In 1999, Peter Merholz introduced a new word. He contracted the phrase web log to blog, and the online world has never been the same. That year, there were 23 blogs on the internet. Today, over 3 million blogs are written every day.
Your company’s website may have a blog, but is anyone reading it? Is it helping to increase your bottom line? If not, what elements do business blogs need to be effective?
For your blog to be read, relevant, and a benefit to your company, you should:
Provide useful and unique information. Your blog shouldn’t try to sell anything. Rather, it should establish your company as the ultimate authority in your industry. It’s also important to discuss issues that are important to your customers. Additionally, investigate what your competitors are blogging about, and choose a topic no one else is covering. You should have no shortage of topics, since you’re writing about something you know. If you can’t think of anything to blog about, it’s better to wait for inspiration to come than to post an irrelevant blog.
Write in a conversational tone. You know your business, but your audience may not. Don’t use industry buzz words or jargon which readers won’t understand. Write as if you were talking to a friend, using a casual, but respectful style.
Blog as often as you can. Google loves new and changing content. If you want your site to have a favorable position in searches, add content every week or two, more often if you can. Whenever possible, use keywords you think people would use in a search to find your company.
Avoid writing too much. The ideal blog is between 300 and 1,000 words. When people see a lot of text, they move on. Narrow your topic to something you can completely cover using about 700 words.
A blog is primarily a source of information for your customers. However, it should also drive traffic to your website resulting in increased conversions. People who like your blog will share it on social media, so be certain you have as many social media sharing buttons on your blog page as possible, which should minimally be Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Pinterest.
It’s also a good idea to link to your blog in all your social media profiles. Schedule tweets and include a link to your blog; schedule Facebook posts that are different from your tweets. Have a strategy for your social media posts. Plan your posts so they are sequenced to tell a story, with each one linking to your blog.
Finally, remember that the whole world can read your blog, so if you have problems with spelling or grammar, you may want to have someone edit what you’ve written. Of course, if you hate writing, you could have someone else write your blog.
One possibility is to call McFadden/Gavender! Our content team can write interesting, informative blogs, while our social media experts create a strategy to give your brand maximum online exposure. Let us help you take your brand further.
