A recent Deloitte study into consumer attitudes to environmental and ethical sustainability revealed that more people are voting with their wallets when it comes to backing brands with a conscience. Nearly 1 in 3 of us have stopped buying certain products or dealing with certain companies because we had concerns about their ethical merits. Whether we have changed our buying habits yet or not though, most of us are in search of more authenticity in our shopping experiences.
Delve a little deeper
The question is, as a business owner, how do you show consumers you are ethical? A business blog allows you to tell your customers and prospects everything they need to know about you and your enterprise. While your company website is supposed to be a bit more sales-focused and therefore concentrate on the key features and benefits of your business, your blog can delve a little deeper and explore your thoughts, opinions, and feelings about wider issues and current market trends.
Blogs allow readers to gather information on a business or brand straight from the horse’s mouth. Over time, with a consistent and considered blog, you can show visitors to your site the real personality behind your offering. If it stays true to your core values and those values are on target, you will come across as authentic and someone they would like to do business with.
That is not to say you must always present a perfect persona. Authenticity is about being genuine with your readers and not many of us are perfect all the time. It is about admitting mistakes as and when they happen and explaining how you are going to fix them. It’s about putting your story out there, warts and all, and having faith that people want to work with people they feel are honest and believable – people they like and trust.
Stay true to yourself
I come from a background of Public Relations, which has a variable reputation itself. My personal experience has been a very fact-based approach, specifically using real facts, statistics, and accurate details to share knowledge and position companies as leaders in their fields. The PR industry has worked hard to overcome some of the negative perceptions and in fact, the industry body, the International Public Relations Association, has updated the very definition of PR to reflect this:
“Public relations is a decision-making management practice tasked with building relationships and interests between organisations and their publics based on the delivery of information through trusted and ethical communication methods.” IPRA
Don’t miss an opportunity
With consumers placing more emphasis on ethical and authentic action for companies big and small, business blogs should have renewed importance in any communications strategy. They provide a fantastic opportunity for you to engage with your audience in a truly authentic way and talk about a far more diverse range of topics than the rest of your website allows.
Writer of smart, engaging copy for businesses that understand the importance of great copy, but struggle to find the time to give it the attention it needs. I offer a proactive approach to deliver fresh content.
