Business blogs are becoming more and more popular as companies begin to see the value in content marketing, and the opportunity for SEO, that come along with blog ownership. Posting once a week is the minimum, but each business should aim for about 3 posts per week. Consistent publishing of relevant and valuable information is one of the best ways to keep eyes coming back to your blog.
However, posting just anything isn’t enough. Your blog articles should add value to the lives of your readers. A blog is a great tool to add to your online marketing strategy and here are a few things to consider when building a blog for your business.
Topics
Choosing the right topics is crucial to the success of your company blog. Make sure each blog post focuses on one topic to avoid confusion or a seemingly scattered post. To keep things interesting to your reader, focus on various topics that will educate your readers, whether it is a new product release, trend or industry insight. Here are a few topics to think about as you get started:
- Pain Points. Think about the pain points your audience may encounter and what tips you can provide to relieve it. Consider the reader’s needs or questions and how you can help.
- Lists. Lists often do well on blogs because they are easy to scan and navigate. Lists of top features, ways to improve X, etc. are attention-grabbing, easy and informational.
- Trends. If you’re in fashion, this is a no-brainer. However, there are also business trends with advances in tech, product releases, software solutions, industry marketing strategies, etc. that your business can blog about. Just make sure the trend you write about is in line with your business and your audience.
- What interests your readers. Once you’ve been blogging for a few months, conduct a survey for your blog readers. Ask them to contribute their input on the topics and types of articles they like best.
Visuals
Many businesses overlook the effectiveness of visual elements of their blog. From the look and domain to the use of images and videos, visuals are a great way to catch a new reader’s eye while reminding them of your brand. Visuals are also a great way to appeal to a wider audience as some prefer video or audio over text. Even if it is your call to action that serves as a visual – and each post should have a call to action – make sure you incorporate something visually interesting. Three common elements you can incorporate are:
- Images. These are by far the easiest visual element to incorporate into blog posts. If nothing else, your blog should have at least one compelling image to accompany the content.
- Videos. Having these in blog posts is a great way to provide additional information, or reach someone who prefers to watch rather than read. Because production can be time consuming, keep it short, simple and interesting.
- Infographics. Relatively new, these are one of the best ways a business can share data. A simple graph or pie chart that focuses on one aspect of a study is taken to the next level. Infographics break down data in a creative and easy to understand way.
Search Engines
Businesses with an online presence, from social media to a basic website, are looking for ways to boost their results on search engine results pages (SERPs). While there are different online marketing strategies you can take when it comes to business blogs, such as content marketing or social media cross-promotion, SEO should be a focus. A blog can help your business do just that! Here are a few areas that are easy to remember for your company’s SEO blog efforts.
- The title. Your title should incorporate a keyword or two while still being attention-grabbing. Keep it simple and clear so whoever comes across your blog knows what they are clicking through to.
- Keywords. Focus on non-branded keywords while writing about industry best practices and answering common customer questions about higher level product issues. This content will not only help increase search traffic, but it will also indicate your business is a thought leader while the article is informational and on-point.
- Tagging. Many blog sites also offer a “tagging” capability, so you can attach certain terms that are relevant to your posts. This helps search engines to further identify your post as relevant to keyword searches. Depending on your blog platform, you could also make the most of SEO-drive plug-ins that help you optimize each post.
- Images. Make sure images and videos are labeled and tagged to incorporate keywords. Images tagged properly can add to the optimization of a blog post and your site as a whole.
Once you’ve created your content, make sure you share the information at varied times across your social media channels. If you send out any email marketing materials, include a link or introduction to your latest blog post in each newsletter or email campaign. Remember that your blog is not about your business, it is about the readers and discovering potential leads. Respond to comments and gear each post towards your audience. Promote your blog, provide relevant, interesting content and include visuals to begin generating a buzz around your business blog.
Due to the tight competition in the business world, all business owners constantly look for successful marketing techniques to promote their business all over the world. creating a buzz is one of the best examples, you have to work on something that can definitely draw your audience’s attention.