Content is what resonates with people the most. It is the measure by which they will (or will not) remember your business, long after the first impression has been made. In this age of digital media and online research, blogging for your business is a statistically proven tool for building your brand voice, strengthening your online presence, and attracting more customers.
In fact, small businesses that blog get 126% more lead growth than small businesses that do not blog; and companies that post even just 1-2 times per month have 67% more sales opportunities than companies that do not blog. However, as content becomes more and more accessible, it is important to know how to make your blog stand out from the crowd and focus in on the right people. The tips below will provide some guidelines on how to improve your blog and how to get more blog readers.
Make Your Blog Resonate With Its Readers
In order to make your blog stand out, your content must resonate with your target market. Your blog post content must be something they want to read, not just something they should read. For example, if you’re a financial advisor and you write a piece regarding the future of the stock market, your clients probably should read it – but do they actually want to read it? Your clients probably don’t care for the finance industry as much as you do, so in order to get more blog readers, you’ll need to put in a little extra effort to capture and keep their attention. They also don’t know about the finance industry as well as you do, so be sure to boost your blog by simplifying your information into easy to digest and memorable tidbits. If your blog post content is too bland or too complex, your clients just won’t read it. Analogies, anecdotes, and headers are a great way to improve your blog and get more blog readers.
Research Your Blog Audience
Research research research! In order to make your blog stand out with compelling content, you need to know the audience you’re writing for. Enhance your blog by finding out what will or will not resonate with your readers. Consider the previous example with the financial advisor. If the majority of his clients are single people, they won’t be interested in content relating to how married couples manage their finances. The financial advisor wouldn’t know this unless he performed some thorough research. You may be an expert in your field, but writing a good blog requires you to be an expert in your target audience as well. Remember that this is an ongoing process. Stay on your toes and never stop striving to learn more about the people you are serving. If you want to know how to make your blog better, get to know your readers better.
Keep Your Blog Relevant To Customers
Another way to make your blog stand out is to write about the most relevant content possible. Relevant content will improve your blog because it positions your brand as a trustworthy channel of information. Customers recognize, appreciate, and are more likely to engage with relevant content. If they feel like you’re trying to sell your brand to them, they are likely to turn away. However, if they feel like you are supplying them with useful information about your service, regardless of whether they’re a client, they will see you as a trustworthy source and will be more likely to turn to you when seeking that service. Make your blog better by using it as a channel for interaction with your audience. Rather than talking at them with a pitch on your particular brand, start a conversation with them through education related to your overall product or service. Use relevant content to engage with your audience, and they will engage with your brand.
Tie Your Blog To Business Goals
Knowing how to make your blog better requires first knowing your business’s goals. If your content drives those goals forward, your blog is sure to stand out and gain more readers. Do you need to improve customer retention? Are you trying to increase brand awareness? Whatever the specific goals for your business may be, cater your content to those goals. Below are three examples of business goals and how to align your blog to them.
Blogging to Increase Traffic
If you are looking to increase your website traffic, make sure that your blog provides a positive and enjoyable experience for the visitor. People can use any website they want for any product or service they need, so use high quality content to make your blog stand out. Useful information, written in your brand voice with high resolution graphics are all elements of quality content that will create an enjoyable experience that keeps readers coming back and referring your blog to others.
Blogging to Increase Brand Awareness
If one of your business goals is to increase brand awareness, you’ll want to place high focus on consistency in your blog. Writing about multiple topics is enables you to appeal to a wide range of people and interests within your target audience, but be sure to keep all topics related to a larger subject. This way, every post, no matter the topic, will serve to strengthen the core message of what value your business brings and what message you’re trying to convey. It will also enable you to include links in your blog posts to other related articles you’ve written, keeping visitors engaged and on your blog for longer periods of time.
Blogging To Build Trust
Establishing trust is the first step in creating relationships, which opens the door to getting more customers. In addition to being consistent with blog topics, being consistent with the look and feel of your blog is also a key factor in building trust. In order to improve your blog, create a standard for colors, length, and language you want to use, so that readers can more quickly recognize and more easily familiarize with your brand. Predictability and knowing what to expect will boost your readers’ trust in you. Writing a good blog that increases awareness of your brand is all about consistency. Having the same message over time is the best way to get more blog readers and grow your client base.
The chief purpose of writing a business blog is to provide value for your audience, but that does not mean it shouldn’t also provide value for your business. By aligning your business blog to your business goals, you are benefiting your readers while facilitating the growth of your business.
Stay On Your Blogging Toes
If your blog contains relevant digital content that resonates with your audience and drives your brand’s business goals, you’re positioning your brand to stand out among the competition. Writing a good blog requires knowledge about your product, service, or industry, as well as about your target audience and your business goals. In order to get your blog to stand out as much as possible, be as specific as possible in gathering this information. This will require a little extra time and effort up front, but it is guaranteed to improve your blog and increase your blog readership. Also, keep in mind that none of these areas of information are static: there is always more to learn in your industry, your target audience is constantly morphing, and your business goals will undergo various adjustments. Staying on top of these factors with continual maintenance will enable you to write better blog posts and leverage your content for the mutual success of both your customers and your business.
