So you keep hearing that ‘content is king’ and that writing blogs is a great way to boost website traffic, keep people coming back and helps you move up those coveted search result ranks. Maybe you’ve written a few blogs here and there or you maybe your blog is currently sat empty on your website just waiting for that first post?
Wherever you are on your content journey, here are some key considerations to get you on track to harnessing the power of blogging for your business or brand in order to drive brand awareness, build community and and get those all important leads:
What have you got to say?
Sounds simple but the key to great blog content is the content of your content! The ultimate goal is to add value to your brand and position yourself as an authority in your field. Is there something you can write about with passion & purpose? Consider how each piece of content could serve your business and the people reading it. Could you start a meaningful conversation with your audience?
Ideas: Your journey so far, new product launches and the creative/manufacturing process behind them, a social issue close to your heart that aligns with your brand values, industry, target audience (jackpot if it hits all three!)
Who are you writing for?
Always write with your target audience in mind. Many businesses fall short of this by writing gratuitously for themselves for the sake of just getting a blog up on their website. Consider how your content might help your audience. Can it teach them something they didn’t already know? Will it help them understand more about what your brand is all about? Apply some old school critical thinking to each post by considering the following:
- Is it relevant?
- Is it honest?
- Does it inspire?
- Is it necessary?
- Does it do anyone any favours?
Ideas: Tutorials, answering commonly asked questions within your field or service offering, share a case study, crowdsource ideas direct from your audience.
Have you got a plan?
So you’ve written one blog, but what is coming next? Blogging well for your business or brand is all about consistency. Dedicate some time to thinking about how often you’d ideally like to update your blog and formulate a plan you can stick to. Flesh out some content ideas and set yourself some deadlines for writing and publishing to keep some regularity. Don’t have the time? Why not outsource? I can help with everything from content planning to writing and uploading to your website.
This will be especially helpful if you’re a service-based brand – in my experience these are the ones that struggle most with consistent blogging. Sure your clients needs will always come first, that’s a given, but don’t lose sight of marketing your own expertise as this will ultimately help you to win new business and stand out from competitors.
Ideas: Could you write a series of blogs around a particular theme? Are there any awareness days coming up that you can add your brand’s valuable insight to?
Is your content made to be found and primed for sharing?
All digital content should be written with SEO in mind – how are you going to get to reach your target audience if they can’t find your content after all? SEO is more than a box-ticking and keyword-inserting exercise though so keep your audience in mind and don’t let optimisation butcher your well thought-out blog content.
Good blog content is prime for being shared across the digital stratosphere – the more shares you get across social media, the better it is for your blog’s SEO. It’s the perfect match! Which leads me on nicely to the next point…
How are you going to re-use your blog content?
Don’t just post and be done with it – think about how you can use your blog content across multiple marketing channels. Apply the three ‘R’s’ of recycling:
- REDUCE – by using your blog content across your social media, e-mail newsletters, digital ads and more you’ll effectively be reducing your overall workload. A big part of digital marketing lies in the planning and even the most savvy marketers spend lots of time coming up with content ideas!
- RE-PURPOSE – Don’t just copy your blog verbatim on your other marketing channels. Re-purpose it for the platform you’re posting it on. Pay attention to the different formats available to you. Could you condense your blog content into a social media carousel? Could you display the key points in an infographic? Would the content translate to an Instagram reel? You’d be surprised at just how far you can stretch the content of just one blog post!
Blogging for your business or brand checklist
So there we have some key considerations that I hope will be useful to you the next time you sit down to write a blog for your business or brand, in summary these are:
- What do you have to say?
- Who are you writing for?
- Have you got a blog plan going forward?
- Have you considered SEO and social media?
- How are you going to repurpose your content for multi-channel use?
Did you find this post useful? If so, please give it a share! I’d also love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!