In the marketing world, “Content is king” is an often-heard adage, but we’d like to propose a revised version – “Strategic content is king”. If you’re simply creating content and throwing it out into the world with no plan, you are wasting your time and money.
This goes for your blogging strategy. While adding a blog to your website seems like an easy way to add more content and boost your site’s search engine optimization (SEO), publishing articles simply for the sake of doing so will do nothing in helping you reach your business goals.
Luckily, the answer to an effective blog strategy consists of just a handful of best practices, such as:
1. Deciding the purpose(s) of your blog
The first step in building a successful blog is determining what exactly you want your blog articles to accomplish. There may be several goals you wish to achieve with your blog, but the point is identifying those goals so that you can create relevant content that will resonate with your audience. For instance, if you are in the tourism industry, you may want to showcase your destination and surrounding attractions in a way that compels people to visit. Or, if you are always trying to recruit employees, your blogs could focus on staff testimonials and the benefits of working at your establishment.
2. Doing your research
Next, think of the person who will be reading your blog and how you can best write the blog to connect with them. What is their age range? Their geographical location? Their interests? This information may be obvious, or it may require a dig into your website and social media analytics to see who your current audience is and what they’re engaging with.
3. Adding value
One of the main reasons people read blogs is because they are trying to learn something, or they have a problem to solve. Step in and be the hero they’re looking for by answering their questions and providing the information they need. If you’re stumped on what your audience needs, we recommend looking at your competitors and seeing what content they are sharing online and determining how you can make it better, or perhaps fill in the gaps they may be missing.
4. Making it original
Another reason you don’t want to copy and paste existing content is that, to gain success in blogging, you need to develop your own voice. If your company and industry is more informal, with an edgier target audience, you can probably get away with breaking some of the normal conventions of writing and maybe even throwing in some slang. Those blogging for law firms or medical establishments may want to maintain a more formal vibe.
5. Keeping it consistent
One of the worst things you could do for your blog is to post sporadically, as doing so means you’re less likely to gain traction with both search engines and, more importantly, your audience. Even if you only have the time to put together blog posts twice a year, space them out to once per month to give your readers something to read on a recurring basis.
6. Spreading the word
After you make your first post or two, share away on your social media pages, paid ad campaigns, and through email! Make sure SEO techniques are in place so your article can get found by those searching across the web. If you have a WordPress website, you can download an SEO plug-in that will show you how well your post is optimized, along with pointers on how you can further optimize it. Pro Tip:To further increase the visibility of your blog, add an eye-catching blurb about it on your website’s homepage.
There you go – the beginnings of blogging success!
Need help putting together your own winning blog strategy? Check out our Content Creation Bundles and contact us today!
