According to the experts, 2016 will be the year of content. While content has been an essential part of marketing for years, it has seen a rise in popularity over the last few months. This is because time and time again, quality content has been proven to be an effective, engaging way to attract and inform both customers and potential customers. That’s why now might be the perfect time for your organization or company to create a company blog.
We’re sure you’ve read in more places than one that company blogs are all that and a bag of chips, so instead focusing on the what (that they really are great and can have a beneficial impact on your business), we’re here to share some tips about the how (…keep reading).
The more you post, the more you will see results.
Posting frequently is a great way to get more traffic to your blog. Think about it; each post represents a little bit more real estate that your website takes up on the Internet, while also showing customers that your organization consistently has interesting information, updates, and tips to share. According to a study from HubSpot, organizations that published 16+ blog posts per month got almost 3.5X more traffic than companies that published between 0-4 monthly posts.
Consistency is key.
Yes, you should be posting to your blog as frequently as possible to ensure the best results, but in reality that can’t always happen (16+ posts a month is a lot!). Instead of getting wrapped up in trying to churn out as many posts as possible, focus on creating quality content based on a schedule that is steady and maintainable. In order to gain credibility, it is better to keep a steady pace of publishing four posts per month than it is to publish 15 posts one month and then none for the following two.
Consider what your audience wants to read about.
There is no better way to come up with topics for your blog than considering the people you hope to attract. What do they want to know? Ask yourself questions like, “What is the most common question people ask me about my organization?” or “What’s something people don’t know about this industry?” and then let the ideas stem from there. Another way you can get this information is by adding a search bar to your website that tracks what’s been searched; whatever people are searching for on your site will likely point you in the direction of things that they find interesting or need some more information about.
Appreciate that blogging is an investment.
Hosting a successful blog on your website is an investment of time, effort, and resources. And, it is better for you and the success of your blog to realize this fact earlier rather than later. Creating and publishing quality content does not happen as an afterthought—it takes a sense of dedication. However, blogging remains a great investment for many organizations, especially when well executed.
Post a variety of different topics.
Variety is the spice of life (and your blog!). Publishing blog posts that take on many different formats and cover a wide variety of topics that pertain to your organization or industry is a good practice to establish. It gives your audience an opportunity to learn more about the different facets of your business and with the help of analytics, you’ll also be able to figure out which types of posts do the best. From there, you can spend more time on the types of posts that people enjoy and move on from those that they don’t.
Analytics are important.
While creating quality blog posts might seem like more of a creative endeavor, there is a very quantitative side that must be considered. Tracking your blog’s analytics will tell you some very valuable information, such as how many people saw your post, what page on your website they went to after seeing that post, how long they spent on your website, and whether or not they turned into a sales lead. While the success or value of a blog does not come down entirely to numbers, it is a component that shouldn’t be ignored.
Use it as a way to leverage your social media handles.
Blogs and social media tend to work symbiotically; blogs provide content for social media and social media directs people back to your blog. The new media circle of life! Using these two things to leverage one another will help to expand your marketing efforts and help with overall exposure.
Ultimately, quality content is what will make your blog successful.
In the same way that you would never sacrifice quality when it comes to your organization’s product or service, you should not skimp on quality when it comes to your blog. Quality content is what makes a blog worth reading in the first place and what will have your customers, and potential customers, continually interacting with your organization.
Do you have any tips that we missed? Leave them in the comments section below!
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