Christine ™ / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

As the old saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Yet in the 21st century, its common to find businesses and blogs that distribute content constantly change their identity, products, or process behind the day-to-day operations. While the terms “revolutionizing an industry” and “innovation” are becoming the first tagline you hear when someone presents their business or products, being traditional or being innovative within reason really should be the strategy moving forward. Change in a business can be a good thing, but only when consumers react well to it.

Marcus Lemonis, who stars in The Profit on CNBC, always reiterates the importance of people, process, and product. If the process is broken it can affect how the product sells and how effective and valuable people are in their respective positions in the company. If the process isn’t broken and customers continue buying a business’ products, or viewers return watch or read content from their favorite blogs or vloggers, there is no reason to experiment to make a change. The time for experimenting was when the business or blog was getting off the ground, not during the time when your customer base is growing, or your following on social networks or blog is expanding.

Too often the business owner decides that the business needs to go in the direction that they themselves want, but all they’re doing is tainting their image and will lose customers who may never return. Consumers of any sort don’t like drastic change, especially if they enjoy what your business or blog has to offer. This also coincides with consistency. If you’re consistently posting content, and then abruptly stop for a few days, you’re not only depriving your following of something they want, but you’re giving someone else who has a similar blog the opportunity to steal your followers.

If you’re an individual blogger or a very small business, and the process behind how you operate on a daily basis is working, there is absolutely no reason to make a change. Sure, you can be more aggressive when it comes to promoting your brand, but as long as that doesn’t affect the process, you can make those necessary changes to grow your customer base.

As business owners, we see our business as something we have total control over. While that is partially true, the consumer does have the final say in how many changes you make to the business, it’s product, and process. If your blog or business is growing at a steady rate, but you want to grow exponentially, you must analyze what is currently working and put forth the energy to kickstart the growth. Remember, while it is your business, its your customers that ultimately help you pay the bills. You may want to go in the direction that you see fit, but if your customers’ visions don’t align with that, you’re going to be in for a surprise when your sales figures begin to falter or the number of views on your blog’s content begin to diminish.

You are in essence creating a tradition to go along with your brand. While your brand is what defines what your business is and how its different from other companies in its industry, the tradition of being loyal to your customers will be what carries your business to the next level. To take a page out of Marcus Lemonis’ book, the people, process, and product are the most important aspects of a business, and its your brand and tradition that defines who you are and is the image your customers see when they buy your products or visit your website.

In this day and age of blogging, vlogging, Youtube channels, and social media platforms, people can turn a weekend hobby into something more serious, that if there is a demand for it could lead to bigger and better opportunities that could result in making a profit. Many of these hobbyists continue chugging along, putting countless hours into something they love, but have a hard time getting noticed due to bigger or more experienced blogs, bloggers, or Youtube channels. To remedy this, there are resources and tools at the disposal of these people to help grow their following base, and create that interest that’s been lacking without simple marketing techniques.

Because you’re on the Internet, social media is the best way to go when creating exposure. Also known as social media marketing, sharing content on your social media platforms that connect to your blog or YouTube channel will pay immediate dividends, especially when it comes to Twitter. Hashtags can be used to reach like-minded individuals who are actively searching for content in that particular hobby, and you can connect with those people as well to grow a socially engaged audience. By posting on Twitter, you’re also putting out content that could be read by companies or professionals in the industry that your hobby is a part of, something that you can’t do on Facebook as easily since you’d have to look to advertising.

Twitter alone can be a powerful tool to help grow a following. With Facebook, you can share not only your content but the content of other blogs and businesses in that field. Commenting regularly on posts and giving out quality, well thought out opinions can also create exposure, as other commenters might be interested in what other information you could provide. But don’t spam these Facebook pages with, “Like our page” or other generic comments that could prove to be costly in both the short and long term.

The biggest mistake some Youtubers make is that they don’t promote their social media pages. A majority of the views videos get on Youtube are from people who don’t have Youtube accounts of their own, which means they won’t be subscribing and will not receive notifications when you post a new video. That’s where promoting your Facebook page and Twitter account is important. At the end of each video mention your social media accounts and what they offer that might be different from Youtube, give them a reason to follow. Make the viewers aware that you’re on other sites where you can be reached or followed anytime, anywhere.

The 21st century has been very kind to hobbyists, and it’s important to take advantage of the opportunities technology has given you. Social media marketing takes some time and effort, but if you’re willing to put in the time to post blog articles and YouTube videos, you certainly have enough time to grow a following on social media and get the exposure you deserve.

You’ve probably been in the lunch room during college or at work and hear the smart person quoting other people’s work, but because no one knows what that person is talking about, he or she is deemed smart. The same can be said for bloggers, and in this case, it’s extremely important to not just quote other people’s work without putting your own two cents into the conversation and topic. Bloggers and aspiring professionals in a particular industry must separate themselves from the endless amounts of books they’ve read and start owning the knowledge they have while also giving credit to where it’s due.

I’ve mentioned before in a previous article that I am a follower of Gary Vaynerchuck. His insight and knowledge in the social media marketing world has been far ahead of everyone else’s, as he’s made bold statements concerning certain social media platforms and a few months later he’s correct. He also has a weekly vlog and podcast that answers viewers’ and listeners’ questions, which in the process answers the questions I have on branding my own business and blogs. In conversations with friends, I give credit to the knowledge I share to Vaynerchuck, but I don’t quote every word.

What Gary and other entrepreneurs who have blogs and share content have done is laid the foundation for further expansion and vertical growth. The minute I don’t put my two cents in, and expound upon the knowledge he’s sharing, I’m stunting my own professional growth while also showing my audience that I can’t think for myself. Bloggers are in a sense entrepreneurial, in that they’re willing to work hard to display their talent in a particular industry and grow their passion into something more than a hobby. With that said, many bloggers only quote others and do not put their opinion into the topic, making them no different than someone else’s blog and cheating themselves out of the opportunity to share an opinion that could change the industry they write about.

For the car enthusiasts out there, you’ve most likely read countless articles with the same opinion towards Cadillacs. Whether these beliefs are true, why isn’t there a blog or news outlet that test drives their cars, writes an accurate review, whether it will change the mind of the reader or not, and go against common belief.

The lack of personal input is why blogs fail. Yes, SEO, social media, and writing content consistently will get you noticed, it’s the unique content that brings value to the reader that creates a loyal following and growth in views and exposure. Own the content and information you’re providing. If there is an interesting news story or article in an industry that excites you, put your opinion or input into the content that you share. Not only will that make for a better read, but you now have a double-dose of content for the reader to digest; the original content and the two cents you provide that will make the viewer think about their biases.

Bloggers have the opportunity to be innovators and entrepreneur-like thinkers. Use the social media outlets and blogging tools to help promote your content. Don’t be that person who is considered smart because you can quote big words from a book, be insightful while also being smart. Give the reader quality content and they’ll return. Being unique is how people remember who you are, and always have that mentality whether you’re a blogger or a business owner.

boltron- / Foter / CC BY-SA

Whether it was studying for a history test, searching for information about your favorite car, or wanting to pick up and learn new moves on the basketball court, all the answers and resources were right in front us. The same can be applied when starting a business or making that hobby into something more. Sports teaches us a lot, from where hard work and dedication gets you, to learning the importance of teamwork and going through adversity together that makes you stronger as a team. Yet there is one aspect of our love of sports that’s never applied to in the real world, our answer to someone telling us we can’t.

In the business world we’re constantly told we can’t; we can’t compete with the big companies; we’re not going to acquire clients because the more experienced business will attract them with their flashy website or ads they use. It wasn’t too long ago when we were in high school and felt the disappointment of not making one of the sports teams. However, even without consciously thinking about it, you got back up and started playing pickup basketball, or got a group of friends together and played a game of tackle football. You said, “Yes I can”, to the coach and the players who made the team, but you also continued to pursue what you loved, playing the one sport that made you happy despite not being a good player.

In that time your love for that sport grew, and it didn’t become a chore because that’s what you loved to do, which showed to the people around you. You might ask how this relates to business. In business, you’ll always hear the word no or you can’t because you weren’t gifted with an ability, or you didn’t have the right qualifications because you had the wrong degree. However, just as with sports, this business is your passion, and you’re willing to learn whatever is necessary to make it work. That information can be researched on the Internet, but the resources that are at you disposal that can make your dreams a reality are already in front of you, but you have to make it work.

For the kid who loved basketball, all he needed was a basketball court, sneakers, and hoop to continue playing the sport he loved, even if he didn’t make the team. Or the car enthusiast who loves talking about the newest vehicles on the road, has endless videos on Youtube to watch, countless magazines to read, and may even have a few cars at his disposal to drive and write a few reviews on to show his knowledge in that field.

Small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs have resources in their fields that can help them become experts and experienced companies and business owners. The idea that you have to be an expert from day one is a lie. For those who scratch and claw their way to success, they’ll be better for it in the end because they went through those battles and experiences. What kept them in the game was the passion to be successful in something they loved.