I have already shown in last week’s blog, that your business should be blogging. If you are still not convinced, “HubSpot research reveals businesses that blog generate 55% more website visitors, 97% more inbound links, and have 434% more indexed pages than companies that don’t blog. In essence, business blogging is a great way to generate qualified traffic to your website and fill the top of your sales funnel.”
| There is a movement on the internet called the Groundswell. People are looking to the internet and other people to get information. Your company can be a part of this movement and leverage the benefits of participation, or not. It’s your choice. You can read more about the Groundswell in the book Groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff. |  Groundswell Book Image
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So, now that you have decided to start a blog, here are some of the best practices for blogging as suggested from New Breed Marketing company in Winooski, VT.
#1 – Have an Objective
What are you trying to accomplish with your blog? Are you looking to attract more quality visitors to your site? Generate leads? Increase engagement? Become a content leader in your space?
#2 – Keep Your Brand in Mind
Your blog is an extension of your company, so it must still adhere to the standards and values of your brand.
#3 – Know Your Audience
Who is reading your blog? Who are you trying to reach with your message? You want to reach people who are customers and who will become customers.
#4 – Stay Organized
Organizing the flow of topics will be important. Set a schedule for consistency of blog posts. You can play around with which days and times are the most productive for your readers, but then stay consistent.
#5 – Research Before You Write
“Industries are always evolving – stay ahead of your competition and deliver content with a total wow-factor by researching a variety of different topics and covering them in your blog posts.”
#6 – Blog Frequently & Consistently
You want readers to come back and read every single post. If they come back and see the same post from a month ago, you’ve lost them. For larger organizations, you can delegate the blog writing to different departments. This will keep the information interesting, relevant, correct and takes the burden off just one person for all posts. Many blog platforms allow you to create a blog and set a day/time for publication. So you can take some time to write out several blogs (if you get on a roll) and then store them for publication later. This is a nice feature if (as a small business owner) you want to take a much needed vacation.
#7 – Provide Content Variety
Get others and other departments to contribute, “and it is not just about the topics, it is also about switching up the type of content you are posting. Start brainstorming different types of content to ignite a spark with your reader. This can range from text-based copy, charts or graphs, infographics, Q&As, videos, interviews, audio content, guest blog posts and/or product reviews. Get creative with your text and visual content to keep your readers engaged and returning for more. The most engaging blogs offer content to their readers in many different ways.”
At this point – I’ll take my own advice….here is a video that talks about the best blogging practices. The video is about 10 minutes in length. It does talk about blogs in the Physical Therapy Industry, but the suggestions can be transferred to any industry.
#8 – Optimize Your Content
There are tons of tools out there to help you with this, but Google’s Keyword Tool is free to use and works quite well.
#9 – Encourage Engagement
If someone comments on your blog, respond back. Keep the conversation going.
#10 – Promote Your Content
You just spent time writing a blog, let people know it’s out there.
#11 – Don’t Isolate Your Blog
Connect the blog to the company. The blog needs to feel like it is a part of the company.
#12 – Go Beyond Expectations
Intrigue your readers by included real-world case studies, or entertainment.
#13 – Include a Call-To-Arms
Invite the readers to participate in some way: Post a comment, take a poll, go to a website.
#14 – Conduct a Content Audit
How is your blog performing? Are you reaching your goals?
#15 – Patience is a Virtue
Don’t give up. It takes time.
So now what? Start the process. Get a blog account, plan your strategy and start blogging. Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions.
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