6 Small Business Content Ideas for Blogging

It goes without saying that a blog needs to consist of great content or else it isn’t achieving its purpose.

When you are running a small business, time is often an issue and keeping up with the new wave of Social Media Marketing can, at times, become difficult.

A blog is an essential part of your marketing tool kit and you should be looking to post fresh new content 3-5 times a week, especially when your blog is a fledgling. However, coming up with ideas on what to write can be frustrating.

Below you will find some tried, tested and proven blog post ideas that can be adapted for use on your own blog.

Lists

This is a proven winner as many people looking through blog posts automatically home in on a list of hints, tips or ‘how to’s’. It makes it easier to scan through and find what they are looking for. It also gives you, the author and business owner, a chance to show off your knowledge and that you are an authority on your subject.

This method will cover any topic of blog from ecommerce business to  service based businesses. And as you can see from the idea below, you can drill down into this further to create individual posts from this initial concept.

The ‘How To’ or ‘Tutorial

Following on from the list idea above, you can take your list and create a more in-depth post on each item. So for example, let’s assume I have created a list of the Top 5 Plugins for Your WordPress Blog. This list will consist of 5 plugins and a little info on each one, plus a link to be able to download them from the developer.

If I am now stuck for ideas on what to write about, I can take that original post and create 5 more posts that focus more in-depth on each plugin, maybe even include a video tutorial on how to install it, use it and get the most from it. This video can be uploaded to video sharing sites like YouTube so that more traffic can be driven back to my blog.

Advice

Although this still loosely falls into what I have discussed above, I feel its worth singling it out a bit more. Writing a strong blog post that is both interesting and helpful to your readers is a sure-fire way of encouraging them to return and become faithful readers/customers in the future.

If you can save your reader time and give them some actionable advice then create blog posts from this. Whether its some free legal advice, a recipe shortcut or an insider tip on training a puppy – it’s all good advice for your particular niche.

Not everyone who reads your post will become your customer but blogging is about creating awareness of your brand and your expertise within your field and it will increase your authority and sales will naturally follow as time goes on.

The Sneak Peek

Social Media is all about keeping it real, so why not let your customers have a glimpse into what goes on behind the scenes of your business.

Maybe you could walk them through a typical day, show them what happens during part of the sales process, talk about new systems you’re considering using or products/services you’re thinking of introducing and ask for feedback. It’s a great way to let your reader know how much you value their input because without them, there would be no business.

Again, you can adapt this for most small businesses; for example, if you make jam and sell various jams and conserves, your customer might be interested to know where you source your produce from. Maybe you could take a hand-held camera with you when you next shop to show your customer that you are using the very best ingredients.

Or maybe you recruit people for party plan, again – consider filming one of your monthly meetings with your managers to give potential new employees the chance to see what goes on behind the scenes if they join your business.

There are so many ways that you can adapt this for your blog and it’s a great way to let your customers know that you are human behind the company logo.

Interviews – Human Interaction

People love to watch people so combining what we have discussed above, you could perhaps interview some of your employees. If you are a one woman business, then interview people within your industry or ask people who’ve purchased from you to give a video testimonial. It’s a great way to keep that social interaction going and again to let your readers know that you are not a faceless company.

Even just talking to the camera yourself can be great way of interacting with your readers and drawing more traffic and attention. If you don’t like the camera then consider a podcast or record and interview using free software like Skype.

The Competition or Giveaway

This is a really good way to drum up interest in your business or product. If you offer a good prize and give people plenty of opportunity to spread the word, then you can create a buzz and gain a lot of new readers.

Make is easy for your readers to spread the word by having Twitter buttons for them to Tweet about your competition and include a Facebook button too.

Finally

Read plenty of other blogs for inspiration. Don’t ever copy or plagiarize someone elses work, but there is plenty of fuel for inspiration by reading what others are doing and keeping up with current trends.

What do you do to keep your blogs fresh with new content? Let us know in the comments below.

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