One of the most frustrating yet motivating elements of the content marketing world is that while most large corporations understand the value of publishing regular content, many smaller business owners are yet to ‘get it’. When it comes down to it, most marketers and indeed most businesses are working towards a similar single objective: to grow their business and brand. And content marketing, incorporated into a wider communications strategy, has proven itself to be one of the most simple and effective ways to achieve this and other knock-on benefits.

Part of the misconception around content marketing is the widely held belief that there must be a catch; how can something as simple as communicating with your customers with no third party involvement work? Yet the beauty of content marketing, and blogging for business in particular lies in its simplicity – creating great content which does no overt selling.

Overcoming the hurdles to a gold standard blog…

So why are so many small business owners stalling rather than kicking off with a blogging strategy? Here are five of the most common excuses (ok, let’s call them reasons) that we hear, coupled with very do-able solutions to work around them.

1. “We already do social media”

There can be no doubt that social media is a crucial means of reaching today’s always-on consumer. Yet merely sharing other people’s content and links is neither going to encourage people to make a return visit, nor establish your business as a credible commentator. Think of social media as the means (and remember, social networkers are a fickle bunch who jump from channel to channel) and the content published there as the lifeblood that encourages referred traffic back to your website.

2. “We just don’t have time to blog”

You’re busy running a business. Your priority is on delivering bottom line results and the last thing you need to is to be distracted by adding another element to your marketing strategy.

Remember, creating content does not mean becoming a publishing business overnight churning out high volumes. Position yourself as a creator and curator of content relevant and helpful to your industry, and delegate writing out amongst your team, or even outsource to a specialist agency.

3. “We don’t want to share our secrets”

Many businesses fear that if they share their specialist expertise, people may not need their services anymore or that it might be picked up on by competitors. Yet blogging is less about sharing specific details or business strategy, and more about helping customers and prospects with their common challenges.

4. “What if it all goes wrong?”

One of the greatest concerns about starting a corporate blog is that it makes a small company vulnerable, effectively creating a forum for negativity and complaints from unsatisfied customers. We understand this. Nobody likes being criticised in public. Yet the fact is that the blogosphere and social media have already given consumers the power to express any concerns or complaints. See your company blog as a controlled environment in which potential issues can be raised, and then dealt with quickly before escalating. Often tackling a problem head on can be an effective means of flipping a negative into a positive.

5. “I don’t have any idea what to write about”

Writing doesn’t come naturally to everybody. And we understand that coming up with a constant flow of ideas for blogs can be a challenge. Fear not – there are ways to get around this very common issue. Sign up to RSS feeds relevant to your sector, use Google Alerts and monitor the key national trade press for news and opinion. The beauty of running your own corporate blog is that you can inject your own tone of voice and writing style. If having tried all this, it still isn’t working out, consider hiring a copy editor or writer, ensuring that they are briefed in your corporate voice.

Regardless of the industry you operate in, starting a business blog can help you to grown an engaged audience of potential customers and clients. Whether you resonate with any of the reasons above, or perhaps face a different challenge (in which case please share in the comments below), I hope this post has helped to shift your perceptions.

Photo: Danny Nicholson