It’s no question that having a business blog can increase your online presence and get you even more leads and sales.
However, to truly optimize your blog, it’s important to map out your editorial calendar and touch as many bases as possible. It’s also crucial to keep your blog versatile and to refrain from making it too corporate (unless you’re targeting a corporate audience, of course).
Make a list of the audience you want to reach, and start to plan out blogs that are most likely to attract them. Once you know who you want to attract, you can set the wheels into motion. Here are 5 business blogging tips that can help get you more customers:
Offer Relevant Tips
Having relevant tips and useful advice on your blog helps establish your blog as an authority source, and also increases your blog’s SEO. Each blog post you create is another indexed page for search engine robots to crawl, and can potentially bring in leads for years to come.
Relevant tips don’t always have to include your product or service. For example, if you own an ecommerce store that sells high-end kitchen decor, you could branch out and discuss cooking and holiday decoration tips — even if you don’t necessarily offer cookware or holiday decorations. A blog gives you the opportunity to discuss small, niche products and services on a much larger scale, allowing you to capitalize on the industry your business falls in.
Squash Business Misconceptions
One of the many benefits of blogging is the ability to squash misconceptions about your business. A blog is where your voice is heard, and it can clear the air about what you have to offer. Here are a few examples of how other companies are addressing misconceptions about their products:
Altium: Altium, a leading PCB design software company, made a post about common misconceptions about PCB design. This addresses many of the pitfalls engineers and other potential customers have.
OpenTable: OpenTable is the #1 place for consumer restaurant bookings. However, many people don’t realize that OpenTable is also a premium CRM system geared towards restaurant owners. You can use your blog to educate consumers on the services you offer, like OpenTable did in this post about how OpenTable works for restaurants.
Wrike: Wrike is a project management software that helps teams successfully achieve their project goals through better workflows and organization. There are many misconceptions about project management, which Wrike discussed in one of its blog posts.
Vivint: Vivint, a smart home appliance company, made a blog post about the misconceptions of home automation (it’s not as complicated as you think).
Showcase Your Customers
Involving your customers in your blog will keep them coming back for more. The more you involve your customers, the bigger your army of advertisers and social reach will be. There are many ways to go about this. One way to do this is to invite your customers to show off how your business has helped them. This is a versatile way to get your customers (and products or services) front and center.
For example, using the same ecommerce decor company as an example, customers might show off different ways they use the brand’s products to decorate their kitchen. If you want to take it a step further, create a contest and use your blog as a platform to announce the contest and its winner(s).
Have Guest Authors
There are many benefits of guest blogging. Enlisting the help of a third-party blogger gives you the chance to provide your visitors with valuable information from experts in your area. In addition to the value they bring to your blog, guest authors typically share their contributions on social media, bringing in visitors from their end as well. Contributors typically view this as a win-win; it offers both parties added exposure, and gives your blog more diversity. Read relevant blogs and turn to vendors, colleagues, and customers for recommendations on the best experts to bring on board.
Talk About Product Features
Take advantage of the opportunity and platform to discuss product features. Why? Getting those features in other publications and blogs can be tedious and cost-worthy. You have complete control over your blog and the expertise to write about your project features thoroughly, so it’s the perfect time to take advantage of this. For example, Roku used their blog to discuss its new live TV pause and mobile private listening features. Be creative with how you announce or educate your consumers about product features of new releases, and make sure to address any potential questions visitors may have.