In the past, we have spoken at length about the importance of carefully crafted blog posts. Back in January, we said:
“When writing Blog articles…the number one goal is to always write with the readers in mind instead of search engines. For businesses that blog, their goals should be to raise brand awareness, increase relevant web traffic, increase likability and increase conversion.”
These pointers are still completely true. However, the quality of your individual blog posts matters very little if you do not post on a regular – and frequent – schedule.
Frequent Blogging to Boost Your Business
Blog posts, at their core, are short articles that can draw your customers’ attention to whatever you want. For example, you could post about a new service that your business will be offering, or point out a cool community event in which your business will be participating. Generally speaking, you should post these “things of note” whenever they occur, although almost 75 percent of all businesses post at least once a week, if not two to three times per week.
Frequent blogging gives your business an edge for a number of reasons. First, and most essentially, it allows you to humanize your brand while engaging with your customers. It also serves as a tangible sign of activity – showing your customers that your business is still out there and still engaged. Finally, it is great from an SEO standpoint, for raising your profile in search results. After all, the more your business posts online, the more likely you are to reap conversions from search engine hits.
If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say, Find Something Nice to Say
One of the most common things we hear from our clients is that they can’t blog right now because nothing interesting is happening at their business. In our experience, however, giving up on blogging is one of the worst things you can do for your business. After all, people these days have a remarkably short attention span. Frequent blogging is one of the best ways to remind your customers what your business is and what it does, by continuously reminding them of the benefits of working with your business.
If you are suffering from writer’s block, or feel like you have nothing important to say, that is certainly not a good reason to give up blogging. You just need to get a little creative:
- Try breaking one post up into several posts that you can publish over the course of a week or two. This gives you the opportunity to go into greater detail about your subject, while also encouraging your customers to stop back, to read the next part.
- Use your blog as a way to point out other interesting things in your community. You may even wish to ask another local business in your area to consider mentioning your business on their blog, to keep traffic flowing your way.
- Look for current events that relate to your business and then offer your commentary on the situation. People love businesses that are engaged with the rest of the world.
At times, blogging may seem like a hassle or waste of time. Stick with it, though! The more you post, the more your business will feel the benefits!
Do you regularly update your business’s blog? How do you come up with ideas for fresh and exciting content?
If you need help getting your business set up with a new blog, or managing an existing blog, give us a call at 1-877-769-0885 or contact us online.
Pick a theme and tell a story!
Here’s an idea – pick a recent movie, or a favourite TV show and use it as a metaphor for your opinion editorial. You’ve already seen this metaphor story telling in action – references to how a service is like a player in the Game of Thrones. Or references to a Lionel Richie hit with a story about what the lyrics mean to your business now.
Here’s some more proof that story telling works:
The Power of Storytelling: How To Get 300% More People To Read Your Content
Posted on Tuesday, April 22nd, 2014
Written by Alex Turnbull
http://blog.bufferapp.com/power-of-story
A few other ideas is to encourage the reader to assume the successful role in your story. Use 2nd person “you” and “your” as a transition between the character in your story and your reader.
One more tip – don’t hurt your readers’ feelings by making the reader feel like a fool. Choose a fictitious character, in an impersonal sense, to mock or use as an example of mistakes.
One last tip to get people thinking – open with a “what” or “how” question – either directly or indirectly. AND close with a “why” statement. Remember the story is about placing your ideal customer in the position of getting what they need or want.
So, why don’t we ask “why” in a question? Why do we state “why”? Why puts people in a defensive position. NEVER ask in-person, “Why would you do a thing like that?!” — Similarly in writing be careful to ONLY ask, “Why not?” — and ONLY AFTER you’ve explained the benefits.
Keep in touch Brian! ~ Shauna in Perth
Lol, that’s too funny. I was given 2 references to Game of Thrones in the same day. I’ve never seen it but it must be trending, lol.
This is what one of my connections on Linkedin sent me who works for Hootsuite http://blog.hootsuite.com/game-of-social-thrones-video/
I’ve achieved great results from applying themes and the art of story telling to my content marketing strategy. What’s funny is I haven’t applied it to my blog as of yet but I do with my articles on Social Media Today http://socialmediatoday.com/posts/published/user/766986
1. http://socialmediatoday.com/brian-hughes/2236146/search-SEO-techniques-attack-seo-zombies
2. http://socialmediatoday.com/brian-hughes/2278481/look-online-marketing-pyramid-why-every-business-needs-healthy-diet-all-5-inter
3. http://socialmediatoday.com/brian-hughes/2354916/agent-facebook-and-detective-twitter-preventing-and-solving-crimes-through-soci