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Paul Cash, chief innovation officer at OTM, lists 10 reasons why blogs should dominate...
As a planner, thinker and writer I’ve been assessing my own blogging strengths and weaknesses of late and thought it was about time the unsung hero of social media received a little ego boost.
1. Be a goal-keeper, not just a goal-scorerIt’s all very well trying to stick the ball in the back of the net and score a vital goal using social media. However, the best attacks are built on defence and you need to make sure your blogging strategy is integrated with your content marketing and social media goals.
2. Who are you writing for?Blogs often fail to get the right level of engagement because they get written for all. The best blogs are specific in their subject matter, appeal to a defined audience and highlight a current problem that needs resolving. When done well the blog becomes the fuel for other social channels like Twitter and LinkedIn and engages your audience in the conversation. Being controversial can add a well needed level of impetus to a dry subject.
3. Stop messing around with micro sitesFor several technical reasons I won’t bore you with, integrating your blog into your company’s website URL is critical. This really does help inbound marketing and search optimisation.
4. Don’t forget the lipstickEvery blog post is a story that needs to be brought to life. Here you need to get familiar with themes, brand, typography, easy to read layouts. Once you’re happy with the structural mechanics of your blog you can then think about imagery, video and audio to give it that added sparkle.
5. OrgasmicEverybody should know this by now but don’t underestimate your blog’s contribution to SEO A well thought through post using (not abusing) keyword terms will give you a better organic ranking on Google – that’s sexy right? Check your keywords against what your audience is thinking. Use Google AdWords (contextual targeting) and Google Insights for inspiration.
6. Be a story tellerYour blog post will die a horrible death if you blurb out a bunch of facts about how amazing your product or service is. Instead focus on trying to write your blog post from a customer point of view. Make it fun and interesting and in the ideal world try and bring real world stories about you, your team or your customers to life via your blog.
7. Make it easyDon’t be scared of linking your blog posts to appropriate products or services. It’s a mighty leap to assume your readers will leave your blog and actively seek out your product page. Make it easy for them by associating your blog posts with specific products and calls to action.
8. Be great at being foundThe more time and effort that is spent building relationships and distributing your blog content across social media as well as internal media, newsletters, emails the more successful you will be. Don’t leave content distribution to your blog visitors.
9. Think like a publisherYou have to get serious about developing a set of regular columns and other features to provide structure for writers and readers.
10. Track blog resultsDon’t forget to measure your blog’s effectiveness. Track traffic; lead generation and sales as well as reduced search and customer service expense. Remember, blogs provide the best home base for your content marketing, social media sharing and search optimisation.
Author: Paul Cash
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