How to promote a local SEO/Web design company via a blog (mainly blogging) and social media?

[BobGW]

Hello,

What is possible as far as promoting a local SEO and Web Design Company with a blog? I'm offering simple web design, both informational and product based, as well as SEO for existing informational and product-based companies here in Boise, Idaho. At first it won't be face to face so there's no local SEO.

I honestly don't like to sell. I've done it for years and I'd like to spend my time blogging (mainly blogging), doing social media, and volunteering. How can I use this approach to get a beginning agency off the ground? Please don't tell me to go push my services. I'd like to get my company off the ground through avenues that have integrity to me.

How do I do this? Feel free to include articles and videos in your response if appropriate.

Thank you.

[MiriamEllis]

Hey Bob,

Okay, I won't tell you to sell but remember, you're a business person, and there's nothing wrong with selling a service that's genuinely of high quality. You can be proud of what you have to sell if you know it's really going to help your customers!

But, a blog that just plugs your services isn't likely to be of much interest to read, so I'm with you on that, for sure! I have a couple of thoughts on this:

1. First, let me show you something. One of my favorite bloggers in the Local SEO space is a fellow named Phil Rozek. He has become a favorite of mine because of the regularity with which he covers very important industry topics. He's thorough, generous and dedicated to sharing what he knows. And, though his blog isn't updated daily, it's updated frequently enough for me to find it worthwhile to check it out every few days in case there's something new there. Now, with that background in mind, check out this recent post of his governing a pain point all Local SEOs and local business owners are experiencing right now surrounding Google based reviews: http://www.localvisibilitysystem.com/2015/11/18/asking-customers-for-google-reviews-in-the-new-google-plus-what-are-your-options/

I recommend that you read through the post, actively evaluating it for friendliness, generosity and authority. I think you'll come away with the feeling that this is a fellow who not only knows what he's talking about, but that he understands the needs of his readership and is sharing everything he can think of to help them. Now, there's one other thing I want you to notice as you read through that post. It's this statement:

"I’ll probably have to update my battle-tested instructions for the 4th or 5th time since 2011, at which point you can order a slick one-page PDF that makes a frustrating process simple as possible for customers."

So, there's a little bit of a potential sale going on in the post, but it is totally inoffensive, in my view, because Phil's blog is about 99% free tutorials and about 1% mentioning that you might want to invest in something he's offering. Given the way he is continuously demonstrating his authority, letting you know he's going to make something you can buy feels more like doing you a favor rather than pitching a hard sell, doesn't it? Buying something Phil has created could save an agency or company a lot of sweat and time.

So, I suggest you thumb through Phil's blog over the past year or so and see how he's demonstrating a spirit of giving while also positioning himself as someone any local business owner would be very fortunate to consult with. Imagine if you could do that for your own business.

2. My other thought is that you have a special opportunity if you are dedicated to focusing only on Boise as your market. In addition to penning those Phil-type tutorial posts you'll be looking at, above, your blog can become a showcase of your participation within your local business community. There will be opportunities you can either latch onto or create from scratch to put you in one-on-one contact with local business owners. Think workshops, conferences, seminars, classes at Park & Rec or senior centers, visiting high schools or community colleges, church group events, etc. If you have business knowledge to share to help your neighbors market what they do, then showcasing your participation in events on your blog will be simultaneously marketing what you do. Event by event, you will be building Boise-based blog content as you are also getting your name out there in the business community as a resource for your services. You'll be giving Google a reason to pull up your posts in Boise-based-or-related searches while also giving the plumber you built a site for a reason to tell his friend the dentist about what you did for him.

So, these are the 2 things I'm thinking of off the top of my head, and I hope that you'll get lots more feedback from the community.