photo by mikebaird

If you’re a small business, it’s likely that you have a website. Have you added a blog to that website? Why not? Constantly updating content will bring value to your website. We’ve got some tips for getting started.

Blogging can be like dating. If you do it right, it is greatly beneficial. If you go about it wrong, it can end badly. Some things they both entail:

1)     Commitment – you must dedicate some of your precious time to your blog just as you will dedicate it to your new date.

2)     Creativity – you must be able to frequently think of compelling post topics with quality content just as you must often devise creative plans and pick-up lines to land the date.

3)      Freshness – a constantly updated blog brings great SEO results just as continuously great date ideas result in a happy significant other.

4)     Communication – a blog requires easy communication with customers and potential customers just as dating requires you to communicate in your relationship.

5)     Branding – a blog establishes you as a thought-leader in your industry and creates brand awareness just as you brand yourself as a stud to your date.

Like any relationship, blogging takes time as in commitment. Results won’t happen overnight, but you must be persistent. As long as you are creative, your frequent posts containing compelling content will drive readers to your site thus resulting in traffic to your website.

Communication is a huge part of a blog as it is in dating. The blog opens the door for customers to engage with you and your employees. It also enables your company to create brand recognition so that readers will remember you when they need a product or service that you offer.

Start by creating a strategy. Define your niche – figure out who your target market is and how you can reel them in. Plan your content and keep a backup of post ideas so you never run out of ideas.

Above all, be patient. Just as you won’t be hearing wedding bells soon after the first date, it’s likely that you won’t see unbelievable traffic after one or two posts. It is also important to market your blog posts but we’ll save that for an upcoming post!

What do you think about small businesses blogging? Share your ideas in the comments!

Recently in the Supplies Guys’ Ohio office, there have been a few fun additions:

These items have been added to the office as part of our plan to implement a creative workspace for employees. Either a round of ping-pong or a few shots at the bulls-eye provide a way to blow off steam and encourage stimulation while interacting with coworkers.  The socialization and mental stimulation that these games provide can act as a stress-reliever that increases productivity as a result.

Many large corporations have turned to this belief, such as Google and Zappos, with proof that various games or control over design has positively affected the way in which employees perform.

Has your office transformed into a creative workspace? Share your stories and ideas in the comments!

At the launch of Google Buzz, Sergey Brin, one of Google’s co-founders, highlighted an example of using their new social network within a business. Brin explained that when writing an op-ed for the New York Times, he posted a draft of his article on Google Buzz and invited his network to respond with their own ideas and edits. Shortly after posting, Brin says he received around 50 comments. With the ability to obtain all of that feedback in such a short amount of time, Brin introduces the idea of real-time collaboration in Google Buzz.

Here are some ideas on how businesses can take advantage of Google Buzz:

With the option to post privately to a small group of users, Buzz can be implemented among employees. They can use Buzz to toss ideas around with one another, schedule meetings (or lunch dates) and share informational articles through Google Reader.

Buzz can also be used externally, to reach out to customers, using the public settings. Unlike Twitter, Google Buzz does not limit users to 140 characters, which is an advantage for businesses looking to utilize the social network.

With Buzz, customers can interact with the company, as well as with one another. In this format, customers can address the company with product reviews and concerns. Then other customers can jump in with solutions or discussions, creating a forum-like atmosphere.

Companies can also use Buzz to update customers with current specials, upcoming promotions, product reviews and news updates pertaining to the company or their products.

What other ways do you think companies can utilize Google Buzz for business – have you seen any doing so? Or, do you think it will be too noisy and just not a fan of Google Buzz?

Let us know in the comments!

As the popularity of Facebook skyrockets among individuals, it has also become popular for businesses. “Find us on Facebook” is now found within nearly every website, business card, advertisement and email.

But, by placing that tagline on all of our marketing materials and emails, there’s no telling how many people will actually find us on their own. If you look at various pages, the bigger brands such as Starbucks and Wal-Mart obtain hundreds of thousands of fans just by being who they are. But what about the smaller fish in the Facebook sea?  What can we learn from the Facebook pages of these giants that are reasonably applicable to the smaller business?

Many small businesses may not have the resources or the desires to create their own apps or to hire a sole employee for social media. So, to figure out what we can learn from the big guys on Facebook, let’s start with a list of reasons for a Fan Page.

1)     Engage Fans

2)     Provide Value

3)     Obtain Feedback

4)     Interact with customers

5)     Support a good cause

Engage – get customers to participate within your Facebook page. This is probably the easiest way to get creative on your page as there are many contests and promotions you can hold to encourage participation.

In honor of Valentine’s Day, Dunkin’ Donuts is asking fans to post a “couples’ pic” and many have included how DD impacts their relationship by posting stories on Dunkin’s wall. This promotion is exclusive to their Facebook page and is not listed on their website. The best part of this idea is that the winner is posted as “CupiDD’s pick” and there is no monetary prize – which makes it easy for a small business on a budget to reenact.

Provide Value – offer relevant content that provides your customers with beneficial information with products or services you offer.

Blackberry’s page is doing an amazing job of providing value by creating a forum directly within their Facebook page. If that’s too detailed for your small business, you can mimic Cooking Light magazine’s method of providing content. They regularly post recipes from their website for all fans to see.

Obtain Feedback – give your customers the opportunity to comment on products or services that your company offers.

Ben and Jerry’s offers this option on their Facebook page with an option to write reviews on their ice cream. If you want something a little more daring than reviews, take notes from Forever 21. They showcase pictures of clothing and accessories with a “Like It” or “Dislike It” button next to each. Both of these options provide great opportunities to find what your customers are thinking.

Interact with customers – respond to customers comments on your Facebook page lays out a quick and casual way of communicating.

The wall on Facebook pages and profiles makes it easier than ever to leave a quick message. On many company pages, consumers utilize the wall to complain or compliment the product One company that does a great job of responding quickly to all of the comments left on their wall is Best Buy. They address issues, answer questions, and give thanks all through their Facebook Wall. Your small business can easily replicate this process by assigning a person to monitor messages that come in and responding accordingly.

Support a good cause – ask your fans to participate on your Facebook page in an activity that results in a donation to a charity of your choice.

Both Target and Coca-Cola are using this method on their Facebook pages. Target asks you to send a card to a friend and pick one of five charities to win a portion of $1 million. On Coca-Cola’s fan page, they offer to donate $1 to the Boys and Girls Club of America for every gift a fan sends to their friends.

To do something like this on a smaller scale, you can ask fans to take part in a poll or write a review on a product. For each poll result or review you see, your company will make a donation of X amount to a charity. Be sure to contact your lawyer before doing this promotion, just to be sure there are no rules in your state you need to know about!

So, these are the companies we’ve taken notes on – what companies have you found doing good on Facebook?