Blogging can be an effective way to connect with your customers. It is a practical and powerful approach to share useful, relevant information with your audience. A blog gives your business a voice and according to HubSpot, blog frequency impacts customer acquisition. They reported that 92 percent of companies whom blogged multiple times a day acquired a customer through their blog. A strategically planned blog, with carefully chosen keywords in play, will show up in search and drive traffic to your landing pages. Blogs also help educate your customers by sharing information about your product/service by reading your posts and moving them further down the buying process. Most important, blogging gives your company a voice. It lets customers into who you are as a business and brand. To get the most out of your blogging efforts, here are five important tips to follow:
1. Create a Strategy
Identify the purpose for your blog before you start writing and it will help you make clear, useful posts. Are you looking to attract customers? Or are you focused on creating awareness about your product? Whatever the objective is, you need to be clear about it. Because your objective will ultimately give direction to the type of content you post on your blog. Part of your strategy may be to make sure every post on your business blog makes your readers take action. For example, if have a product that can genuinely solve the problems of your readers, then there’s no harm in adding a link to the product page at the end of your post. This will also drive traffic to deeper inside your site, too!
2. Engage in Conversation
Listen closely to questions customers ask and answer every one of them in your posts. Ask questions of your readers, encourage feedback, counterpoints and criticism. Respond to comments as promptly as possible in an effort to exchange ideas. A blog is a great place to write posts that answer all the FAQs your company gets.
3. Know your Audience
Your blog’s content should reflect the expectations of your audience. For example, if your intended audience is teenagers, the content would be quite different than a blog targeted to corporate professionals. Identify your customers and write content that speaks specifically to that audience. That is the only way to not only get their attention but also to convert them into regular visitors and, eventually, loyal customers.
4. Be Consistent
The number one reason blogs fail is they are neglected. Sometimes blogs become more of an afterthought when it comes to your marketing strategy. Set a schedule and stick to it. Make the time to post often, whether its every other day or once a week – commit to posting a blog. No excuses. Being consistent allows you to meet your audience’s expectations and create a secure place for them to visit again.
5. Share your Posts
Writing a blog post is only the first step in effective blogging. Now you need to make sure the post will be seen by as many people as possible. Promoting a post can (and probably should) take more time than writing it. Write teasers for your content and promote it across all social media channels. For more on how to publicize your blog on social media after it’s posted, check out our previous blog here.
There’s absolutely no question that the significance of blogging for businesses is only going to increase. Blogging is not about short terms goals, it is a long-term strategy that should be planned carefully and, if done correctly, it will be the perfect catalyst for achieving your business goals.
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