Small business owners are constantly attempting to have an exponential increase in online visibility since it is the most cost effective way to reach multicultural, global or local markets. While there are various platforms through which you can channel your content online, let’s focus on the key area of blogging specifically for business purposes.
Although blogs were initiated as personal online diaries and ranting platforms, the potential of using blogging as a platform for marketing purposes has now increased a million fold over the last few years. The concept of business based blogging in fact functions somewhat differently to personal blogging because its core purpose it to bring in leads unlike with personal blogging where it is more about how the blogger him or herself reaches celebrity status based on a personal opinion. Business blogging is about catering to specific audience needs and not about you.
Here are 6 easy steps along the path of successful business blogging:
- Identify Goals:
Are you trying to educate someone on how to use your product better? Do you want to enhance your online credibility? Are you asking for someone’s opinion to make your brand offering better? Whatever the purpose, first identify it and then decide how you will write a specific post to meet this purpose.
- Be Thematic:
Most blogging platforms like Wordpress allow for multiple, customizable themes. Find one that best represents your brand and allows for you to leave an impactful visual imprint. You also need to decide what format and flow the blog will take in terms of where you want your sidebar to go and what links you will provide in it.
- Create Powerful Content:
Writing a lot of content that has brand information is not what blogging is all about. You want to use this medium as a value addition and as such offer something of real value to your customers. If you are a restaurant for instance, you may want to write a piece about your secret ingredient or even give away free recipes.
- Maintain a Blogging Calendar:
Plan out your blogging topics in advance and maintain a calendar to ensure that you are not repeating yourself – and also that you are able to plan ahead to deliver timely and relevant blog posts.
- Offer an Opt-In Incentive:
The title speaks for itself. You need to give your readers a good enough reason to follow your blog from free ebook downloads to anything relevant to your brand and consumer.
- Blog Promotion:
If you want more people reading your content then you need to promote it across all your other digital platforms and also add in sharing buttons to your posts to allow for an organic growth of readership.