NEW MEDIA MATTERS: Create effective online content for your business
Operating a successful small business is not for the timid. To effectively market your company, market your abilities as a professional within your chosen field, be it beekeeping, baking or candlestick-making. Your credibility and business success directly align with the degree of confidence you communicate on your company's website, business blog and social media posts.
Believable and relatable content and a self-assured tone on these online platforms are crucial in positioning your business above its competitors and will make your company a stand-out among other even larger operations. Keep these tips in mind:
Eschew modesty. Communicate who you are as a business owner (or partner or group) and clearly state why using your product or services is a good idea. For example, you are marketing County Fair Premium Honey straight from your family farm. Introduce yourself as the business owner more than once and in several ways. Think of yourself as royalty in the world of bees. Your family farm is your kingdom.
Use personal photos frequently in your posts and tout things like your many years of experience with bees, a hard-earned master's degree in product quality management, the historical significance of your family farm, or your deeply held environmental consciousness associated with saving the noble honeybee. Post about any outstanding qualities or measurable achievements your company has, such as awards or certification that will set you and your company apart from competitors. Be honest about these, of course.
Don't guard company secrets. Share them. Gain customers for a lifetime by positioning yourself as an honest, knowledgeable and open-minded business owner. If you know a better way to keep bees producing great quantities of quality honey, share it in online.
Openly sharing insider information is often the hardest concept to embrace as a business owner, but doing this will position you and those in your company as learned experts in your field. It is always worth the perceived risk of disclosing information to competitors. Why? To your online audience, you want to be recognized as the credible go-to expert in your field with the courage and confidence to share insider knowledge. You know about bees and beekeeping, so tell others what you know and -- law of the universe -- it will usually work on your behalf.
Share the backstory of your business to better relate to others. One good way to do this is to post actual photos, for example, of your product and its packaging, the bees and their cheerful hive-homes, the bottling process, the family farm kitchen, a large farm-to-table dinner event outdoors and similar images that communicate warmth and the sharing concept. Remember, people do business with other people, not with brick-and-mortar buildings.
Paige Henson is a local writer and a new media consultant for businesses and nonprofits. Her email address is paigechenson@gmail.com.
This story was originally published March 8, 2016 at 3:22 PM with the headline "NEW MEDIA MATTERS: Create effective online content for your business ."