For those who have ventured into creating blog articles you might be thinking “what do I do with it now?” It is published on my website, but I want others to see it. Of course you do.

Once you have created your article it will sit permanently on your website for visitors to see and read. But you want your blog to have a wider reach than just your website visitors.

So how can you achieve this? Here’s a useful list of where you can manually share your blog article to expand it’s reach. Some may apply to you, all may apply. Try to space out your activity. Don’t tick off the list all in one go, leave a day or 2 between each activity.

Wherever you share it – add some insight with your link. Don’t just say here’s a latest article. Add what it means for the reader – share a compelling line from the article and leave the reader wanting to click on read more.

• Add link to your email signature.

• If you are sending out regular newsletters a prize blog article has a place on your newsletter.

• Share it to your Facebook page. Don’t forget that just because you have posted it once, doesn’t mean you cannot post it again. Dependent on the relevancy it might be useful to post monthly, or quarterly. Each time use a different image and a different perspective. Facebook users won’t necessarily scroll through continuously in June to read a blog post that you posted in January. So if it is relevant for continuous use, do so.

• Share across your other social media networks – LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram. Some articles may have a place in your bios.

• Add to your Google My Business space. There is an area in your profile space to add image and some words. Unfortunately with Google My Business character space is limited so you can only use the first couple of paragraphs and add the link back to your article.

• Share into Facebook groups that you are party to, particularly where there are opportunities that allow you to regularly place your blog creations.

• Do you have a trusted circle of business owners who would be happy to share your content on their page or through their social platforms?

Tip: sometimes your blog link can look long and bulky and doesn’t look particularly pleasing to the eye of a reader. I use something call bitly. Bitly is a URL shortener and takes your 30something blog link and shrinks it to a smaller one or you can create your own custom link with them. Each time I use bitly I can then copy and share a custom link across my various platforms and track clicks.

Continue to enjoy your blogging journey and feel free to share any other tips that you have found to be useful in increasing your blog reach. If you have any questions, let me know.

You might also like to read Why You Should Be Business Blogging in 2020

Yours socially
Micala 

Every year something new comes along on the social media scene that keeps us distracted, think TikTok! And while many flock to see what all the fuss is about and set up accounts the tried and tested methods of increasing your business awareness often get sidelined in favour of newer methods.

Blogging is one of those old firm favourites. As with all forms of digital marketing it is subject to trends and changes and blogging is no exception.

There are many benefits to blogging for your business. Particularly if you have a website and can incorporate a blog page on your website. A website is a business owners key asset, remember that social media sites are rented spaces, you don't own them, someone else does. But your website is your asset and you have control over what goes into it.

First what is blogging? Blogging is taking ideas, insights, discussion, discoveries and facts and putting them into written form [some good quality visuals always help support] and then this content is published onto your blog space on your website and remains there for future visitors to see. Just because it sits on your website doesn't mean it ends there. There are many ways to increase the reach of your content through the use of social media platforms and email marketing.

Why blog? As a business owner you know what goes on in your business. You know what your customers want. You have helped solve problems for them. You know what goes on in your industry. When you create content that shows how you have solved a problem or create content updating readers on new industry standards, your readers are learning more about you, your business and YOUR expertise. This in turn helps build trust between you and a potential client. Readers want to be educated in a non salesy way. Plus it allows them to interact with your business when they ask questions or offer comment.

You need to create regular, thoughtful, good quality content. So time is required of the business owner to think and plan for content throughout the year. [Suggestion: create a content calendar for 2020]. The internet is full of content, it's about how well you write, what you are going to say that keeps your readers attention span and engage. A well ranked website with a regularly updated blog is great for search engines. And yes, even SEO – search engine optimisation has undergone some changes that clearly benefit sites that have great content. And once you start to create ideas and a plan of what you are going to write about for your website, you can then start to to reformat it for your social media platforms.  

Do you blog?  Do you blog regularly enough? Will you be doing more in 2020?
What blogging tip would you share to readers?

Yours socially
Micala

They are the beating part of our business, without them, our businesses would be nothing. Especially if they are repeat customers or do their bit and share your details among their own personal and professional networks.

Next month it's Valentines Day, I cannot forget it, it's my wedding anniversary. But let's not leave love and appreciation solely to our better halves. Customers deserve a bit too! And not just at Valentines either. Customer appreciation can be a regular component of your business. Ideal for building loyalty. You could create your own customer appreciation month or schedule specific weeks throughout the year.

Our customers are out stories. Everyone is different. They may even be business owners themselves. So there are plenty of cool and creative ways to show appreciation through your business.

• A simple personalised thank you card or gift
• Create special offers for them/ discount coupons / freebies [could you collaborate with other businesses to create a unique gift hamper or a selection of other discounted offers from your professional circle
• Offer to pay for their postage
• Upgrade them to a new service
• Introduce a loyalty program
• Help them celebrate a milestone
• Are they in business? Promote them in your business, buy from them
• Feature them on your FB page
• Headline them on your FB cover photo
• Highlight them in your newsletter
• Turn them into a case study

This list could easily be expanded. What could you incorporate into your business to go the extra mile for your customers, especially those who have stuck by your business side. How do YOU share appreciation to your customers?

Keeping socially simple
Micala 

There's no doubt about it, blogging is one of the easiest ways to share with the world what you know. Every business has it's own story to tell and every topic has a unique viewpoint from the writer's perspective. And quite frankly, every small business is worth the effort and input and your blog is the perfect platform to share your voice.

Your business benefits from regular updates

• Keeps your website fresh, great for seo and google loves fresh new content.
• Shares with the world what you know about your business. Let's potential customers know how you have helped your current customers and helps build trust.
• You can refer potential customers to your blog.

In a nutshell, once written and available to read, it is there for all to see 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. From there it is easily shareable to your social media platforms. Easy to include a link on your newsletter. All these activities help keep awareness alive and kicking. And while you are doing the work that produces your income, your knowledge is being seen.

The idea is that you write regularly, and quite often small business owners think they have nothing to write about. Please business owner, think again you have plenty to write about.  As with many other marketing awareness driving activities, it requires planning, energy and consistency. Over time you will begin to see results. 

If you are a trade: How did you solve a customers problem? How can words be supported with a visual element? What common themes are repeated? How do you solve them? What's changing in your industry sector? How does this affect you and your customer? What do they need to know?

If you are service: How did you solve a customer problem? What's happening in your industry, how can this be conveyed to potential customers? Customer success stories. Reviews and round ups.

Holiday Accommodation: What's going on in your area? Places to visit, to eat, to enjoy. How did guests enjoy their stay? How do you run your business?

Crafters and makers: What do you make? How is inspiration garnered for your crafts? Share insights into creation and production. Where do you showcase your work. Visuals work extremely well here.

All industries benefit from showing their personal side too. What are you passionate about?  What inspires you?  Are there causes that you are involved with? Why and how do you get involved?

Once you have posted a blog you need to share it. Don't leave it on the website shelf gathering dust... share on your social media platforms and most definitely link back to it on your newsletters! 

I work with small business owners here in France and actively encourage and produce blogs. There is more to the activity of blogging and for small businesses who are looking for guidance in getting started with blogging I am here to help.

Yours socially
Micala 

I see many businesses here in France operate without a key digital asset of their own – a website, and yet are prolific at sharing content on Facebook groups. There are limitations to running a business without a website. While Facebook is free to use and it takes minutes to put a post together and share across a myriad of public and private pages, not everyone is on Facebook and your audiences are limited.

Creating and owning your own website allows the small business owner to include a blog. A blog provides many benefits for you and your website. OK you need to invest time to research and create your content but once it is there it can serve you very well.

A website needs new and fresh content to be added. Without it a site becomes quite staid and static and from a seo [search engine optimisation] point of view not good for your business. Regular blog articles help your website as search engines such as google are constantly searching for fresh new content.

Fresh new content can then be shared across social media platforms, supporting seo effort and exposing your content to interested audiences who will click and link and be taken straight back to your website. Ultimately all avenues need to lead back to your website.

Your small business then needs to share to potential visitors and customers what it is you do, how you do it, why you do it. Sharing your expertise and knowledge demonstrates to potential customers that you are a reliable source of information and knowledge which in turn could lead to potential sales.

There is more to this than creating a site, adding a blog and then churning out words and pictures. From a small business perspective it is worthwhile to own your own digital asset a website and then build from there to expand on the opportunities that are available for increasing awareness of your business beyond just Facebook.  

Keeping it socially simple
Micala 

Some research for a client prompted this blog and having read this article http://workplaceinsight.net/problems-with-noise-at-work-a-lot-of-it-is-in-our-heads/ it got me thinking about how noise impacts our lives. It is interesting how we have become immune to the loudness of life around us, particularly in urban areas. Traffic, transportation, people on their phones, technology, clonking of machinery, busy offices, busy open plan offices all add to an overload of sound. Some of us become accustomed to this and others do not and too much noise can have an impact on our overall well being without realising it.
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Before moving to France I found myself becoming quite noise intolerant. I would literally wince as my brain bandwidth twanged against intrusive noise. Was noise pollution having an effect on me, or am I just a naturally sound sensitive individual? I own up to the fact that I have never enjoyed the sound of a ticking clock which becomes more apparent when trying to sleep, or shutting out the hum of technology. As a tinnitus suffer, neither of these irritants exist in the sleeping quarters.  

I really appreciate the lower levels of noise here in France. I love the sound of silence and Monday to Friday work hours are always conducted in silence. My office at the front of the house overlooks a country lane flanked by woodland and my back garden is also green and flanked by woodland. I live on a busy road which is well travelled during the day. I live between two towns... towns by French standards not by English and 18km connects the two. So yes, lorries, school buses and traffic pass through. There are country sounds, mowers as people cut their large gardens, wood cutting tools, these are appreciated as being part of country life and are not too regular to be intrusive. I have become accustomed to timing the day with sounds of traffic. At 7.40 the school bus will honk a little further along the road for the local children. At 10.30am the tyres of La Poste will crunch on the gravel opposite me everyday to deliver the neighbours post. I recognise the sound of the local farmers tractor and the sound of hubbies van as he approaches the driveway gates each day, as do my 2 jack russell terriers.

The sounds of nature have replaced urban sounds and it is much more pleasant on my sensitive ears. A holiday with hubby to Barcelona last October, the complete opposite of where I live, was testament to how far removed we are from noise pollution and that living in the country is much kinder to our overall well being.

Have you given thought to the sounds around you? What do you notice? Does your work environment impact your well being?

Yours socially
Micala 

As New Year resolutions go, many personal resolutions can fall by the wayside by the time February arrives. When it comes to your business resolutions, stay strong. However good we are there is always something that can be done better.

Never stop learning: There's always something to get to grips with here in France. If 2015 is anything to go by particularly for the micro entrepreneur. Try to keep up to date with information from French sites [google translate if necessary]. Is there something that you need/want to improve in your industry, trade, craft? Be the best that you can be for 2016.

Get more French: Easier said than done for many of us who glean our income from an expat community. Don't settle into a comfort zone. If and when you can, improve your language skills. Ask yourself the question 'could I survive if there were no expats living in France?' A wild question to ask I know, but wise to think of your long term plan in France.

Market your business: Get that website up or refreshed. Get those business cards out there, meet people, network where you can. Connect with current customers, think newsletters and get creative about finding new ones. Marketing is a non stop effort.

Get to know your customer: Without them we have no business. Treat each one as a unique relationship, not just a transaction. Nurture relationships. Listen carefully and deliver above and beyond. What can you do to go that extra mile?

Get to know your businesses: Take time out every 3-4 months to review what's working and what is not. Repeat what is, and stop what is not. Review that plan – what's changing/changed? Understand your financials – know what income is coming in and what your outgoings are. Be aware of any upcoming surprises. And don't forget to recharge those batteries every now and then.

Work smarter not harder: Compared to our French counterparts we work too hard. This year aim to work smarter not harder. Get more organised – create templates for things such as devis/factures. Get time management savvy – plan your day, work that to do list. Keep work tidy and filed and when you get stuck on bureaucracy get help immediately. Working smarter means that you can free up time to do the things you want to do.

Wishing every business owner a hugely successful 2016!  

Yours socially
Micala 

Where has the year gone?  2014 seems to be flying by!  I have a blackbird which I have called Beatrice nesting in close proximity to our back door, nicely lodged in the honeysuckle and grapevine.  She knows that it is a safe place with a good flight path and access to plenty of food for her 3 chicks.  What struck me throughout the whole of June is that the feeding process has been non-stop for her. For nearly 30 days I have witnessed morning, noon and evening the constant toing and froing of food for the ever hungry and growing chicks. I can see them quite clearly from my viewing chair as well as hear them and I really do hope that I am there to witness their first flight.  But going back to Beatrice, what a trooper?  No-one in nature to pat her on her back to say well done for all your hard work, through rain wind and shine.  She has no idea if the 3 baby blackbirds will make it safely once they have flown the nest. 

And June has been pretty constant for me too.  I have looked back on this month and it has just melted away. At the beginning of the month I was in Cahors attending a small conference with a client and sharing social media knowledge, had a birthday, plus grateful that my Nan has reached her 90th birthday, helped some lovely ladies with social media training via Skype, helped an auto-entrepreneur get his business up and running, take on some new clients, hosted some private group marketing sessions with Ladies in Business in France and experienced a huge learning shift with more personal offline matters. July looks set to be just as busy, some new projects on the horizon and a new social media offer to promote.  Things should quieten down in August, as most things do in France, so that I can take advantage of the quiet time to think about my client accounts for Autumn and Winter. 

Some key highlights for me this month: 

Getting to grips with my skype French lessons.  The importance of learning French has far outweighed looking for an excuse to not learn French.  One of my goals for 2014 was to have an action plan in place to learn French.  I was rather impressed in how Celine Mazoyer used a closed group to explore how ladies learned French and then she actively followed up with how she could help.  Having already taken a look at her website beforehand, her approach and follow up helped me in my buying decision.  My lessons are 1 to 1, via Skype and include great learning activities that I can do in my own time and as Celine is French I am getting the benefit of speaking to her in a comfortable environment.  If you are looking to improve your French please do visit Celine's Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/LINGUActiv and  website: http://linguactiv.com/

Another key highlight for this month was seeing one of my UK clients Pink Chillies have a joyous June too. Not only were they promoting their brand for a new range of products in Las Vegas at the Licensing Expo but also the launch of their new look website took place too along with reaching 500 fans.  If you are like me and love elephants, please do check out their Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/PinkChilliesUK and visit their website: http://www.pinkchillies.com/

Since writing this the 3 baby blackbirds have flown the nest are busy finding their wings as they strut across the garden under the watchful eye of mum. Here's to the second half of 2014  and all that is in store.

Yours socially,
Micala 

January has rolled in and taken its grip on 2014 and there are 2 F words that stick in my mind for January so far.... France and Facebook. Both have been bashed, kicked, punched and have generally been fair game in the social media playground.

But I am going to concentrate on Facebook.  There is plenty out there from social media influencers and fanatics about the recent developments that Facebook has implemented when it comes to its latest change in its algorithms which has had a marked affect on how a business page post is seen in front of fans.  There is a huge decrease in visibility. And for many business page owners, particularly those who use Facebook as a main avenue for marketing, this is a huge blow.  From various forums, closed groups and blog posts that I have seen this has whipped up a bit of an anti-Facebook frenzy... with  people citing that Facebook is not playing and that as a free service it should remain free and that small business owners will not pay to promote their business. 

I have included a couple of links that are worth reading and listening to so that you can make your own minds up about Facebook but for what it is worth, it is what it is and business pages owners will have to adjust to the fact that if you want your business in front of a fan or a non business user you will have to pay for it.

• http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/facebook-marketing-declines-with-mari-smith-and-jay-baer/
  
• http://socialmediatoday.com/johnhaydon/2103471/facebook-news-feed-now-gives-text-updates-less-reach

I have been busy with blog articles this month and have shared the links on my Facebook business page.  With the decrease of organic visibility in mind, I decided to invest a few pounds to boost my posts.  The results have been interesting.  For example a £5 spend resulted in this post being seen by over 9000 people.   As a page with relatively small numbers, [of which I am not overly concerned about at this stage of my young and small business] I was particularly interested to see that the visits to my website had substantially increased with Facebook being the dominant driver.

It will be interesting to see where Facebook is going over the next few months, but do expect to pay to promote.  I will continue to boost posts regularly.  You cannot expect to market and promote a small business for free, although there are still plenty of other platforms such as Google+ and Pinterest and many others available.  Some investment has to be made somewhere along the line  and Facebook activity should be part of a wider mix of marketing and promoting activity.

What do you think of the recent Facebook developments?  Have you seen decreased visibility on your business page? Will you boosting some of your posts?

It never ceases to amaze me the power of social media and 'Finding Faith' prompted me to write this brief post.

Finding Faith has fueled the news in the last 24 hours or so to help John Lewis find 5 year old Faith who broke a Christmas bauble in one of their stores.Following on from her actions Faith wrote a letter declaring her honesty and enclosed £2 to cover the cost of the broken bauble.  John Lewis wanted to trace Faith and thank her for her honesty.  Social Media, particularly Twitter has had a field day. This is a tweet from Sky News on Thursday morning.  

Fortunately by Thursday afternoon John Lewis called off their search as Faith's mother made contact with them to let them know that her daughter was responsible for writing the letter.  Read the full article here:  http://bit.ly/ItVsxB

Another example of my faith in social media is that of a Worthing based Beauty & Skin Clinic that wanted to celebrate their 10 year business anniversary in October 2013 by organising a World Record Attempt for over 1156 people to paint their nails simultaneously. Twitter and Facebook support was phenomenal in the lead up to the event, creating such a buzz that word off line, in and around Worthing, was all about the World Record Attempt.  Unfortunately the attempt was not broken but there is appetite for a repeat in 2014.

For faith of a more private kind I refer to LIFT.  As I live in France, the usual channels of face to face networking are not as frequent as they were from my days of Brighton. When I say not as frequent, what I should be saying, is face to face networking is rare!  Fortunately for myself and other ladies across France, LIFT aka Ladies In France Together, provides a huge lifeline across the country. LIFT is a closed group on Facebook and if a question needs an answer, ask LIFT.  With a lot of active members online at any one time the knowledge and experience collectively between the 1800 strong group is amazing.  If Google were to consider LIFT as a search engine it would be 'giggle'. 

LIFT is consulted for a number of things ranging from recipes to renovation, from carte vitale issues to cars from animals to angry birds, from loneliness to laughter.  Lunches are frequently arranged across the country for ladies to meet face to face, cementing many 'cyber' friendships.  The speed at which things get done is incredible in June this year a number of Race for Life walks were arranged within 24 hours; dates were organised, venues sussed out and calendar dates set up on the private group for other ladies to share and attend.   The power of the network is such that you could be living in the south of France in need of a lift to get to the North and you can bet your last euro that the LIFT ladies will get it sorted.

What examples have you seen or been involved with where the power of social media has had played a significant part?