Page 159 - Social Media Marketing

Blogging Your Way to Credibility 143

the community with accurate and reliable information and insights,
you gain their trust. Customers are more likely to purchase from
someone they trust or who demonstrates that they know what
they're talking about.

As you build your own online presence via your blog, try to
identify the top 10 blogs in your industry, and then visit those blogs
and post comments. On many blogs, you are allowed and even
encouraged to link back to your blog, which gives you one more
way raise your blog's profile.

Remember, more and more people are researching online before
they make a purchase decision. By building a strong presence on
the Web via your blog, you have a golden opportunity to convince
prospective clients that you're the person they should buy from.

o Test drive a blog for free at Blogger.com, 360.yahoo.com, or

w o rd p r e s s .com.

o Register your own, unique domain name to give your blog

an identifiable home on the Internet.

o Choose a blogging platform that provides you with the

flexibility and customization options you need now and for
the future.

o Do not advertise on your blog. Provide valuable information

and insights to keep people coming back for more.

o Post fresh content to your blog at least twice a week.
o Increase your blog's profile on the Web by encouraging

popular related web sites and blogs to link to your blog.

o Register your blog with the top 10 or 15 blog search indexes.
o Contribute content to other people's blogs to establish

yourself in the blogging community.