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Make Blogging Work for Your Business19th February 2015
Many businesses create blogs to develop their online presence and build a targeted audience, but it can take a lot of time and dedication to see real results. The content on your blog should be created to engage with your audience, so self promotion should be kept to a minimum. If you’re keen to make your blog a success story, then you must deliver valuable content that your readers want to share and discuss.
Creating Shareable Content
Regurgitated information from your website’s product pages is unlikely to impress new or returning visitors, and you should always make sure you’re providing something of value to your audience before you post it. There’s no doubt that it can take some time before visitors start taking your information seriously, so you shouldn’t necessarily doubt the quality of your content during the early stages of blogging.
Blog posts can take on different forms; it can be a concise opinion on something topical, a colourful infographic packed with relevant statistics, a lengthy ‘how to’ article, an embedded video or a helpful checklist - the options are limitless. Whatever content you do choose to create, your voice should be consistent, while content should be reliable and easy to share. You can then build an audience over time, improve brand awareness and start generating leads.
Share buttons can be very important in terms of strengthening your social reach, and it’s in your interest to ensure readers can share your content quickly to their friends, fans or followers - at the push of a button.
Can less be more?
According to BuzzSumo (a specialist tool for analysing online content performance), long form content (between 3,000-10,000 words) gets more shares than shorter articles. This research reflects that people enjoy reading detailed articles that are well-researched, and whilst that may be true, it doesn’t take into account your audience. Only you know who your target audience is, and it’s up to you to talk their language and grab their attention. Some readers may prefer quick tips, and there’s no harm in mixing it up and publishing content in different formats and lengths.
Images for Impact
Articles with images get 94% more ‘total views’ (according to MDGadvertising) so it is best to avoid publishing text only posts. You may opt to use stock images or take photos yourself with your mobile phone or digital camera, and in most cases any relevant image is better than nothing at all.
If you’re actively using images that compliment the copy in your blog posts, you can begin to drive engagement. Social media posts also benefit from adding photos, and it’s a way of grabbing attention, and making your post standout from the crowd. Instagram and Pinterest are both mobile photo sharing platforms, and it’s impossible to build an audience on these networks without images.
Just because your blog isn’t based on a hobby, or created as a primary way of making money, it doesn’t mean that it can’t be successful. The purpose of business blogging may be slightly different from regular blogging, but the main principals still apply, and you have to cut back on self-promotion and focus on providing valuable content that grabs attention, appeals to your readers’ interests and sparks conversation.
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