Periodically, it’s important to evaluate your overall blogging strategy and objectives in order to make sure you’re optimizing its capability as a tool for networking, referrals, and lead generation. Marketing a business as a means of acquiring new clients has changed quite dramatically over the last several years. Many businesses, including small start-ups have had to re-think their approach to creating new opportunities for themselves. A large part of this are the mediums by which we choose to communicate to prospective customers. Instead of relying on cold calls and unsolicited direct email, many businesses are now putting greater emphasis on developing more focused web-based content to attract new clientele.
Online social media, including blogs, have been effective in creating new business opportunities. More and more businesses have implemented this platform in their marketing strategy. Unfortunately, many blogs and other social media outlets are not optimized to generate new business. Whether you’re creating a new blog or operating one already in existence, let’s evaluate and/or “jump start” it to get it on the right track for new business. The following is a list of questions to consider:
• Who is your audience? Knowing your audience will help enable you to get more focused and consistent with your content, making writing easier and more efficient for you.
• What is the purpose of your blog? Although it isn’t necessary, it’s a good idea to create a description statement in your blog’s header. Usually, this is a short phrase or a one-sentence summary of your blog’s purpose.
• What are you reading? Often times, whatever you are reading, will influence or fuel your own writing. With this in mind, if you create a good strategic reading program for yourself, it can provide a clear focus, centered upon your audience’s interest and needs, and more importantly, your blog’s purpose.
• What do you want your audience to do? Having a Call to Action strategically placed on your blog site is a good way to bring attention to your business without seeming too promotional.
• Do you use keywords? It’s important and necessary to choose key words to include throughout your blog to dominate through search (i.e. “law firm new business”).
• Do you use “takeaway statements”? When writing a post, the first sentence should be the statement that a reader remembers–the “takeaway or benefit statement”. It’s pretty simple, just ask yourself “what would be your takeaway or benefit if you commit to reading this post?”
• What is the style of your writing? It’s imperative you remember that online readers have a preference in terms of writing. They look for articles that are concise, easy to review, and objective in nature. Most often, readers are turned off by promotional content and style.
• Are you providing quality over quantity? The type of writing you produce is far more important than the amount. Creating quality articles outweighs the demand for frequency and quantity of posts generated.
• Do you get creative with the formats of your posts? Offering some visual variety to your readers is a great way to keep them interested and engaged with your blog. Using bullets or number lists are a few good ones to consider.
• Are you publishing content consistently? Make sure to publish new blog content on a regular schedule. Being consistent is essential to developing an audience. Generally, the recommended amount is at least 3 to 5 posts a week.
• Is your blog easy to navigate? Nothing is more frustrating to online users than sites that are difficult to navigate. Make sure your posts are easy to find and your blog is simple to navigate.
• Do you provide links to additional resources? It’s always a good idea to provide additional articles of interest at the end of each post. You can link similar content from your blog and other outside sources.
For more information with your blogging needs, call toll free (800) 877-27776. We are available and ready to assist you. Call us today to speak with an expert, and not a sale representative!
