The #1 way to build trust in social media is to blog, according to eMarketer. This is a personal story that substantiates this statistic, although it does not begin that way.
I started blogging because, like any blogger, I believed I had something to say. So, at the start, I wrote and wrote. Then, I lived through the very humbling experience of seeing something I put my heart into attracted no one. No visitors or readers, or at least very few.
Then, a thought occurred. Maybe, instead of writing, I should be reading. Maybe instead of talking. I should be listening.
So I read others’ blogs. Lots of them. I found blogs that inspired me. There were great blog writers who put out great content about topics I covered – business strategy, branding, social media, community and ROI. I felt connected to them. I admired what they were doing. There were great bloggers who wrote on many topics.
So I said reached out and gave thanks. I did this in the form of comments on others’ blogs. I thanked them for their influence directly in my blog, also through retweets, likes, etc.
Then, something happened. We got to know each other through our blogs. We learned from one another. There was a willingness to help. We recommended one another to others looking for the type of content we were putting out. While it didn’t happen overnight, readership grew. It grew a lot. Although it’s a back-of-the-envelope calculation, blogs played an important role in over 50% of business that came my way this year.
People like to do business with people they know. Blogs help establish familiarity and trust. Here are some of the ways it helped me build business and could help you.
- People get the chance to know you for the right reasons
- There are connections not possible with an e-mail or call
- When you meet, you feel like you already know each other
- Referrals come through blogging
- Business comes directly from blogs
- There is a network of people to turn to and who turn to you
- The community comes from all other the world
- It speeds up the business cycle. For example, an MBA faculty position at Rutgers University teaching a course, Measuring and Tracking Social Media ROI, came directly from a post, 34 Case Studies that Prove Social Media ROI, 4 blogs down; published within the last month
- You stand for something before you have to say something
This is my story but there are hard numbers to support this happens for anyone who is willing to put in the effort. Consider these statistics.
- 95% report blogs elevate search ranking
- 55% drive more visitors to their website through a blog
- 45% realize revenue from their blog
- 36% of companies say their image increases when they add a blog to their website
Source: comScore, eMarketer, Neilsen
Anything stopping you?
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Ted Vinzani, rob petersen. rob petersen said: How I made money from my blog (and trust worth more) http://goo.gl/fb/l0wU0 […]
Ted, thanks very much for the Pingback. I really appreciate it. Rob
You know what, Rob — thank you! Thanks for telling your story as it has inspired me on a personal level (hoping to get some of that, too), and also thanks for putting up the kind of content that makes my life as a social/business analyst and content strategist easier. Your work is appreciated by both the big and small.
Timi, Thanks so much for this comment. Very nice of you to send it. I really like the content your putting up of your blog. It great to be globally connected and please stay in touch. All the best. Rob
Rob you are on target and it is exactly what some of us were saying last night. When you use clarity and goals with a strategy you will find results forth coming.
Funny how we want things to come to us instantaniously (no promises on spelling) they do not many times. Does this mean we are missing our target or off track maybe maybe not. Maybe we just need to continue honing our skill.
Love your connections made with stats and experience.
Thanks Michele. Appreciate your input. Like we were saying, a strategy is where you want to go but it’s how you apply the learning from the wins and losses that determines how and when you’ll get there. On a separate (well, related) note, you’ve been a great source of wisdom and encouragement and I value your friendship. All the best. Rob
Awesome post! You have a great blog, absolutely the finest Ive read so far. I will be looking forward to your next entry. Thanks again.
This is the one of the superior blogs that I ever read. The amount of information in here is very impressive. This sort of article shouldn’t be simple to find. Nice job.
An often ignored medium for distributing content articles is to place them in Rss or atom feeds. This one method on it’s own can bring you a lot of referral traffic to your articles on a daily basis.
Thanks Roberto. I agree boggers should take advertage of RSS feed for all the reasons you say. RSS feeds also help keep blog relevant by topic, not just recency. Thanks for the commment. Rob
Surprised to find out that there are still a few who think otherwise. For that, in the majority of cases people are coasting along hoping for the best but with no thought of ever making a stand.