Online marketing is every bit as much a necessity for brick-and-mortar businesses like your garage as it is for an online retail store these days. The thing is, it’s something that many of your competitors – even the big ones – haven’t really caught onto or figured out how to use to their advantage yet.
Today, I want to give you some vital information about a key area that most of your competitors neglect: promoting your garage with a blog. If you just read that and laughed, don’t worry. You’re in very good company. Many blue-collar businesses undervalue online content as a means of promoting their businesses.
My goal with this post is to make you stop laughing long enough to see the benefits of using online content to promote your business. I have plenty of articles right here in this blog about the different types of content that can make any business successful, but blogging is one that most busy mechanics or shop owners tend to neglect.
Outsourcing Your Blog
Some of the most common reasons for not blogging revolve around time and talent. No one has the time to keep up with it, and no one on staff has the talent to present good enough copy to be taken seriously. After all, you probably don’t hire employees based on their prowess with a pen.
So, with that, I offer this shameless plug: work with professionals. Automotive copywriting, like any other kind, is best handled by people who possess the right knowledge and understanding of the industry to be able to write with authority, coupled with the aforementioned prowess with the written word.
Now, since I’m not even trying to hide the fact that I’m attempting to sell you on copywriting services, my bigger responsibility is to explain why it’s a good idea. After all, I am suggesting spending more money on advertising and promotion and, really, who actually likes that idea? The truth is, you will likely spend far less promoting a blog than you would buying airtime on radio and TV, and you are likely to reach more people with it. How? Read on…
Why Blog in the First Place?
It’s an inescapable fact that the way people consume content has changed quite a bit over just the past five to ten years. The advent of smartphones has thoroughly revolutionized the way we seek out and acquire information, products, and services of every description. The fact that the average phone book has gone from looking like an encyclopedia to a mass-market paperback novel should give you some semblance of an idea of where advertising is really trending these days. If you’re not searchable, you’re not reachable.
What, pray tell, does that have to do with blogging? I’m glad you asked! What it boils down to is a little thing called search engine optimization or SEO. An optimized website is one that ranks high enough in a Google (or another search platform) query for potential customers to find you ahead of your competitors.
Blogging creates a very fast road to optimization. The more fresh content you offer, the better your site will rank. It isn’t the only route to effective optimization, but it’s a good one on a number of fronts.
• For starters, you can use good blog content to start conversations on social media. Whenever you link to an article on your website, it creates what is called a “backlink” to your site. When people share that link, it creates more backlinks. The more backlinks you generate, the more the search engines start recognizing your site as one worth other users’ attention.
• A good, professional blog also positions you as an industry authority. It helps you show off your range of knowledge and expertise and acts as a sort of résumé that can, and often will, make people decide that yours is the best place to get their auto repair needs met.
• Your blog is also your best storehouse of keywords, and those keywords are the cornerstone of effective SEO. While there are numerous other factors in how well a site will ultimately rank, written content has always been the foundation of any site’s success. The more you offer (with relevant, timely, and organically placed keywords), the better your site’s chances of ranking consistently high.
Making Your Blog Successful
Here is where, I think, the professional edge has a real advantage. Automotive copywriting might be somewhat of a niche market, but the writers who work within that niche typically know their subject well. Some are lifelong enthusiasts. Some are industry workers with a side talent for writing. Some are just really good at researching and writing on anything and can pick up the ball and just run with it.
Regardless of how you decide to vet your writer(s) and what experience and credentials you demand, a professional copywriter will always give your blog an advantage. Professional writers know how to do meaningful keyword research, and they understand how to format your content for maximum engagement.
Again, I have numerous articles already written on those subjects, so I’ll leave it to you to scroll through to learn more. As for the subject at hand, I hope that I’ve given you enough reasons to at least give it a go, whether you decide to work with us or not.
As a success-oriented entrepreneur, I want to encourage you to test the waters and work with a writer or agency you deem to be a good fit. Unlike in other areas of promotion and advertising, you can always switch horses in the middle of this particular race and, in all honesty, you might find it necessary at the beginning.
When you do find the right person or team, your chances of being successful at blogging for your automotive repair business are very high. We at BeezContent welcome the opportunity to show you what we’re capable of producing for you, so don’t hesitate to contact us if you think we can help.
