When I first told my husband that I was going to start a blog, his mind immediately went back to 2004 when high schoolers were using them as their own personal online journals. I’m not going to lie, when I first got into this business, I kind of thought the same thing. I had no idea how much blogging has changed over the years.
Now, blogging can revolutionize an online business with a staggeringly high return on investment as far as content marketing goes—certainly a tool worth considering for business owners. Did you know 77% of internet users read blogs, and “websites with blogs have 434% more indexed pages” than those without?! Tech Client
If you’re out of the loop on blogging, here are a few tidbits about blogs to get your research going:
1. Drive Traffic – Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
When you do a Google search, how often do you scroll past the first options and click the “Next” arrow at the bottom of the page? If you’re like me, never. I’m more likely to revise my keyword search than to keep on scrolling.
So, one of your goals should be to get your business to the first page of a Google search.
How do you do that?
Consistently publish new material. Aim for at least one blog post per week, and utilize searchable keywords (that fit naturally) throughout the post. Here's a great resource from HubSpot about SEO and where to put your keywords!
2. Build Online Presence
Once you've created your post (making sure to incorporate internal links for viewers to click around on your site & external links to establish credibility), you can share your blog post across all of your social media platforms - a built-in post!
3. Personalize Your Brand
By utilizing a blog, you’re able to tell your story. Potential clients like knowing that there’s an actual person behind the brand, and they will enjoy hearing your company’s history and purpose. Providing candid storytelling along with information about your products and services makes you more likeable and trustworthy.
Plus, potential clients will feel more comfortable reaching out since your blog makes you seem approachable and personable.
4. Connect with Your Audience
Once potential clients start following your blog, you can begin to form initial connections. For potential clients who are not quite ready to call and invest in your services, they can informally comment and ask questions about posts they find relevant.
From there, you have already formed a basic connection that makes following through later even easier for both of you! The introduction has already been made, and many questions have already been answered.
5. Publish Relevant Information
Utilize follow-up questionnaires with past clients, and keep up with the comments on your blog. The feedback will help you get to know your audience better and write helpful, relevant posts. When your articles resonate with your audience, they are more likely to share the post and ask further questions.
6. Keep Your Clients’ Interest
You may have years of experience under your belt, but today’s culture is all about convenience, relevance, and connection. After working with clients, make an effort to stay in touch rather than letting the relationship fall away once the exchange is over. Continue to post interesting articles that will help the clients you have already served – after all, they may refer their friends and family over to your site or business later.
7. More Productive Social Interactions
If you’ve ever read the comments on a Facebook post, you know they can get out of hand and off-topic pretty quickly. As a professional, those are probably not the deep, personal connections you are looking for with potential clients.
The comments section on a blog post allows your clients to comment on specific topics in a more isolated forum. Depending on the topic, blogging forums tend address actual questions that your customers may have about your service or product.
The comments section allows you to interact with followers on a more personal basis without the whole world weighing in.
Need a blog but don’t have time to write? Connect with me at elises.edits@gmail.com. I’d love to help you out with my à la carte blogging services!
Comments