Read time: 4 mins
Written by Josh Westerman
You should never underestimate the power of your business’s blog. It’s a place to engage with your existing and prospective audience, broadcasting your knowledge and expertise through the written word, as well as video and audio content.
According to research, 70 per cent of people would now rather find out about a company and its services by reading an article rather than through an advert. This shift means having a blog which offers insightful content, and helps give your brand an authoritative voice is a must. However, having a successful blog for your business isn’t as easy as just putting any old content out there – you need to have a well devised, strategic plan.
To give you a few pointers in the right direction, I’ve looked at the six steps you need to take ensure your business’s blog is a success.
1. Discover your topics
Finding the right topics to write about is the first step in creating a successful blog for your business. It shouldn’t be a case of sticking your finger in the air and hoping for the best – what you’re writing about should be an informed decision.
Do some digging to find those topics. Speak to experts within your business and find out what the hottest topics are, do some keyword research (we’ll come onto that) to find out what users are searching for in your sector, or use tools such as SEMrush or Buzzsumo to inform your content topics.
It’s also best to avoid those topics which sit outside your area of expertise too, as your blog or brand doesn’t have the credibility to be talking about them. Find out more about choosing the right topics in our post here.
When working on your blog content, you may think covering a range of topics in an article will really put your knowledge and expertise across to a reader.
However, muddying the waters with differing themes and topics within an article can come at the detriment of what you’re actually trying to say within your piece and, potentially, leave a reader feeling confused rather than informed.
For example, if a user is reading your blog post on the latest legislation to be introduced in the food manufacturing industry, they’re probably not going to want to also read about the best-selling food items of 2020 within the same piece.
Keep focus in your content and provide insightful answers to your audience – that’s how to successfully keep them engaged with what you’ve got to say.
Your target audience is key when it comes to producing content for your business’s blog, and it will impact how you want to get your message across. From the format of your content to the language you use, make sure to put yourself in the shoes of a potential reader and ask yourself “how will they want to digest this content”.
Think outside of written content too when it comes to your blog. The decision makers you may be targeting with your top-of-the-funnel content are most likely to be time-poor individuals, so a one-minute video rather than a 1,200-word article may be better suited. You can read all about the importance of utilising video content in my blog post here.
For your business blog to be a success, you can’t just rely on traffic from your owned channels. It’s imperative to remember that you can drive potential leads from Google to your website through content on your blog, all through ensuring you’re optimising for terms and queries your target audience is searching for.
Conduct in-depth keyword research on a topic, looking at shorttail and longtail terms and phrases, and ensure your content is optimised and structured to follow best SEO practices to help you be found in Google rankings. In doing so, you’ll also be helping from a non-branded search perspective – another success!
Your business’s blog content has attracted a potential prospect to your website, so you need to do your damnedest to keep them on there!
Create relevant connections in your blog content to wider parts of your website – think other blog articles, case studies or your service pages – to keep your audience engaged with your website for as a long as possible.
From a Google Analytics point of view, you want to ensure the bounce rate on your blog content is as low as possible. This means that users landing on your article page are going on to explore your wider website, and is a sure-fire sign that they want to find out more about your business’s services, specialisms or expertise.
There’s no point creating a fantastic bank of owned content if you’re not going to do anything with it. Your business blog needs to act as a tool to raise awareness of your knowledge and expertise, and entice potential customers or clients who are at the top of the sales funnel to dip their toe in and find out what your business is all about.
This is where amplification of your blog content is key. Posting your content out organically on social media is a great place to start, but to really target those prospects, utilise your content as part of a paid social campaign. Opting for this approach allows you target specific users with your blog content that may not already be engaging or interacting with your brand.
Want your business’s content marketing efforts to stand out from the competition? Download our latest whitepaper Why brands should think bigger than the humble blog and find out why taking a different approach can help you maximise your efforts.
At Brand8 PR, we have a wealth of knowledge in devising content strategies which showcases brands’ knowledge, experience and services to new and existing audiences. Get in touch today with Josh today and find out how we can help on t: 07432 655 440 or e: josh.westerman@brand8pr.com.