We recommend blogging for a host of reasons including its ability to engage your customers, encourage brand loyalty, stimulate two-way communications and as an informal communication channel, not to mention the commercial benefits.
Many businesses are afraid of blogging – you don’t need to be! It’s an informal communication channel and can be managed by several members of your business – it doesn’t have to be just one person. Blogs can cover a variety of topics, but best of all, you can have fun writing them! This adds a bit of personality to your business too and helps to develop that all-important relationship with your customer.
To help get you started, we’ve picked the brains of our blog team here at Bluhalo (check out the Bluhalo blog for more ideas) and we’ve come up with our top five simples tips to successful blogging.
1. Don’t be afraid
If you’re living in fear of what someone may think, of writing the wrong thing or of upsetting a client your blog is not going to make for good reading. A blog that has been vetted and altered to give off the ‘right’ image will undoubtedly have lost personality along the way. Keep it real and keep it fun. If you’re worried that certain topics are controversial then avoid them!
2. Spread the load
Chances are you don’t work alone, so make your blog a team effort. Take it in turns to write for your blog. As long as everyone knows what you’re trying to achieve with your blog, a team of writers will give it variety, make it more realistic to maintain and will add to the personality of your company. Don’t worry about differences in style, you may even find that certain writers develop a fan base!
3. Don’t rant
Despite the informal nature of blogging, your company blog is not the place to have a rant. A blog needs to be real but you still need to remember that you’re using it as a commercial marketing tool. Keep it positive, fun, relevant and of interest to your users. If you really feel a rant is necessary, give it a positive slant, communicate a structured argument and provide practical recommendations.
4. Regularity breeds familiarity
The purpose of a blog is to try to encourage repeat visits and engage your users. By ensuring you blog frequently and regularly your users know what to expect and when and will keep coming back for more. Reduce your regularity and users will soon stop coming back.
5. Simplicity is fine
Making sure you blog frequently isn’t always easy. But remember you don’t have to write a dissertation, in fact that’s probably a bad idea – who’s got the time to read it?! Keep your blog entries short, snappy and to the point. You’ll retain a dynamic nature and it’ll make it far easier to maintain.
To continue with our marathon of web tips, click on one of the article titles below:
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