The Basics of Blogging for Business
Hello! My name is Lauren and I’m the newest JAR intern. Follow my posts as I learn and share with you about online marketing through the Inbound Marketing University courses provided by Hubspot! Today, my first blog, will be about…blogs!
Why Blog?
What makes a blog a great idea for you and your business? Well, for starters, Google, loves loves loves blogs. Why? Because blog content is constantly changing. If content on your site is active as opposed to static, you will increase you opportunities for visibility in the search engines. And then there are the stats: According to IMU’s first webinar, in 2013 it is projected that 58% of that population will be reading blogs monthly, and that 17% will be writing. That’s 128 million people in the US reading, and 38 million writing. Sounds like something you should get started on to make your company more visible, doesn’t it?
What Makes a Blog a Blog?
According to IMU, a blog is a tool that allows one to quickly and easily publish new content, and also allows for feedback from readers in the form of comments. The two most important components of a blog are posts and comments.
- Posts! The posts are the most dominant part of the blog–how you post will determine the way in which you use your blog as a tool to connect to your clients. In your posts you should aim to strike a balance between providing useful and interesting information to your readers and informing them about your company. If you slightly shift the focus of your content towards your expertise in a wider subject matter you will attract a greater number of readers. For instance, IMU gave a great example of a blog for a carpeting company that drew readers in by providing valuable tips on interior design. Where do you think those readers looked first when they wanted to purchase carpet for their interior design projects?
- Comments! Comments, while not the most dominant aspect, might just be the most important component of a blog. This is because comments get your readers involved and gives them a chance to speak their minds. This not only makes the blog more interesting, but it also gives you the opportunity to interact with your readers (and potential customers). A key tip on commenting: use the commenter’s first name—this reframes the interaction to be more conversational, changing an impersonal connection to a personal one thus making for a more friendly and open environment. This element of interaction is what truly makes a blog a blog.
Is Your Blog Bringing Value to Your Company?
Ok, so now you have a blog. Great! How can you tell if your blog is working for your company? Well, first you need to determine what you’re trying to accomplish. See Jennifer Shinn’s excellent blog post on determining the value of your social media plan. Next, in order to measure your goals, you need to track the number of subscribers, comments, and general traffic. Whatever it is you want to measure, measure from the very beginning—that way you can track what changes over time. Monitoring these things can also help you determine where your blog is headed, and if it’s in the same direction you would like it go. And make sure to track on the level of individual posts , so you know, for example, if there was more traffic for a certain topic in particular.
Maintain Your Blog…or Else!
That brings me to one more important thing to take into consideration when starting a blog: do you really have the resources to properly maintain it? Seriously consider that if you don’t have the time or manpower to blog, it’s actually better to not have one. If readers come to your blog and see old, stale content, it will reflect poorly on your company and your brand.
That said, if you can consistently create content that people want to read, you’ll be found. So get out there and write good content, and write for your readers.
Now you know what I know so far, go get started! And check back next week to learn more with me about how to Electrify Your Visibility!
