WHY DO I NEED A BLOG?

Welcome to a Blog about a Blog … the ultimate in marketing redundancy propaganda irony brilliance!

We love talking to new clients. The initial proposal presentation, when we walk a potential client partner through the many whys and hows of what Greenroom recommends for your custom digital solution, is really an eye-opening conversation for all of us.  But, no matter the industry, no matter the client, there are a few questions that always pop up, and the biggest of those is, “A blog?  Why do I need a blog?”

Relax.  I promise you, when we suggest a blog for your brand, we’re not asking you to share your innermost thoughts & feelings …  

or to post step-by-step photos of the 4-course meal you prepared for your husband last Friday …

A business blog serves a much larger, multi-faceted purpose than that, all with the end goal of providing your readers with compelling content, establishing you as a thought leader in your industry, easy navigation to sourced 3rd party information, one-click access to you to keep the conversation going, and search engine fodder to keep the Google gods happy.  Together with this helpful “Five Pillars of Business Blogging Success” post from Social Media Examiner, we’ve repackaged a handful of best practices that are sure to give your brand the recognition and search engine fuel it deserves, and most importantly, link a human voice to your brand.
1. Planning 

Your Dear Diary blog is the place for a freewriting exercise, not your business blog.  Plan ahead for your business’ overarching voice and messaging.  Be clear about your goals ahead of time so that your blog can roll out content that checks all the boxes, all the time.

• Is your messaging more formal and data-driven, or intimate and relaxed?
• When someone new inquires about your services, are there certain topics/questions that always come up?  (Perfect source of relevant and useful blog content!)    
• What do you hope the reader gleans about you/your business, based on your blog content?
• How can you make your call-to-action more compelling in this conversational format?
• How will your blog narrative give clients a deeper understanding of your industry competence?

Search engines like Google regularly scan websites for new, relevant content.  Sites that are stagnant and unchanged start dropping in the ranks, but websites that continuously add meaningful content with keyword optimized tags rank higher and higher.  And I haven’t met too many businesses that can’t benefit from a better Google ranking.  (Other than… well… Google.)

Make a list of logical keywords and phrases that you think people would use if they were looking for a service that you provide, then plug them into the to see the actual searches that are done for those phrases per month.  Plan the priority tags for your blog post to use the Google-suggested keywords.  Boom.  You just leveled-up in the search engine optimization game.  

Keep in mind that going from the 8th page of Google to the 1st page will take time.  Many clients wonder why their beautiful new website isn’t getting the traffic they expect.  Depending on the crawling cycles of the Google spiders, it may take months (not weeks) to build up your internet presence.  Just keep on keepin’ on.

2. Content

Self-promotion is okay in teeny, tiny doses.  We get it.  You’ve worked hard for your awards and honors.  Your blog should be the platform on which to share those accolades, but it’s also important to be judicious with those pats on your own back.  Your visitors may agree that you are as amazing as you say you are, but they probably value your industry thought-leadership more than your award-winning awesomeness.  (I know, it’s hard to believe, but just go with me on this one).  Just as you’d never talk to a friend with narcissistic regularity, don’t do it to your website visitors.  Be real, be approachable, be a friend.  I don’t know about you, but that’s the type of content I’d come back for.

So, how often should you post new content on your blog to keep your visitors returning and interested?  In this case, more is not always more.  Instead, focus on the “Four E’s” of blog writing:  Educate, Entertain, Engage and Enrich, to allow the quality of your content to outweigh your posting cadence.  Mix it up a bit – video, text, facts, humor – to tell your story in different ways.  We mentioned that Google values the addition of extra content, but Google isn’t your customer.  Your customers are your customer.  Focus on styles of content and a posting tempo that will keep them loyal and engaged and wanting to come back for more.  The rest will follow.

Look, we said it once, we’ll say it again:  PLAN.  Look at your entire year.  What are your quarterly goals?  Do you have a sales cycle that ebbs and flows during certain seasons of the year?  Plan out an editorial calendar for the content you want to release at the most impactful times of the year.  Your blog is sure to garner a loyal following if you offer relevant information at appropriate times.

3.  Design

Let’s talk about your current blog.

• Does it reside on your own domain, under the subdirectory “yourdomain.com/blog” to lend more search engine value to your root domain?
• Is it easy for your audience to find your blog once they land on your main webpage?
• Is the template of your blog easy to navigate?  Easy on the eyes?  Easy layman’s speak?
• Is the blog’s author prominently credited to allow for your readers to give feedback and ask questions directly?
• Do you have social sharing plugins and widgets enabled for your readers to easily share/retweet/like/pin/email your spell-binding content?
• Do you have an opt-in mailing list and autoresponder built in to your blog page?  Make sure your loyal followers will get your new blog notifications sent right to their inbox, every time.

(Don’t worry – we can help you if you answered “no” (or “I don’t know”) to any of these questions.  It’s overwhelming, but we’ve got your back.)

4. Marketing

I fully expect NOT to be “amazed by what happens next” when I visit a click-baited link.  But, if your blog is insightful, informative, relevant and helpful to me, then I want to know about it (sans shock & awe).  People are busy, and capturing their attention will require some enticements (boosting posts, paid targeting, Pay-Per-Click/SEM, SEO).  Understanding human nature in this way should make it easier for you to invest a few extra dollars in new blog releases.  You worked hard to create this content, so make sure people see it!

Secondly, always repurpose your blog posts as content on your social profiles.  It saves you the time and effort of creating additional social posts (who doesn’t love getting a few minutes added back into their day?), but most importantly, draws more eyeballs from more locations back to the Promised Land – your website.

By tagging your blog content with appropriate keywords, sharing that content across your existing social profiles, and using paid boosting tools to spread the word, you’re employing a marketing trifecta for your blog.  (Which, in turn, amplifies your overall brand’s visibility).  If you haven’t implemented these tools into your blog strategy yet, now is the time.

5.  Engagement 

It’s really that simple: talk to your blog readers like you would a friend.  Imagine if a co-worker asked you, “Hey Mary, do you want to grab a cup of coffee this morning?

… um, Mary? …

… Do you not like coffee? …

… Do you not like me?” …  

You can imagine the level of disconnect that quickly occurs when someone reaches out to you and gets … nothing in return.  Surely, they’re going to stop coming around if you keep ignoring them long enough.  So, for gosh sakes, value the people that visit your blog, engage with them, respect their different views, make time for them, show them you appreciate their involvement, be authentic in your responses, create a relationship with them.  Just as you would a friend.

The key takeaways here:  1) business blogs must serve as a personal connection to your readers, a conversation that reinforces that there are, in fact, competent, compassionate, interesting human beings behind your shiny, sterile logo.  And 2) business blogs must serve as search engine fuel for your website, little Easter eggs planted around the internet, leading prospects back to your home page where they can discover your awesomeness.  

Your homework challenge:  audit your most common customer questions or complaints.  How can you turn these topics into valuable marketing blog (and subsequent social) content for your brand?  How can you spin uncertainty about your services into a valuable sales tool to reassure your would-be customers?        

After you’ve tried a few rounds of this content strategy, come back and tell us about it.  How did the information improve your website metrics when you optimized your content accordingly?  Still feel like you need help? Contact us and we’re all in, Blog Relationship Friend.

By Ketti Kluth, Content Coordinator