Blogging Best Practice
To blog or not to blog, is that the question?
Business blogging is a great way for you to connect with your customers, potential customers, fellow industry bods, and others in your network. It’s also a key means to developing your personal thought-leadership status within your chosen field. And if you’re a social media newbie, blogging is a great way to start interacting and dipping your toe into the wonderful world of online marketing.
However, despite all the advantages of joining the blogosphere, many of our clients tell us that they find blogging a difficult, onerous, or just downright terrifying task. To this end we’ve put together a short list of ways to enhance your blogging experience, hopefully saving you time and a few headaches along the way.
1) Set Your Objectives
Like anything in business, there is no point in blogging just for the sake of it. Ensure early on that you establish objectives for your blog and set aside time to devote to this aspect of your marketing. Your blog should support your business goals, and should also reinforce the mission and values of your organisation.
2) Create Compelling Content
If the sole purpose is to use your blog as a direct selling tool, hang up your blogging hat now and walk away. Yes your blog is a great platform for you to communicate our company news and special offers, but if your blog content is sales heavy, you’re going to lose readership and bore everyone to death as well. As a rule of thumb, for every blog article that focuses on your products or services (either directly or indirectly), you should be publishing three blog articles that are non-specific, such as focussing on industry developments or best-practice insight.
3) Use Keywords
One of the oft-forgotten about benefits of blogging is the power of the blog to assist with improving web search results. Remember your audience and write about topics that are relevant to them (and thus presumably your business), using key terms in your titles and posts. SEO is a massive topic, so ask for help from an expert if you need it.
4) Post Regularly
It’s recommended that you publish content a minimum of once a month. If you struggle to find yourself in the blogging ‘zone’ on a regular basis, set aside a chunk of time every few months and dedicate this time to researching and writing several pieces of content at once. This way you have a storehouse of material available to publish, especially in busy times when you can’t find the time (or don’t have the inclination) to contribute to your rolling blog.
5) Engage Your Community
Don’t be afraid to open up the discussion and always respond to comments left by your readers. Engage and show your appreciation when a reader takes the time to comment on your posts and acknowledge differing points of view in a positive and non-confrontational manner. Encourage opinions, interaction and knowledge sharing within your blogging community and promote your posts to your social media audiences to expand the reach of your blog.
These are just a few ways to enhance your blogging strategy, and we’ll be announcing dates of our Business Blogging workshop soon. Contact us if you’d like to be kept informed and in the meantime, Happy Posting!