We’ve all heard the phrase “anything worth doing is worth doing well” and that idea applies to how you run your small business. We discussed the 5 reasons that your small business needs a blog and today we’re talking about how to make that blog successful.
It’s not enough to just haphazardly post a blog when you find the time. A business blog should be considered a part of the overall business operations that you either do internally or that you outsource to a professional writer.
Here are five tips I tell people to help make their corporate blog successful:
Integrate the blog into your overall marketing plan
It used to be that each marketing practice was a separate activity. While each component was branded to fit the business, the individual activities such as the blog and social media were connected but separate. I encourage clients to integrate—not just connect—the marketing activities to make the marketing plan cohesive.
What does this mean for the blog? For one, use more than just words! Pictures and videos are necessary for your blog. Pictures were always important, but it’s now a good idea to include videos as well. Also, invite people to comment on the topic of the blog on Facebook, not just the actual blog itself. This will drive them to your Facebook page and increase engagement there.
Another way to integrate the blog into your overall marketing plan is to include links and articles from the blog in your newsletter.
Connect your blogs to your sales goals
Makes sense, right? You might be surprised that when some businesses first started blogging, they focused on producing copious amounts of content to increase pageviews. Nope, don’t do that. Align your blog posts to your sales goals, both generally and specifically.
For example, do you want to attract customers from a certain industry or demographic? Then use your blog to talk about how your company can help that specific group. If you’re a business-to-business company (B2B), show them practical ways that your two companies or industries can work together. For business-to-customer (B2C), show them how you solve their specific problems.
Solving problems is the biggest thing, no matter the audience. Your customers don’t care how about your goals, they care how you can solve their problems. Make your blog less about pageviews and more about connecting. In turn, by connecting with their needs, you will increase your pageviews.
Write about stuff that people care about
Do not use your blog to simply advertise. Through your blog, you should answer questions and solve issues that your customers deal with. Look into industry issues and present your solutions. Invite experts to guest blog, that way your viewers see an outside perspective.
Get personal with your blog
People do business with people. Do not let having this blog distance you from your customers. When writing, don’t write like you are creating an essay. Instead, use a conversational tone, that way you are showing a more human side to your business. Furthermore, if you use your blog to feature your employees and clients, you will appeal to the human side as well.
Professionally written blog
When you are writing the blog, it is important to ensure that it is professionally written. This means following online grammar rules, understanding how online audiences absorb content and write in a way that maintains the readers’ interest.
As you’re looking at a blog for your small business, give me a call. I can train you or an employee to manage your blog, or my team and I can manage your blog for you.