Blogging has become one of the most effective ways to develop presence and personality for businesses. But what makes a good blog? Here are our golden rules to business blogging.
image courtesy of http://www.unlockdemocracy.org/blog/
Why should a business blog?
Blogs allow regularly updated content to become a supplementary feature on a company’s website. Incorporating a blog makes a website more interesting, ensuring continuity of content, whilst remaining current and increasing the website’s traffic.
Customers and readers feel part of one big conversation. Blogs provide an in-depth, long-lasting platform for shared communication. The process of interacting with blog posts makes readers feel included, producing a sense of community that can spread to the business’s overall reputation.
Businesses can create and develop a distinctive tone of voice. A blog can be instrumental in creating consistency and personality, allowing blogging to expand into a true marketing tool.
With the potential to become an indirect sales channel a blog can be a more subtle way of promotion. Engagement with customers can lead to more active interest and interaction in the future.
Current, relevant content generates material for other channels. Blogs shouldn’t be seen as a standalone tactic. The honesty a blog allows for can be a great platform for businesses to develop bold opinions, which can be shared across channels, from social to sales.
What to watch out for
Don’t feel pressured into posting for the sake of it. Although regularly updating a blog is important, it shouldn’t be done when there is genuinely nothing to say. Businesses should communicate their point of difference and celebrate what gives them the edge.
Blog popularity shouldn’t automatically be equated to business success. Blog traffic does not always mean more business, and that’s why companies need to be sure of who their blog is targeting, why, and where it will take them.
Bold opinions can create strong responses. Whilst blogs should be used as a platform for opinion, they shouldn’t be unnecessarily confrontational or derogatory to competitors. Take the higher ground through expressing your smart opinions and ideas.
Blogging is a fantastic communication tool, but it’s not right for every business. It’s vital you understand your audience, and for the businesses we work with to develop blog content, we always link content back to a strong strategy, which was developed based on insight.
By 2020, it is predicted that customers will manage 85% of their relationships without talking to a human and with increased reliance in online communication, the significance of blogs is set to grow. Businesses that blog receive 97% more links to their website, and B2B marketers receive 67% more leads if they use a blog.
Be careful, know your goals, and blogging can do the business for business.