Creating a Highly Effective Business Blog
In today’s world, your company cannot afford not to have a business blog, no matter how small it is or what line of business it is in. Your customers will expect you to have one. Your competitors probably have them already. Read on to learn what a blog can do for your business, and how to create a truly effective one.
What a Blog Does for Your Business
Two of the main purposes of a business blog are generating leads and converting readers into customers. Equally important, a blog serves to humanize your business. By making your business more relatable, you are building up trust with your potential customers, and that trust is what will ultimately drive the most conversions. A business blog is not just a place for your company to promote its products or services, it is a place to address important issues that affect your company and defend it from its critics. A business blog is as important to modern companies as a customer service line is.
How to Make an Effective Business Blog
Business blogs are as varied in style and message as businesses themselves are. However, there are certain traits that every business blog needs to have if it is to be successful.
Stay True to Your Company’s Brand
Every little element in your blog must be true to your brand if you want readers to really connect with it. A generic theme and layout will not do. Say, for example, that your company’s brand is a family-friendly one. All of the images on your blog should have family themes. Instead of menu options like “Contact Us,” and “Help,” use choices like “Let’s Be Friends,” and “Got a Question?” Do not write the blog in a polished, professional manner, write it with a friendly, down to Earth tone. Avoid professionally produced videos. Instead, have them made by friends and family members of employees, for that honest, amateur, family feel. Every single element of your blog, no matter how small, must be true to your company’s brand.
Pay More for Strong Writers
A business blog is not just for dispensing information. It is something that is really supposed to connect with your readers. That kind of writing takes talent that not every writer has. Never try to save money by settling for a writer who will work for very little money. Find a writer with a unique style that matches your company’s brand and then pay what it takes to keep that writer around. Your blog is the first point of contact that many people have with your company. Make sure that it is a memorable one that keeps them coming back for more.
Minimize Loading Time
Images are critical for making an effective business blog, but so is your blog’s loading time. Today’s consumers don’t like to wait. If your blog is so loaded down with giant images and scripts that it takes forever to load, most people won’t wait around to find out what your blog even looks like. There are many things you can do to minimize your blog’s loading speed, and you should do all that you can.
Put Your Audience First
Post about things that matter to your readers. Nobody is visiting your company’s blog to read sales pitches. You can promote products, services and sales, but you have to do so in a discreet, understated way. Mostly, you should be solving problems or making helpful suggestions for your readers, and only sometimes mention in passing how your company’s products or services can help them with these matters.
