Virtually every business in every industry can benefit from having a blog. Blogs provide another avenue for promotion while offering valuable information to your target audience. They help build trust, and they help you establish yourself as an authority in the field.
But there’s a right way and a wrong way to blog for your business.
Do: Provide Valuable Content
Provide your readers with valuable information. Don’t just write a post to write a post. Coming up with relevant content ideas isn’t as complicated as you might think, although it will require some research on your part.
Here are some ways to find content ideas:
- Keyword research
- Emailed questions from customers
- Feedback on social media
- Polls
- The competition
Look at what your competitors are posting, and see if you can provide a different angle on the subject or improve on the quality of the information provided.
The key important thing here is just to provide your audience with content they want to see and read. Engagement is a big piece of the puzzle, and informative posts can help you achieve that.
As an example, look at the blog for Pipe Surgeons. The company provides posts that offer helpful tips and information on drain cleaning, pipe repair methods and how their services work. The information is directly related to their services, but they don’t write in an overly promotional way.
Do: Be Personal
Be conversational and human in your posts. Unless your audience prefers a stuffy, professional tone, there’s no reason to be cold with your writing style. Use your audience’s language. Keep it simple. Keep it friendly and personal.
When someone reads your blog, you don’t want them to think a robot wrote the post. Don’t be afraid to write in the first-person and share personal stories.
Humanizing your brand will help your audience fall in love with you.
Do: Use Multimedia
Use a blend of photos, text and multimedia to capture and hold your audience’s attention. From infographics to video, podcasts and slideshows, there are a number of ways to present your content to your audience.
According to WordStream, 87% of online marketers use video content and 45% of people watch over an hour of videos on YouTube and Facebook each week.
Don’t ignore the power of video and other forms of multimedia when blogging.
Do: Be Consistent
As with anything in life, consistency is the key to success. If you go on a blogging spree and publish a dozen posts in a week and then take a six-month hiatus, you won’t get the results you want.
To succeed with blogging, you need to post on a regular basis.
If you focus on publishing informative and engaging posts, your content will be shared on social media and before you know it, you’ll start getting organic traffic from search engines.
Don’t: Be Too Promotional
Don’t turn your blog into a sales pitch. Provide your audience with informative content that doesn’t necessarily promote your business.
It’s okay to have a call-to-action at the bottom of your posts, but if you’re overly promotional about your products or services, you may start losing readers.
Don’t: Forget About Your Audience
Don’t write blindly. Know your audience. Know what they like, dislike and their pain points. Know their language.
If you write without your audience in mind, your posts may wind up being hits or misses.
Don’t: Over Exaggerate in Your Headlines
Catchy headlines are important, but don’t over exaggerate your claims. Make sure that you can deliver on your headlines.
Readers should receive the information they’re expecting when reading your posts.
If your headlines over exaggerate or mislead readers, you may lose their trust.
Don’t: Use a Negative Tone
There’s no place for negativity in business. Keep things upbeat and positive – even if you’re discussing a difficult subject.
Taking a negative tone will reflect poorly on your business and turn off your readers.
Follow these basic do’s and don’ts when writing posts for your business’s blog. While all of these points should be kept in mind, the key most important thing is to ensure that you’re providing valuable, informative content to your audience. Engaging your audience will lead to more shares and help you establish yourself as an authority in your industry.
