The simple answer is no. However, the strategy behind how and what we blog for the B2B environment has changed. This article explores tactics on how to write an effective blog.
We live in a world in which we are accustomed to free access to information through the internet. As evidence of this, there are over 600 million blogs in the world today. In fact, over 2 billion blog posts are published each year worldwide. That’s 5,760,000 blog posts published per day, and 4,000 blog posts published each minute. There are two primary reasons for creating a blog on your website;
Branding: Branding your company as a thought leader in your marketplace is incredibly important to drive new business as well as to sell deeper into current accounts. Blogging provides you with a platform to display your experience and expertise to a large audience. It also helps to instill confidence in the marketplace that you are a leader in your space.
Search Engine Optimization: Google has tree primary algorithms that help users find your site. First is the frequency of new content published to your site, second is relevant keywords within your site and third is Social Media engagement. Creating a blog provides you with a platform that will satisfy all of these standards for improving search engine results, thereby driving additional traffic to your website.
Creating a blog can create a lot of additional value for your website, but many companies do not capitalize on the value a blog can create. Below are some tips to ensure you maximize this platform and get the most out of your blog.
Keywords: The most important thing to consider when developing a blog is relevant keywords. Gone are the days when a group of people sit around a table and throw out ideas for potential blogs. Doing this only allows you to create blogs that you believe your marketplace wants to read, instead you must research what the market wants. As mentioned before, blogs provide you with an opportunity to add relevant keywords to your website, but you must first know what those keywords are.
For example, in the material handling world, the terms forklift and lift truck are used interchangeably in messaging. However, on the internet, the word “lift truck” is only searched about 3,000 times in a month whereas “forklift” is searched over 70,000 times in a month. The consensus here is that if you were to write an article about forklifts you should use that term over lift trucks to increase search engine results. Far too often we tend to use internal jargon in blogs, which is an ineffective strategy. There are several tools and companies that can help you determine the right words and topics that will give you the most traction for your blogs.
Educational not Advertising: I have seen many blogs that read more like an advertorial than a thought leadership article. This can quickly turn away potential readers and effect the credibility of your blog. Users read blogs because they offer them relevant information. They don’t read blogs to be sold a product (that is what your website if for). Additionally, blogs should not be used to promote events or news about your organization. That information is still important but should be put in a “news” section on your website.
A second point to consider when developing you blog is your audience. If you are writing an article targeting engineers, don’t include information that is obvious or basic for a person in that field. However, if you are writing an article to educate procurement departments, you may need to spend a little more time explaining a topic in laymen’s terms.
Frequency and Quality: New blog content must be updated frequently. Frequently can be relative to the industry or organization, but blog best practices suggest you should post a new blog at least once a week. However, quality should always take precedence over frequency. If your company does not have the resources to post a relevant blog every week, then either hire a ghost writer to create them for you or post less frequently if you can ensure the value of the articles.
Social Media: Social media is your primary vehicle for delivering the content in your blog. Social media is quickly becoming the new primary search engine. It is imperative that you build your social media presence so that your blog can reach as many people as possible. This will not only improve your website traffic from search engines, but it will improve engagement with your content.
Ultimately, content is still king, and blogging is not going away anytime soon. In order to compete in your marketplace, your content marketing strategy must be strategic and utilize the steps outlined above. If you would like additional information on how to create effective blogs, make sure to contact The CX Edge.