Staying connected with customers when your place of business is closed
The Coronavirus has changed how we live our lives in ways too numerous to mention – both personally and professionally. If your place of business is closed due to local COVID-19 regulations – and you were selling online before the crisis – hopefully it’s helping mitigate some of the revenue loss. If digital marketing and selling are new to you, let’s look at how you can stay connected to your customer base during this crisis.
Before we get into the nuts and bolts of content marketing, ensure that your Crisis Communication Plan is up and running and that you’ve adapted your digital marketing strategy accordingly.
Blogging (a.k.a. digital storytelling) connects you to both customers & Google
At its core, a business blog revolves around a product or service, store or brand. The type of content can be tightly focused (think product how-to) or thread loosely (more inspirational) around the subject matter but every post should be related in some way. For example, on the Restonic SleepBlog, our focus is the broader topic of the art and science of a good night’s sleep. We write about everything from healthy breakfast recipes to myths wrecking your sleep to how often you should replace your mattress, offering tips and insights and sometimes just simple entertainment. Each post offers something valuable to potential consumers and to Google.
When it comes to online writing, it’s important to remember that you have two masters – and both are equally important to help deliver on your goals.
- Blog posts built on a strong keyword and linking strategy (think SEO), will help Google see your site as relevant to consumers, which then drives additional local traffic to your website instead of a competitor’s.
- Blog posts that are DIY, information or inspiration based will offer your customers alternative ways to see your products or how they can be used.
Writing good content is the core principle of content marketing and that can be a tough challenge to overcome for small business. If you’re considering a content agency or sourcing a freelancer, take time to find the right fit. Cheap writing will cost you more in the long run. If blog posts need a major overhaul before publishing, it will slow your ability to publish regularly. And if you publish poorly written or weak content, your customers won’t appreciate it – and neither will Google.
If sourcing a writer is outside of your budget, look to your business’ vendors for support. The brands you carry on your floor and website should have content available for your use. At Restonic, we supply retailers with a steady stream of fully written blog posts, social media images and memes and tools to help organize it all. Full disclosure, I’m the vice president of brand and digital marketing at Restonic, so I have the inside track.
Blog post basics
Once your content is written, take time to ensure it has all the basic building blocks so that it will fulfill your SEO goals as well as serve as your digital consumer outreach plans.
- Headline or title with strong, direct keywords that summarize the post.
- Subtitle with alternate, imaginative keywords, to create interest to read further.
- Body copy. The actual blog post. Remember that web readers like to skim, so break up paragraph blocks with shorter sentences, bullet point lists and pictures. And always finish your post with an invitation to leave a comment, learn more about your company and/or connect with you on your social networks.
- Anchor Text. This is clickable text within your body copy that’s hyperlinked to another page on your site or another site. Try to match the anchor text on your post with the title tag of the page you’re linking to. Remember your keywords? Here’s where they do the heavy SEO lifting for you.
- Images, memes & gifs. A blog without additional graphics is boring and won’t deliver on your expectations. Pepper your post with images of your products, services or store relative to your topic. Find a free or inexpensive image service to help you fill in the gaps. Think about what you like to see when reading on the web and let that be your guide.
Blog post publishing checklist
The writing and editing are complete and you’ve ensured that you have the core SEO basics in place. Before publishing your blog post, take time to critically review the content one last time and make final edits as needed.
- Is your post about one, finely tuned idea? Do you have at least 5 keywords in mind that are associated with this idea?
- Does your title (H1) contain at least one of your keywords?
- Do you have an appealing subtitle (H2)?
- Do your keywords appear within your body copy?
- Do variations of your keyword appear within your body copy?
- On the back end of your post, does it have a meta description? Think of your meta description as your thesis statement in 160 characters or less.
- Do you have links within your post where readers can go to for more information? Are those links anchored in keywords?
- Is your body copy at least 350 words?
Creating good content for a business blog isn’t for the feint of heart and it can take time to perfect the process. But a blog can be a smart way to begin a digital consumer outreach program – and a sustainable path as you grow your digital footprint. Even when your place of business is closed.
As we weather the next few weeks and months of this crisis together, I’ll be writing about the importance of a content calendar, fine-tuning your social media voice and much, much more. If you’re struggling with your digital strategy, I’d love to hear your questions and how I can help. Drop a comment below or shoot me an email and let’s start talking.
In the meantime, these posts might help you begin your content marketing journey:
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