McIntosh Marketing Blog

Years back, a blog was the new social media outlet where somebody commented about their favorite restaurant. Not anymore. Businesses at all levels are discovering that the company blog can be a highly effective means of  quickly changing and publishing power content, particularly when it is coupled with a search engine friendly web design. While many businesses are working to incorporate blogs into their websites, many more are using WordPress to build their entire website.

Small businesses and many startups are discovering WordPress’ ease of use and capability to empower their SEO strategies. And it’s not just small business entrepreneurs using WordPress to build their sites. Companies like UPS and The Wall Street Journal Magazine are building advanced websites using WordPress that is driving web traffic out the roof.  And for the doubters and skeptics, just take a serious look at WordPress Showcase and tell me if you can see the difference between a website and a blog.

With your web site and blog built within one format, one is now building links to one main site versus links to a web site and then other links to a separate blog.  With WordPress, any small business can now publish original content, company news, product releases, acquisitions, reports on events and seminars, educational tips and about everything imaginable with all website link building to one domain. Your WordPress blog literally becomes your online Gutenberg Press on ginseng.

Many leading best-selling authors, bloggers and SEO experts have determined that blogging was their most succesful action in reaching people, opening doors to Fortune 500 companies, as well as the secret to success in taking their game to a higher level.

McIntosh Marketing has successfully been building hundreds of profitable websites on the WordPress format, due to its incredible capabilities, the access to blogging as well as its SEO friendliness. We cannot stress enough that your company blog and website should be built on a WordPress format.

WordPress 3.0 is now out.

Here are a few of my favorite features:

• WordPress and WordPress MU have merged, allowing the management of multiple sites (called Multisite) from one WordPress installation.
• You can now create custom menu’s so that is REALLY easy to change your menu’s on your site. You can add categories, tags and even posts to your site.
• Changing your header and background is now built into the Admin area.
• When you install WordPress, you can now use your own username and password (thank you, thank you)
• Improved Custom post types and custom taxonomies. This allows me to create a “video” post type with custom fields to post to a video site.

You can download WordPress 3.0 at WordPress.org.

With the changing face of B2B marketing in today’s economy, coupled with new options in social networking web sites, accountants will need to adapt and utilize new internet marketing tools in marketing accountant services that they offer.

The accounting industry has been slow to embrace social networking, but Andrew Leck, who is the head of ACCA UK, views accountants taking a proactive approach in these trouble economic times. In an online article of 17 May 2010, Mr. Leck stated:

“Accounting was not the root cause of the financial crisis, but it has an important role in supporting and advising businesses on how to find a way out of it. The financial crisis – and its aftermath – is not fundamentally a story about one country, or one sector. Instead, it has highlighted the interconnected nature of the world in which we live and do business. Moving forward is about creating the right environment for long-term business success, with appropriate strategies and plans based on sound analysis of opportunities for success, with the clear evaluation and mitigation of risk. And it is also about the contribution made by accountants and finance professionals to business.”

It is our view that this global situation creates a greater need for professional assistance from accountants.  This is a perfect opportunity to redefine the benefits and tools that only an accountant can offer to existing businesses, emerging businesses and opportunistic entrepreneurs. It is these very business professionals that today’s accountant with need to reach, marketing accounting services on the fastest communication line today: social networking web sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Google Buzz and even Foursquare.

Every accountant needs to develop a simple marketing strategy that starts with a simple blog. We strongly suggest that this be done on a WordPress format. From there, setting up your blog to automatically feed your posts into the most common social networking web sites is a huge step to getting your voice heard and exepertise seen in front of the very people who are looking for bookkeeping, tax and accounting solutions.

For those who are just starting out blogging, or want to start, you are not alone in your quest to find your voice, as well as reach out to a growing audience of blog followers.

No other single medium is more challenging and yet rewarding. To blog successfully one must be humble and to understand the rules, written and unwritten, as well as be persistent. There is no other easy way to become successful than to simply commit to the process and be consistent in one’s writing efforts.

WordPress is a free blog service that provides a ton of plugins, not to mention that it is fairly easy to learn and use. There are many videos available, as well as help here at McIntosh Marketing if you want to get your blog and web site designed to a top-notch level. WordPress is also very SEO friendly and has been growing more and more in popularity.

I know what most are thinking right now, “A blog is not a web site.”

Yes it is. In fact, for small businesses and entrepreneurs a blog really is the most ideal format in which to have your web site. But more than that, a bog as your web site puts you in control of the most important battle in web marketing: Generating original and  relevant content.

Having spoken to hundreds of small business owners, entrepreneurs, Dr.’s and even those in direct marketing, I know that blogs are not fully understood as to what they are and their power. While most have heard the term and even read them from time to time, most have not really understood what they are and how they are in reality your most effective marketing and PR tool when utilized correctly.

A blog is a a web site, but with some added bonuses. Communicating often and with passion positions you as a thought leader, an authority in the field. Not only that, every time you blog you are casting more fishing lines into the sea of business opportunity. Maybe your next blog will not generate a sale directly, but it starts a conversation, opens the door to a potential referral, or even being quoted in a trade magazine. Blogs set you apart, and the more you do and the more articulate you become, you start to rise the above the others.And studies have shown that the more you do it, this builds a cumulative benefit in that search engines recognize an active blogger, and so you earn higher rankings.

The Blog is short for “Web Log.”  Blogs are independent journals that allows you to not only demonstrate your competence, but it also allows you to add pictures and videos. This is your single biggest opportunity to get your voice heard. In fact, it can be the very anvil in which you can shape public opinion about you, your service or product, or even trends within your industry. Why be a bystander, a mere spectator, when you can be an active contributor to the ideals opinions of what is being commented upon. Blogs allow you to do this better than anything else.

Blogs can be placed into your social media sites, such as Facebook. Versus making a comment, link from Face book right to your blog. This build credibility and drives traffic your web site and blog.

Probably the best place to start is WordPress.org. This allows you to start your blog on a free format that is highly SEO friendly.

Let blogging become a way of communicating, sharing your vision and thus garnering more attention and business.