In 2016, a business without its own blog is almost unheard of. Most companies have realized that blogging can be a great source of lead generation and have started blogs. Business bloggers have the chance to decide how readers view their company and they have to take full advantage of it.
Business blogging is an art form in itself – you have to strike the perfect balance between creativity and professionalism with the hopes of getting something in return. Here are 5 ways to maximize these benefits and get those lead numbers going through the roof:
- Best Content
The ultimate goal of a business blog is sales and you won’t get any if your content is lacking. Good content for a business blog empathizes with the readers and solves a problem for them. To get good content, you’ve to start with good topics – pick topics that are unconventional and relate them back to your services. Then come the headlines – try to make them as catchy as possible to grab users’ attention. Avoid using too much jargon, remember that you’re writing for the average customer and it is important that they can relate to your work. Another good tip is to incorporate relatable questions into your blog posts whenever you can.
- Target Audience
Target audiences vary vastly from personal blogs to business blogs as the main objective of these blogs are very different. For a personal blog, your target audience can be anyone who shares the same experiences/ opinions as you do. For a business blog, your target audience is similar to a sales persona – you have to identify whom your most frequent customers are and what they want from your company. Create different target personas that would need your services and see how you can connect with them through your blog.
- Balance – Be a mentor
When writing for a business blog, you must maintain a balance between being professional and casual. You don’t want to sound like a corporate robot but you also don’t want to be too casual. Think of yourself as a mentor – you can be casual and professional, depending on the situation, while still focusing on what’s important – solving problems for your audience. Using conversational tones puts your readers at ease and makes you seem more approachable. This makes more likely to get in touch with you and sort out their concerns.
- Guest Posting
Guest blogging on bigger blogs from within your industry is great for increasing your blogs exposure. Most sites that allow guest posts, let authors publish a small author bio where you can add a link to your own site. Some even let you add links within the post itself. This is great for SEO purposes and increases your search ranking on Google. You might also consider allowing others to guest post on your blog – this will keep the content flowing and let you take a little breather once in a while. Guest posts will also offer new voices and perspectives to your own blog – keeping it fresh and exciting for the readers. You will get the attention of the guest bloggers’ audience to your own blog.
- Exposure
Other than guest blogs, there are numerous other ways to get your company’s blog out there. Two of the most common ways are content marketing and email marketing. Content marketing garners attention through social media channels like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. You share the posts you write on these channels so that your followers can read and share as well. This also creates the opportunity for audience engagement as they are likely to share their own views about your content. Email marketing is just as important – it is a constant reminder for your readers to check out your blog and trust you. This is how you create new opportunities for sales.
- Bonus Tip – Gated Content
Once you’ve established a decent amount of regular readers, you could start offering gated content. This could be Ebooks, Webinars, Whitepapers etc containing valuable information. Gated content doesn’t necessarily require paid access, you could offer the content in exchange for singing up or as part of a giveaway. One thing to remember is to create gated content of the highest quality. A user who is performing the required action will get frustrated if all they get is mediocre content in return. Creating high quality gated content can be an exhausting procedure, so it is advisable to get help.
If you’re a business blogger – you know it’s hard work. It takes up a lot of time, needs fresh content consistently and results aren’t always guaranteed. Once you get going however, you slowly start to reap the benefits. It is important to manage your schedule and stay consistent with your posting. If all this has you losing your mind, please feel free to contact us here.
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