Let’s face the facts: some businesses are cool and have plenty to blog about. Think bars/restaurants, specialty retail shops, music promoters and anyone designing anything. Other businesses are perceived as not so cool. Lawyers, manufacturing consultants and auto mechanics are an essential part of the American business landscape — and just like every other small business they need to get their services out in front of potential clients and set themselves apart from their competition, but all too often the business owners assume they have nothing to say. Let us assure you: you are never too boring to blog.
Whenever Panoptic engages with these types of businesses (often to build them a new, mobile responsive website) we always recommend that they avail themselves of our ongoing content marketing services, including “blogging” for their business, for at least a year. While clients are coming to understand that SEO and content marketing are ESSENTIAL elements of every 21st Century marketing plan, they often don’t have the imagination, time or internal resources to leverage their blog.
We don’t mean to be insulting when we say these type of clients (often B2B companies, but not always) lack imagination, but there is a reason that they are lawyers, insurance agents and auto mechanics! Experts in these areas are generally focused narrowly on selling their expertise and when they think of marketing their services, they usually fall back on touting that expertise. They may incorporate some unique sales message in their traditional marketing materials – they offer the lowest prices or the best rates, they have been in business since 1950, etc. – but these types of messages get drowned out by all the noise on the web.
Case in point, our client Apparel Network, a clothing and accessories manufacturing consultant, was looking for a way to introduce their services to potential clients without having to spend bundles of money flying around to various industry events. Their content marketing strategy is paying off, with new, qualified leads coming more and more frequently.
Some clients “get it” right away – an auto mechanic client of our partner agency in Cincinnati, OH may do routine service and maintenance on late model cars, but he also has a passion for restoring classic cars and plans to blog regularly about each new renovation project he takes on. Coupled with a good, locally-focused SEO campaign, his blog should get the right eyes on his website: owners of classic cars and/or other local enthusiasts who can help build is network of potential referral clients.
Providing something educational, inspirational or just plain entertaining is key. Our long time client Andrew Abramowitz, PLLC, knows that not everyone is interested in reading about securities law. He writes weekly on topics that other small law firms and start-up businesses might find useful (for example, whether there is a conflict of interest in trading equity for legal fees, and how Prince’s death should caution folks about neglecting their legal affairs because they don’t trust lawyers) and he does it with humor, often riffing on something he finds relevant in the news.
