In spite of the apparent decline in INC 500 companies business blogging, I’m a firm believer in blogging. This week alone I’ve picked up two new clients who found us via this blog. Yay!
To put it another way, I can’t recommend a blog enough, especially if you’re a consultant or a small business offering services rather than products.
Why ? Because online content marketing lies at the very heart of business nowadays and a blog, if used strategically and as a key online tactic to growing your business, is fundamental to marketing your business because it’s your space on the Net to get people interested in your company, the services you offer and ultimately what you do.
If you’re still wondering how you can get a blog to work for you, here are five simple tips that will help you write effective, trust-building copy that will help you get readers sticking around and generate customer loyalty.
1. Write Conversationally
The best blogs on the Net speak directly to their audience. They don’t drone on in corporate claptrap, “best practice this, best practice that”. Instead, they strike up a conversational tone that addresses the reader.
Write your blog with your target audience in mind. Don’t fall into the trap of filling your copy with a sea of jargon. And certainly don’t try and impress people with your vocabulary. The emphasis is on writing in a friendly, accessible way so people stick around and listen.
I find it’s always a good idea to read a blog post aloud before I hit publish. That way you ensure there’s personality in what you’re writing.
2. Share Stories
Readers want to know who you are and what you’re doing. In the the last couple of years the Net has become incredibly social. That’s partly why Twitter has become so popular. It gives followers an insight into people’s lives and the companies they work for.
As a business blogger, if you give your reader insights into the work you do, you have the chance to show the human side of your business. One of the hardest things to get across in brochures and advertising copy is the personality of a business and the people that run it. Blogging can help you overcome that as will other forms of online content marketing like video or podcasting. The more of your unique personality is clear, the more targeted your leads will be. If people already feel that they *know* they’re more likely to do business with you.
By sharing the challenges, innovations, problems and services you deal with, readers will get to know you better. This can be an important step in making them feel like they can approach you.
3. Update Frequently
There’s nothing worse than coming across a corporate business blog that has lain idle for a month. Even worse if it’s six months. I checked out one that I used to really enjoy this evening only to discover that the last posts were posted almost three months ago. Suffice to say, I won’t be going back.
It’s essential to regularly update your blog, and keep readers coming back for more. Make sure you have at the very least a posting schedule that you stick to so you ensure you don’t fall behind.
If left to fade, a blog can work against your business as it may give the impression that you start things and leave them half-finished. Or that you never follow through. This is not something you want customers to associate with your company.
4. Don’t Avoid Difficult Issues
Silence is not an excuse. Not these days when consumers are adept at blogging, tweeting and sharing their thoughts about a company online at any moment that suits them.
With a blog you can always put your side of the story. And sometimes you will have to when individuals or groups work against you. A good example of this is the way that Basset Hound breeders in the UK didn’t respond sufficiently to the accusations raised by a contentious BBC documentary entitled Pedigree Dogs Exposed.
A blog doesn’t just generate traffic to your website or promote your skills and services. It can also tell your side of the story in times of crisis. Because Google tends to rank blogs that are updated regularly fairly highly, you can almost always guarantee that your position will be heard.
5. Answer the Questions Your Target Audience Have
I don’t mean that you should go out and elicit questions; instead, think through the kind of problems or questions your target audience have. Then create content, whether it’s a blog post, a podcast, a video or ebook, that solves that problem.
If you give answers away for free you’ll soon discover that rather than handing over the keys to the farm, the people you help will start to see you and your business as an invaluable resource and one to turn to.
Think of it This Way
Finally, I wouldn’t discount blogging. A company blog is an excellent tool for promotion, communication, and information.
Forget what the INC 500 are doing; give business blogging a try for six months and see where it takes you.
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