Keys to a Successful Business Blog
Business blogs bring a your company a host of benefits. From an SEO standpoint, these blogs provide more indexed pages and link opportunities to boost your search business’ ranking. A blog also positions your company as a thought leader or credentialed expert by showing company expertises. Finally, company blogs are also a cost effective way to convert consumers who find your company through blog posts and the subsequent social sharing. Below are some simple steps your company can take to maintain and grow an effective blog presence.
When you offer smart observations and actionable advice which are relevant to your reader, you’re not only increasing traffic to your business, but brand awareness as well. By following the tips below you’ll produce an engaging, informative blog that gets your company the type of positive buzz you crave.
Focus on Quality
Last year we saw an increase in quality versus quantity when it comes to blog posting. Readers expect blogs, especially business blogs, to give them not just quality copy but also graphics, pictures and videos to help them consume the information quickly.
Your headlines should be clever and draw in the reader. Your copy should reflect a depth of research and knowledge. Use high quality photos and be sure to optimize your blog content for the search engine. The point is for it to be found by potential consumers.
Incorporate Graphics
The use of web graphics is one of the big trends in content marketing in 2014, and for good reason. They are a great way to present big, often complex, ideas in a digestible and attractive package. Equally important, graphics often go viral, bringing in more traffic to your blog and building awareness of your brand. And speaking of brands…
Brand Your Blog
There’s really nothing worse than a blog that doesn’t know what it’s about, and that’s doubly true for a business blog, where it’s tempting to present a mishmash of ideas without a strategy for the sake of time. Instead of tossing up every snippet of content that’s tangentially related to your business, think before you post. How does this help your branding? What insight can you bring to this topic that others haven’t? That’s the very definition of quality content, and it can help build your readership and your business.
Branding your blog is more than just slapping your logo on it. The best business blogs have a personalized aspect to them that comes in the form of the CEO blogging, personal examples (though not too personal), and interacting in the comments or on social media. Google presents a unique opportunity for blogs and businesses to further personalize their brand in the search results through Google+ Authorship.
Listen to Your Audience
This may be the most important part of building a quality business blog. You want your content to cater to your audience. Address their needs, not your own. Different types of posts may generate more traffic, so take note of what is successful. Do you see more interest in longer or shorter posts? Are readers more engaged when they see graphics or video? Which types of posts see the most shares?
By paying close attention to your blog’s metrics, you will begin to get an idea of what resonates you’re your readers, and then you can plan more posts in that vein.
Offer Something Unique
Obviously, nothing is ever truly unique but there are plenty of ways to give your blog that extra something special that brings readers back. 12 Palms Rehab consistently publishes interesting infographics and videos. Seth Godin has his unique writing style that is short yet thought provoking. Havahart has its humor and how-to videos. CJ Pony Parts has its interactive web graphics to bring people back to their site.
The key is to consistently offer great content on your blog, especially since online feeds are already saturated with content. A well-written, well-curated blog just might be the key to your business’s growing popularity.
