Companies can gain a lot from keeping a blog. It boosts engagement by showcasing industry knowledge and can also promote products and generate leads by increasing the company’s visibility in the market. A survey by Hubspot, a marketing software firm, shows that more companies are using blogs and consider them “critical” and “valuable” for their business. Blogs allow companies to share technical know-how and give customers a space to interact with the brand.

Hubspot reported that blogs help generate leads and build credibility for a company. Their survey has reported positive results for companies that manage blogs:

  • 57% of companies using blogs reported that they acquired customers from leads generated directly from their blog
  • Businesses are now in the minority if they do not blog. From 2009 to 2011 the percentage of businesses with a blog grew from 48% to 65%
  • 27% of users rated their company blog as “critical” to the business
  • 85% of users rated company blogs as “useful” or better

So with a growing trend of companies managing blogs, how can a brand leverage the content they deliver? How can companies use blogs to promote their brand? We asked individuals to share their tips for companies that manage blogs, but the tip could not exceed 140 characters. The goal was to identify tips that could be shared easily on Twitter and would provide insights for leveraging a company blog.

There was a great outpour of responses and the tips seemed to highlight one particular theme – blogs should engage customers with content that is relevant to them and must provide differentiation for the brand from its competitors. Below is a list of 50 tweetable tips:

50 Tips for Driving Engagement with Blogs in 140 Characters or Less

Image Source: WishPond
  1. Share case studies that address client pain points while educating on uses for your product or service. @katseyemedia
  2. The best brand and business blogs genuinely answer a customer question. @DigiCoachHouse
  3. Avoid using your blog to deliver bad news and always consider how each blog could be perceived in a year’s time. @DigiCoachHouse
  4. Your business blog should place the real value before selling anything: Educate and communicate with your readers. @seosmarty
  5. Use blog content as a catalyst for conversations on social media. Pose questions and share URLs to build up community and brand equity. @stephciccarelli
  6. Stick with a regular #blog schedule (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.) and stick with it to build an audience. @ErinSRichards
  7. Position your blog to provide targeted DIY inspiration that is original, interactive and ties well with your overall marketing strategy. @KoyalWholesale
  8. Add keywords to your blog content to optimize results, check “Google AdWords” for top ranking search terms. @champinternet
  9. Time to self-promote! Blog about your industry expertise: a personal story, speaking at a conference or why you got in the biz. @champinternet
  10. A blog is your company’s face to the world. Use it to humanize your brand and build engagement. @landslidecrtv
  11. Ask questions with blog posts, and answer them with content that you promote within each post or elsewhere on your blog. @lisafugere
  12. Creating original #content for your company’s website will increase organic #SEO and give readers a reason to return. @mmidentitylab
  13. Have regular categories like “Trending Tuesday” or “Fun Facts Friday.” @StephLough
  14. Remember all those emails from confused customers? Put answers to the most common questions in a blog post. @GatzSocialMedia
  15. Don’t forget a call to action. Every blog entry should encourage customer engagement: learn more, read more, watch this video, contact us. @techtherapist
  16. Increase sharing, multiply branding efforts and please business partners by highlighting partners in blog lists and feature content. @iGiftback
  17. Create unique compelling content around the keywords for which your target audience is searching and interested in. @robwalling
  18. Monitor blog traffic with Google Analytics and pay attn to bounce rate and where your readers are coming from. Appeal to those readers! @LeMetric
  19. Make the most of your #blog content – syndicate your blog to get more traffic and exposure. An RSS feed is a great start. @eccushing
  20. Inject personality into your company by showcasing your staff & their passion for the brand. @t_akers, Campaign Architect at @WELDtweets
  21. Have a point of view in your content. Don’t just “report”. It should reflect an authentic voice of you or the company @spanishgringo
  22. Post feature, product & integration updates. 4 technical products, provide in-depth analysis on value it provides your potential customers. @KJMagee
  23. Be consistent (@ least twice/month); be relevant, be current, don’t be a shill for your product or service; be of value; encourage feedback. @tgprice5
  24. Get insight from industry insiders – who’s leading in your field? Interview them for a great blog post. @misspallen 
  25. Encourage your employees, customers and partners to share your blog and reward them for doing so. http://ar.gy/4.0T @ambernewman
  26. Determine who needs what you can offer, how they can use it to solve their problems & how you can best deliver it to them. @rozkwalker
  27. Include social handles and a company link in your blogs to create easy access to all your company pages @Reed_Daw SEO Associate @Volusion
  28. For #marketing, blog about your products from a story point of view before hard selling them. The soft sell wins. @BradHines
  29. Include other companies and resources in your blog posts. You’ll show up in their Google alerts and get in front of new audiences when they share. @tayloraldredge
  30. Remember the 80/20 Rule: 80% engaging content relevant to your audience, 20% about your company & products via @EmpireCovers
  31. Interact with customers in the comments section to keep the dialogue going and acknowledge their input. @Homescout
  32. Engaging content helps to massage your leads down your marketing funnel to a possible sale. @christinaduren
  33. Try posting at different times and days to see when your audience is reading @ContempoSpace
  34. Don’t just promote your own business and its offerings on your blog- you need to be seen as a resource, not just an advertisement. @jpretz
  35. Hook up your blog to an RSS publisher so every new post gets sent to your Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin! @Tammykfennell 
  36. Case studies! People love to know how you solved a problem, helped a client, or made an impact. @JackieWolven
  37. Using a blog to promote a brand takes good writing. Growing a blog’s audience takes good SEO. Having a good blog takes good listeners. @JonNegroni
  38. Develop an email campaign that creates awareness about your blog. Let people know how to get there, along with the value they’ll receive. @JasonPinto
  39. Always end your blog posts with an open question to increase the number of comments you receive on each articles. @stephaniehetu
  40. Post how-to videos to help customers and prospects with tasks they might find challenging. @resonancecont
  41. Write blog posts on industry-related topics and reference other companies in the post and tweet to them to grow your audience @alex_katzen
  42. Make others laugh – blog posts tend to get shared more if they are funny @accuracast
  43. Social feeds are cluttered. Post content more than once throughout the week and month with teaser headlines and high trafficked hashtags. @CLRochelle
  44. Use your blog to educate customers. It helps develop credibility and trust with them. @WAM_Enterprises
  45. Use your blog to answer your prospects’ questions and address their concerns or one of your competitors will be happy to do it for you! @benlanders
  46. Don’t be afraid to give away knowledge. You will build trust and provide true value to prospects. @RussellDavies71
  47. Add value by including images, embedded videos and links to sources. @BritWebLtd
  48. Originate or curate content that contributes to net-new discourse about a topic keenly relevant to your company’s competitive differentiation or core competency. @marchitexture
  49. On a blog, a company should share their niche knowledge to promote ideas, case studies, etc. that way increasing their thought leadership. @liordegani
  50. Your content should focus on your customer. Talk about their questions, problems, & needs. People like to read solutions, not sales pitches. @MESlayter

Please share your tweetable tip on driving engagement with blogs in the comment section below.