This article is suitable for you who plan to create a business blog, as well as you who are wondering how to get better results. We answer the following questions:
- What is a business blog?
- What value does blog have for potential customers?
- What value does blog have for your company?
- How to get started with the company blog?
- How do you write good blog posts?
- What traps should you avoid?
1. What is a business blog?
A company blog is something quite different than a personal blog. Business blogs are created and operated by enterprises, where the enterprise creates and publishes content. This content generally includes news in the field of the enterprise, expert tips that illustrate the company's expertise or updates concerning the enterprise's activities. One might say that a corporate blog is characterised by the fact that those who produce the content (the enterprise’s manager and employees) do so on behalf of the enterprise. The content is presented from the perspective of the enterprise.
Business blogging is marketing. It is part of what is called content marketing. What is absolutely essential about business blogging is that the blog is a strategic activity, based on a strategic goal. The aim of the company blog is normally to re-establish traffic and thus build up the company’s branded product digitally. Blogging provides the company with a platform to reach out to several potential customers and to create attention. Business blogging can be used by any type of enterprise, regardless of size or market.
2. What value does blog have for potential customers?
Content is what people discover, read or watch, share, comment and talk about. In other words, content is a social object, which is similar to a social need. A business blog can thus help solve problems and challenges, and give people new ideas.
If your company publishes useful articles, it will actually help the target audience find out more about the topics they are interested in. People Turn Naturally To Google for searching products and themes They want to know more about, and hope someone has taken the trouble to write in the depths of these. Those who provide potential customers with what they want will help them in their customer journey. People want information that makes it easier for them to make a purchase decision, and if you're capping their attention, it's you who get the pleasure to give them that information.
Blogging regularly can also make it easier for people to know where to look for information. Usually people use the search engine when they're going to find out something, but if you're still the one who delivers solutions to their problems, they might go straight to the business blog the next time they're looking for useful content. This makes research phase for potential customers more efficient, because they don't see the need to read through lots of content they don't know the quality of in advance.
Three. What value does blog have for the company?
We live in an increasingly visual time, which may already appear to be filled with digital content. You can quickly imagine that blogging will be subject to a competition you can't win anyway, and that it will be a little profitable.
So why are you actually going to blog? 53% of market participants say that the production of blog posts is the top priority in inbound marketingSo let's say that this is the same thing as that. In 2017, the content marketing was ranked as: the best technology in digital marketing;So let's say that this is the same thing as that. There's always room for those who do something right. In this article you'll just learn how to blog correctly. Imagine that the digital world is inviolable, and that there are still opportunities to do things better than those who have done it before you. There are actually quite a lot of people who read blogs that have utility for them, so there's always room to reach out to their target group if you blog correctly.
Blog is important for search engine optimization
The majority of traffic to websites from online generated leads comes from search engines. Search engines are still the dominant source of customers through the different steps of their customer journey. Near 9 of 10 consumers (84%) make purchases after reading about a product or service on a blog. At the same time, blogs become more central because people are actively searching for information in their search engines through their customer journey. Blogging is a marketing tactics that will make your business more visible. If your company has a blog that is regularly updated around relevant keywords, the probability of the blog being visible by searching increases. Creating relevant high quality content will increase your organic ranking in search engines. This will help drive the traffic of especially new customers into the page, and make them aware of your brand.
Through blogging, the search engine will also understand better what you have to offer. The blog is therefore a place where you should produce information about themes that are relevant to your business. If you produce a lot, and in addition, internal content links to each other, the search engine understands more easily what themes you are an authority on. This helps you achieve increased ranking, which is good for organic traffic.
Blog not isolated from other channels
You should consider the blog a marketing channel in the same way as other channels, where the goal is for the company to grow. The blog as a platform allows you to create content that can also be shared on other social platforms. A natural choice of channels associated with articles on company blogs is to publish them on LinkedIn and Facebook. The blog thus helps you interact with the target audience around the articles, through the possibilities you have to share and leave comments. This creates room for discussion and for building relations with the target group. A business blog is a useful starting point if you want a platform to share information and interact with your target group at a personal level.
A smart approach is that the blog should influence marketing in other channels. People use blogs in their research face, to share their ideas, or to ask for recommendations and advice. You will of course want customers and potential customers to follow you in all social channels, and engage in your business. Through engagement, they will help you with your marketing, including positive mention and sharing. What is a benefit of company blogs is that you can facilitate visitors to share your articles or navigate to other channels. In addition to your articles, you should therefore have buttons to link to other social channels you dispose of. This has value for those who read articles on your blog and who consequently want to engage with you on social media, for example follow you on LinkedIn or Facebook for updates.
One rule of memory is always to make it as simple as possible for people who want to follow you. A business blog has the absolute potential to make traffic to other channels easy.
Blogging builds authority
The Business Blog is a platform where you can publish content that reflects the company's existence. You should produce content related to the issues and issues that are common within your industry. Through blog posts, you will thus be presented with the knowledge that exists in the company. A company blog will therefore give the company a position to show authority within its field of activity.
Blog helps to develop good customer relationships
Customer relationships are an important concept for businesses. Enterprises for which bloggers actually provide a basis better and stronger relationships with their customersSo let's say that this is the same thing as that. Regular blogging can create contact and build trust, as well as facilitate positively charged communication. The blog should help potential customers in their assessment phase. Customers must first of all know that you exist to be in their consciousness at all. Being anonymous is the safest guarantee of not getting any customers.
Good customer relationships can also be used strategically. When the blog enhances the relationship between the company and the target group, this can create space for exchanging ideas. So when you are open to listening to the thoughts and needs of the target group, this will be able to improve your offer.
Possibility of valuable contact with potential customers
The blog is a communication platform. The company may use it to connect with interested visitors. By offering visitor content that helps them in one way or another, you have the possibility to establish contact with them. A smart and easy way to do this is to offer visitors to get additional content associated with the blog post they read sent by e-mail. This content must be relevant to the article you connect to, so that you are sure that it has value for the recipient. Collecting emails is a good opportunity to find out who your readers are, which can also help you define your target better. The people you manage to volunteer to provide you with their contact information signal that they are, for example, susceptible to more content related to the theme. They may also be open to more direct communication with the company.
Blogging creates trust
One thing is to engage people. Through blogs, you can quickly engage both customers, other specialist experts or even journalists. This is because the blog gives the company a room where it can create a clear voice and become more visible. Another thing is to build trust in the visitors, so they want to be your customers.
The blog provides customers with a platform where they can be heard by the company. This has value for the company because customers are often the ones who have the good ideas. Those who have actually tested out your products or services on the other side of the table know how they work in practice. Showing that the company is a good listener who responds to the feedback they receive leads to more confidence in the company. As mentioned, this also leads to the company being given the opportunity to improve its offer.
It will also help to build trust if you are able to constantly deliver useful content. If people know that they can always visit your blog to get answers to the issues they encounter in everyday life, this will naturally create a relationship of trust between you and your target group.
4. How to get started with the company blog?
It's not that hard to start a blog, but it takes some work and commitment. We'll share some important things to consider at the very beginning.
Blog should be part of the web page
The design is usually the same as for other types of blogs, but the principle of the company blog is that it belongs to the company's website. It is important to take SEO (search engine optimisation) seriously. One of the points of blogging is to get good locations in organic searches. This means that you may not have to pay in expensive judges for traffic. Before you start blogging, the company should therefore develop a content marketing strategy that is largely based on SEO. A concrete tip is not to make a blog with a sub-domain of the enterprise's existing domain;So let's say that this is the same thing as that. Google would consider the blog a separate website in such cases. Doing this will lose the blog's ability to exploit the benefits of the web page domain.
In other words, you want the domain to look like this... :company.no/blog... rather than blog.company.no If you are careful about this, the blog and other parts of the website will share your rankings. This will allow your website to easily improve the ranking of search engines results.
Blogging should be part of something bigger
The blog shall not be an isolated activity. The blog should be part of a larger effort and be part of the company’s overall marketing strategy. Have a conscious relationship with the other activities the company focuses on and the goals to try to achieve. All activities should reflect each other and should be designed.
The blog should also know what is happening in social media and e-mail marketing, among other things. It's about that the articles must be properly promoted to achieve the success you wish.So let's say that this is the same thing as that.
Who's going to blog?
Some people might think that only the leaders should blog, because the blog is somehow the company's face outwards. There's no phase on this. Initially, everyone can blog. What's important is that they actually choose is motivated. People like to relate to people, so we recommend that the articles are signed to those who have actually written them. It builds the creativity of having an open writer of the blog that people can read the biography of among other things. People are often curious who it is that is behind what they write, and a human being is here more concrete than a business name.
Map the content of the target population to be interested in
Lee Odden CEO and co-foot of TopRank Marketing have stated the following: ”A blog is only as intresting as the intrest shown in others“. Think of your customers, and how you can offer them even better content than your competitors. Be true to what you stand for and create content that is targeted at what you have defined as your ideal audience.
It is important to blog about things that have value for the target group, for example what customers should do to get the most value out of a product or service they have purchased from you. So make them better able to do something better. You should choose a few main categories of themes to rewrite, so that you become an authority on these.
A good place to start is to think about what questions and issues your target group meets in their everyday lives, and present solutions to these things to them. This requires you to define your target group before you start to create the contents. Define the characteristics of people in your target group. This is how it becomes easier to actually arouse your interest.
Create calendar and publication plan
Before you start, we recommend that you: Puts in system a calendar and a publication plan. This should be a lead for the work on blog posts, and of course can be changed in the course of the course. This is a very useful tool, especially if more people are to be responsible for producing and publishing content. With good plans that are regularly updated, you avoid potentially double work. You also avoid publishing and sharing something at the same time.
It also helps to motivate you to have a consistent calendar and an overall plan with the blog. It's not as effective to just blog the few times you really have something on your heart, then you probably haven't built up an audience that actually gets what you have to report.
This is also about expecting control to your readers. You should have a plan that leads readers and potential customers to know exactly what they can expect from your blog. Pre-explainability may be worth working after. Do you have the opportunity to publish to fixed days, for example? Although you should blog regularly, this does not mean that you will necessarily blog every day. If you share new content in all channels on a daily basis, perhaps the involvement of readers will fall rather than increase. Consider how often you should publish, according to your target group.
The point of blogging regularly is that you are creating a good folder with content. This can help you generate more leads. It is not necessarily your latest articles that lead to conversions, but often users go on and read old content that is relevant and valuable to them.
5. How do you write good blog posts?
When you have defined your target group, and made a plan for what kind of content you're going to produce, the time will come when you're actually going to make it. How to make sure that the content is produced in the most optimal way? Most blog posts are produced as text, so here we will focus on how you can write a good blog post. Of course, you don't have to limit yourself to this. For example, video can also be very effective. How to use video in content marketing, you can Read more about here.
A convenient blog entry template
Writing articles becomes instantly more affordable if you have a template in place. The template we present below has found useful. It is inspired after a workshop with Steven MacDonald from SuperOffice, who also works in INEVO, which is expert on content marketing and business blogging.
Write at least 1500 words
Write content with a length of type 1500-2000 words. Average content length of top 10 rankings for more than 20,000 keywords are in 2000 wordsSo let's say that this is the same thing as that. This is because many people use Google to learn about very comprehensive and broad themes. Therefore, ‘premier’ in-depth articles help users to find much information. Long content also helps you to more likely get backlinks, as you attract more.
You can also expect higher conversion rates with a long content than with a short one. Long content increases the probability of ranking on the first page. In addition, much more is shared than short content. You should think about this when you try to spread content in social channels.
Enter the contents around keywords
Write on the basis of a keyword strategySo let's say that this is the same thing as that. Find out what words you want to be visible on, and how to go strategically to work to increase your rankings on these. One tip is to find out who your competitors are on the search terms you want to use, and what these write about that gives them visibility. How can you make content that is even more relevant than theirs? Take good time to make optimal headlines and meta descriptors. Imagine that the search engine will understand what you are trying to convey and what the relevance and value of this is.
Do research on keywords to find out what people are writing into Google when they are searching for things related to your business. Keyword Planner tool is a good place to start. Using this you will probably experience getting new ideas for keywords that you hadn't thought in advance.
Focus Internal Link Builder
You are smart to link to your most popular articles when you write. Make sure visitors see the articles that you already know people like. The probability is getting bigger for even more clicks on them and actually reads them.
Your goal of articles should also be to make room for links to pages on the website that deal with your products and services, and to increase their rankings. Always try to link to your articles' internal pages. Articles that deal with the same themes should always be linked together, because this tells search engines more clearly what you write a lot about, which makes you look like an authority on these very themes.
Use an informal language
An informal language usually matches readers better than a formal language. Write as if you're talking to people, because there are people you write to. A tip is to ask questions while text is being spoken. This is how you invite the reader to think for yourself, and the probability of the person falling from it is less likely. You must try to re-cap the reader’s attention throughout the text, especially if it is a long article.
Think all the time that you're trying to reach out to people. So blog in a natural and simple way, not overthink it.
Header is important
The headline is basically the first thing a potential reader sees. Therefore, you want to make sure that the heading is noticed, and that it arouses interest. Be smart when you formulate a headline. If you don't see it sounds interesting, then no one else will think it. So no one will read the article, no matter how interesting the rest would be. It's about the first impression. A really good headline should have an emotional element, a content element, a theme element and a format element.
6. What traps should you avoid?
Although blogging does not necessarily have to be so difficult, there is a good part to think about if you want to really succeed. As a result, you can read about potential pitfalls that can easily be found, which can lead to a potential not being optimally exploited.
You expect results immediately
Blogging takes time! Many people think blogging is a quick fix, or a marketing activity that gives visible results about immediately. This is the most dangerous trap to go in. Such a thought set will lead to completely incorrect expectation management for the work, and you will not be able to maintain the motivation required. The result is fast to give up too quickly. Then you've really just wasted time and money on a project that could have given you a lot of returns at a later date.
It is important that everyone knows this: at blogging it takes time to get the results. Don't throw in the towel too quickly, then you'll just be out of the question by those who have more patience. You have to be willing to invest in the blog, otherwise it's pointless to start. Take time to attract people who see the benefits of following your blog. At first, building a loyal audience and finding new customers will take time, but your consequences are likely to make even more people follow you. If you blog in the right way, you can almost guarantee that you will get back for the effort at last.
You consider the blog a place to drive advertising
When you have a platform where you can actually publish exactly what you want, make sure you don't mix blogging and advertising. The blog should not be about you, but about the target group you have definedSo let's say that this is the same thing as that. Remember, you should produce content that actually has a value for people. The blog should reflect your expertise, and don't focus on self-promotion. There are ways to promote yourself that don't scream advertising. Typical examples are to rewrite successful customer cases, if you are doing this type of work. For example, if your company sells products, you can write articles with tips on how to get the most out of the product.
You think quantity rather than quality
Even if it's called regular blogs, you should spend time on the articles. It's quality that gives results.So let's say that this is the same thing as that. You're going all the way to try to give good customer experiences, also through the blog. The blog is potentially very visible and can become an important part of the customer's purchase journey. Therefore, think of content as being relevant, correct, interesting and written in a good way. If you don't do this, you might not care about the content, and consequently you don't share it with anyone. This may result in leaving your website without ever seeing the need to come back.
For all things, do not create uninterested content- What? It is possible to create exciting content even if the business may seem boring. What about your business can be interesting, informative, educational or engaging? That's what you should make content based on. Blogging requires you to be a little creative. Try to make it a little fun for yourself. If you're bored while you're writing, you're really guaranteeing that the reader will also chain.
You consider the work done when the article is posted
If you go home after the article has been published, the blog will never reach its full potential. Think of each post as a campaign. Make sure that the article is divided into other channels where you can reach the target audience. Making use of own social channels is free marketing. A tip is to also make all staff share their personal channels. This is how you can quickly reach out to a relatively large audience.
It is also possible to divide an article several times. All you have to do is present the contents of a new packaging. Also make sure that content is never outdated. It is also about those who come in and read your blog not getting into old content. If you have written articles that are no longer correct or useful, you should: update them so they can get new livesSo let's say that this is the same thing as that. Then you can promote it as new and current information. This is how you save some time, while you can promote old content as “new content”. Once you have developed a good folder of articles, you can work smart like this. The wheel need not be reinvented every time.
It is also smart to send an email to those you should mention in your articles. Often you borrow quotes from others, or refer to studies others have completed. It is, of course, helping to build on the creativity of using the names of the authorities in the text. In addition to crediting these on the blog, you can go one step further and send the person an e-mail. An example here is to present what you have written about, and to inform that you have benefited from using it as a source. By doing this you expand your network with relevant people, and the probability that “experts” share your article increases.
You underestimate the blog as marketing channel
A business blog can help you achieve long-term and strategic goals. The blog can actually be the main marketing channel of the company. You use it to run traffic, increase the conversion rate and build authority. All this is necessary for an enterprise to experience success. In addition, the blog should correlate with other marketing strategies and follow defined numerical objectives. By integrating the blog into a larger context, you are on good path to doing much right.
Conclusion
Running a business blog is not rocket research, but it is still scary to think it is too easy. In this article we have presented important things you should think about when you blog. You've read about things that work, and things that don't work. But there are some things that are not fake. One example of this is how often you should blog. This varies and is very individual, especially in terms of your target population’s needs.
When it comes to blogging, a lot is really about trying and failing. Test out different things, and figure out what works and not. So you do more of what turns out to work. After reading this article, you should be equipped to start in a good and strategic way. Good luck!
Source references
Inspiration of common bad companies does in their blog.
Reasons why companies should blog.
Assumptions of blogging that one should get away from.
Statistics related to content marketing and enterprise blogging.