The pen is often said to be mightier than the sword, but in the digital age an effective and engaging corporate blog is one of the most invaluable weapons any business who cares about maximising their full potential online should possess.
Here’s an interesting fact for you to ponder. Did you know that small businesses with corporate blogs generate over 50 percent more traffic than those companies who are stuck in the dark ages and don’t blog?
The bottom line is this – Blogs attract more readers, readers attract sales, and sales are the key to your company’s survival in today’s fraught and fierce economic climate.
Let’s repeat it again for the benefit of those at the back of the class –BUSINESSES WHO BLOG GAIN MORE TRAFFIC!
Content marketing through the medium of a corporate blog is essential to any business wishing to consolidate their authority in the search engines, increase brand awareness, and build consumer relationships through the simple yet hugely effective means of generating a constant supply of online traffic.
Yet it’s not enough just to implement a blog, sit back and wait for the hits.
To generate a constant supply of online traffic takes time, skill, innovation, originality, uniqueness, and flair. The common mistake of creating a run of the mill blog, full of facts, figures and finance it that it’s not going to tap into the audiences you need to attract.
To become a better corporate blogger you’ve got to think outside of the box and push the envelope. Below are seven must know tips to give your blog that all elusive ‘X-Factor’
1. Building the Blog
Create a memorable name and theme for your blog which best conveys the ethos behind your company. A successful blog invites the reader in with relevant content and provides an interesting and engaging environment for the relationship between corporation and consumer to flourish.
A comments section for feedback is vital to build up a dialogue and maintain great blogger relations with your clients. If you provide them with an interesting place to visit and one where they feel valued, they will return time and time again. It is also paramount to have a blogging strategy that is in accord with your overall PR strategy and long term business goals.
2: Keep it Simple
Words are powerful. If you put them together in an effective, entertaining, and engaging way, whilst simultaneously conveying your company’s core message then you are on to a winner. Cherry pick the best bloggers who skills will help boost your company’s business.
The blog should give the impression of having a warm, colourful, and caring personality.
A blog which retains the impersonal, distant, official and stuffy aura many associate with large corporations will just not work. Remember, keep the content simple but keep it both informative and enticing and the word will spread.
3: Update Regularly
A successful blog is a blog that always has something new to say and a fresh perspective to add. A well blended mix of constant information and analysis, sprinkled with a dash of opinion and a hint of personal perspective will retain your established audience and recruit and foster a new army of loyal readers.
4: Poll and Surveys
Everyone likes to feel important and taking the time to ask someone their considered opinion will reinforce a reader’s sense of being valued. Feedback forums are a great method in which to gauge public opinion towards your business.
Never fear criticism, it can be very constructive and the greatest thing to ever happen to your company in the long run. Readers respect a blog which responds swiftly to their concerns.
5: Interact and Socialise
Keep on top of your reader’s comments and respond regularly. If they have a query, answer it immediately. No-one likes being kept in the dark. Successful blogging is all about interaction.Think of it as having a personal conversation with thousands, in some cases, millions of people all at the same time.
Utilise social networking tools such as Facebook, Twitter and Digg to make your blog current and connect on a larger scale with you overall PR strategy.
6: Links and Tracking
Provide links on your other blog to other sites you feel are relevant to your company and hopefully they’ll return the favour. Use Google Analytics to track your site traffic and from which sites it’s being referred. This process can serve as an invaluable learning curve when it comes to fine tuning your blog.
Soon you’ll even be able to answer the question ‘Which content drives the most sales?’ Measurement WIN!
7: Promote
Although your blog should not be a medium utilised for hard-selling techniques, promoting the blog itself is essential if it is to become a success. Social networks, business card, e-mails, and advertisements can all help promote your blog.
After all, once you’ve gone to so much trouble to create a blog that really works, you’ll want to share it with as much of the world as possible.
Oh….and don’t forget to tell your customers about it!
Flickr Photo Credit: Socialize By By R.B. Boyer
Flickr Photo Credit: Keep it Simple By Tallent Show
