Business blogging is an inexpensive, easy, and quickway to build a small or medium enterprise’s presence online. B2B companies who blog are able to increase exposure, credibility, search engine rankings, and leads – all while linking their marketing efforts back to their business goals. So what is a blog? A blog is bite-sized web content, written in an easy and conversational tone, that allows dialogue and interaction with readers and customers. It doesn’t require in-depth research or a whole lot of time to create, allowing you to create fresh, timely and on-topic content. If you’re ready to add blogging to your business’ social media marketing arsenal, make sure you plan ahead by establishing these must-have components for successful business blogging:
- Determine your objectives
It’s important to have a purpose, business intent, and benefit in mind before you start blogging. Are you looking to attract more people to your website, disseminate information about your products or services, promote certain views, or create thought leadership on a particular topic? Whatever the intent, developing clear objectives will help provide a baseline for your future blogs. - Establish your target audience
Every piece of writing should be tailored to an audience. However, you also need to determine what response or action you want to evoke from your potential reader, and what you want to have happen as a result. Are you looking for them to purchase your products or services, become a follower on social media, help them understand your company’s position on a subject, or be potential leads? Your target audience may change from post to post, so make sure they arein line with a particular blog’s objectives. - Develop your blog’s voice
What will you say, and how will you say it? Appropriate content, context,consistency, and relevance are all essential when writing a successful business blog. Keep in mind that a blog should have a point of view, should tell a story, and most importantly, should sound like it’s written by a real person. - Plan your content
Don’t just write a blog for the sake of writing a blog. Plan out the major content categories you want to include on a regular basis. From there, you can pinpoint trends and sub-topics that relate to both your business and your audience. It’s also a good idea to create a calendar that allows you to schedule and monitor blog content creation, editing, and publishing. Be sure to poston a consistent schedule – such as once a week – in order to establish credibility, maintaininterest, and attract repeat visits from your readers. - Optimize for SEO
Blogsoffer another great way to increase your search engine rankings. Make the most of your blogs by utilizing keyword-rich content, fresh information, and additional indexed pages.Also, make contenteasy for others to share, and for you to share across your other social media channels. When you share your content with others, your exposure and relevancy in searches is given a big boost.
With a purpose, a plan, and a little panache, blogging can be a great way for your company to engage with both customers and prospects. So jump on the blogging bandwagon and see what a positive impact it can make on your business.