One modern, yet fairly inexpensive, marketing option that few pallet companies have taken advantage of is website blogs.
Just in case you are not familiar with Internet jargon, a blog is an online journal where each entry is kept in chronological order, usually with the newest entry (or post) at the top. Even after doing an extensive online search for pallet company blogs, I found only a few. And of the ones I found, most had not been updated in a long time.
A company that does operate a regularly updated blog is Pallets Unlimited in New Hyde Park, N.Y. The company recently started blogging as a way to get more business through the Web. And it has worked, increasing the company’s website traffic and its location in search engines, such as Google, according to Dominick Davi, president of Pallets Unlimited.
“Developing blogs has been a great idea because nobody else in the industry is doing it,” said Davi. “We took a risk, and it is working. It has led to new customers and increased visibility for our company.”
Pallets Unlimited uses a company that teaches people how to run blogs and websites. This firm handles all the content development at Davi’s direction and performs all the updates. Pallets Unlimited pays a weekly fee to the blog company to handle the development of the content and upkeep of the blogs and websites. This includes having one article written per week that gets placed on one of Pallets Unlimited’s blogs.
Articles on its blogs include topics such as heat treating, recycling, up cycling and pallet terms and history. In addition to the written articles, Pallets Unlimited also posts educational videos on its blogs.
“The videos are informational so that customers can understand what they really need and can clear up some questions,” said Davi.
The best thing about having a company blog is that it ensures that your company is putting new content online on a regular basis. This will help drive traffic to your website by internet users that are searching online for a company that offers pallet and packaging services. Pallets Unlimited has two primary goals for its blogs. First it wants to be a source of industry news that does not make it into mainstream media. Second, the blog is designed to increase the online visibility of Pallets Unlimited. The blogs have helped the company rise up in search engine placements and increased traffic to its websites. Search engines like blogs because they are updated regularly, have content and can be loaded with key words that attract potential customers.
One of the biggest benefits of blogging is that blogs are easier for non-technical users to update and can be interactive by allowing readers to post comments or questions. A blog can be included in a company’s main website, or on a separate website, including any one of many free websites, such as Word press, Blog spot, and Google’s Blogger. To start using one of these services all you have to do is choose a web address, user name and password. You can also try the route that Pallets Unlimited did and hire a professional to build and maintain one for you.
You don’t have to be a computer whiz to run a blog. All you need is information about your topic. Many blogs don’t even have a good layout or cool pictures. But the one thing you must have is good written content. For a pallet company, the topic is the pallet industry and other related issues of concern to pallet and packaging users. Also, another key subject is the particular sponsoring company, its product and service offerings, and its people.
One of the most important things to remember is to make sure that your blog is maintained. A neglected blog just looks, well, neglected. And that does not reflect well on the company. Davi suggested blogging as often as you have time to commit, because every bit counts, but cautions about doing too much only to come to have it come to a sudden halt. It is generally, a good idea to update a blog at least a couple times per month. Blog posts do not have to be long. Actually, some of the best blogs keeps posts to 150 words or less. You can also make a quick comment and link to other content, such as articles published in Pallet Enterprise or industry information sources.
“If you can blog more often and keep it going that’s great, just don’t go over your head and then stop,” said Davi. One way to ensure this does not happen is to hire a professional company to maintain it for you. But if you want to maintain it in-house, simply choose a weekly or bi-weekly schedule where you will publish fresh content.
Putting up a blog post does not have to be a time consuming process. “Find ways to add value to your business, clients and community by educating, entertaining and engaging readers,” said Davi.
One way to make your blog a little more interesting is to post videos. This can be done by posting an industry related video that you have found online or by making a short one yourself that showcases a new piece of machinery or service you offer. This does not mean that you need to have a video in every blog entry. It is simply a way to add some variation and interest in addition to your other information.
A blog can increase your company’s online visibility, give you a way to interact with customers, produce new customers, and help you promote your products and services for free or at a low cost. So why doesn’t your company have one?
