in.
When I read a good blog, I feel like I know a bit about the person writing it. If its a good business blog, then I feel I know about the company. I feel like I get to understand how they think, and how they operate. Its totally different to just reading a website. These tend to have a third person voice, and its hard for it to be anything other than just an online brochure (no matter how sophisticated).
Over time, a good business blog should become communicate what your company stands for – it tells your story. By authentically representing what you are and what you do, it will help build trust so potential clients can feel more comfortable working with you online.
And if small business blogs help link themselves into their community of interest through honest contributions of content, they may earn links from trusted sources. Trusted links will be a highly valued commodity. And authentic, small business blog marketing will be one of the best ways to go about earning it.
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