Every business worth its salt should have a blog. The reason for this is that the benefits of running a well-maintained and regularly-updated blog are extremely numerous. Let’s look at some of the more important facts:
- Blogging gives your business a pulse: The internet is littered with millions of static websites that do little to reassure the visitor that the business behind them is in good health. By blogging you not only demonstrate that your business is alive and kicking, but also that it is up to speed with the latest trends and best practices. This puts you in prime position, if your content is worthy, to serve customers’ needs.
- Google loves a blog: Internet search engines pick up on regularly updated content and this effect is multiplied when other trusted websites create links back to it. A good blog should be the cornerstone of your SEO (search engine optimisation) strategy, driving free traffic to your website.
- It is social media fuel: Your blog posts will provide valuable content for your own and other people’s social media output. People just can’t resist sharing incisive blog content – it makes them feel, in their own small way, like a Thought Leader.
- It places you at the centre of your community: A good blog post will generate feedback from readers, which will boost your SEO rankings (see point 2) and help to build a community around your Thought Leadership, bringing people back to your site again and again.
- Blogging can place you first past the post: The ease and speed of blogging means you can react quickly to situations, giving you a first-move advantage and tying your comment to an emerging piece of news or an important trend.
What makes a good blog?
Perhaps it would be easier to explain what makes a bad blog, because there are plenty of them out there.
But let’s stick with the positive. A good blog is regularly updated with content that is both relevant and interesting to your client base. Some people make the mistake of believing they have to humanise their blog by writing articles about their life outside of work. While it is perfectly acceptable to drop in the occasional post highlighting an employee’s personal achievement, or activities outside of the company’s normal mode of operation – such as a charity event you have supported – nobody wants to read about your recent holiday to Majorca or early morning adventures with public transport. It’s best to just get straight to the point and not risk distracting your readers with unfocused content – it will confuse them and very likely drive them away from your business.
5 great ideas for blog posts
- Top tips: Everyone loves reading top tips around a topical issue. The number of tips you provide is irrelevant; don’t try and force ten mediocre tips when three great ones will do.
- Case studies: Use your blog to highlight a customer success story.
- News: Product launches, customer wins, new hires, partnership announcements and awards all make great news stories.
- Opinion: Everyone has got one, so put the world to rights and let people know where your business stands on your blog.
- Images: Share images and photos from your latest projects via your blog.
The above abridged text was taken from the book: Becoming THE Expert: Enhancing Your Business Reputation through Thought Leadership Marketing which is now available from Amazon, iTunes and Kobo.
