How To Create An International Business Blog
Are blogs a good idea for businesses? And what about blogging to reach international markets? Before you can answer these questions you have to understand the world your clients live in.
A Content Marketing World
Today we are all multichannel users.
How many times do you Google the products and services you see in a brochure before running into a store to buy them? When you are online and come across an interesting article on a subject of interest to you, what do you do? Of course, you will stop to read it. Now what happens if someone you trust recommends something? You will believe your friend, right?
It is fair to assume that your clients do the same thing. And probably some of your international clients.
Standing from inside a business, any presence online is about content marketing. No matter where you live and where your clients live it is still about content marketing.
Do you need to be online? Most business can benefit from an online presence, even the ones that do not think so. There are a few more criteria to look at when reaching out to international readers. But let’s leave that question for another day and continue the road to blogging for sales conversion.
Presence today is no longer a static website. You need more than an online presences, you need content marketing.
Content To Stimulate Different Response From Your Reader
Let’s look at these two ways to use content marketing:
- Push your information onto people
- Pull people to come to you
Both of these actions can be useful to a business. You use each one of these tactics for a different purpose.
First, let’s look at the pushing. An example of this is the content in a newsletter. When you push information onto your prospects and clients, your aim is usually to keep yourself on top of their minds.
Pulling is different. This is when you create content to attract people to come to you. Ideally you create content regularly and write it so that your readers want to come back to you regularly. Your content is enticing so people want to come back for more. It is content with personality that people can relate to. It is the opposite of a long, boring technical manual. It is easy, fun and enjoyable to read. The best example here is a blog because:
- Blogs are written by people
- Blogs have personality
- Blogs are updated regularly and can incite readers to come back regularly to see what’s new
Content For Different Business Purposes
It is only natural that if one type of content stimulates your readers differently, then you also use different content for different business purposes. The two main uses for content are:
- Lead Generation
- Sales Conversion
White papers are known to be great lead generation tools. Blogs are great communication platforms to get people interesting in buying.
- Blogs = Sales Conversion Platforms
Of course, this sales conversion can only take place within a good business strategy. You cannot simply start blogging and expect to increase your sales. The blog is just a communication platform, your business success depends on how you use it.
Let’s look at the key reason why blogs are such a good sales conversion tool…
Relationships Make Sales
Due to the very nature of a blog, readers feel a connection to a blog much more easily than through a company website or an advertisement. This is because blogs are a social media. Blogs create dialog. When you think about it, blogs are all about relationships.
Another advantage to blogs is they can help you increase traffic. You usually update a blog more than a website adding to search engine fodder. And readers come back to look for more interesting content which further increases your online visibility. More visibility increases the number of relationships you create.
But the best benefit for businesses with a blog is that a blog can help you establish authority, credibility and trust. And this is how you can use blogs to make sales.
Your blog communication helps you to convert prospects into loyal customers. The relationship building element of blogging makes blogs a good platform to do some of key business objectives:
- Sales conversion
- Cultivate loyalty
Blogging Within An International Business Strategy
Do you want to know how can blogging help you open new foreign markets? Stay tuned tomorrow.
Remember, blogging is a form of social media. All good blogs have a solid social media marketing strategy. The Social Media Success Summit 2009 is starting in a few hours. If you are also attending, please hook up with me on Twitter. Let’s enjoy the full social media experience of the summit.
What about you?
- How are you using your blog to engage with your international clients?
- What challenges do you face when using your blog to reach international markets?
- What successes have you had in connecting with international clients through your blog?
Please share your comments below.
More on How To Create An International Business Blog:
- 3 Different Communication Challenges Of An International Blog
- My International Blog Promotion Secret
- Investment In An International Business Blog
- Business Blogs To Get International Clients
- Business Blogs To Open Foreign Markets
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- International Web Marketing
- Connect With Your International Markets
- International Market Research
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