How to Create an Engaging, Brand-Boosting Blog
Some people write blogs just for the fun of it, and some simply to share and discuss opinions on subjects that interest them. However, most blogs are written to boost brands, whether a corporate or personal one. Coined in 1999 as a shortened form of the term “web log,” the now ubiquitous term “blog” is used as both a noun and a verb, and it refers to a frequently updated web page that contains a “log” or journal of information, insight, or opinions. It would be correct to say that a blogger blogs on their blog.
For brands, blogging provides a valuable ongoing opportunity to connect with customers, establish credibility, and, most importantly, draw customers into the sales funnel. Some blog content is considered evergreen, meaning its information is continually relevant or “fresh” for readers over a long period of time, with few if any updates needed. Other blog content is topical, revolving around recent events and current topics, and may not be as accurate or of interest as time passes.
Whether you run a small shop in town or you’re in the marketing department of a large corporation, creating and maintaining a relevant, useful blog can help boost traffic to your site and increase your opportunities to make a sale, or at least begin the process of building lasting relationships with your audience. How do you go about writing a blog so it has maximum impact? Consider some of these top tips:
Provide Useful, Relevant Insight
The first priority of your blog should be to provide some sort of value to the reader. Whether you’re offering new knowledge on a subject, insider insight on a product or industry, or a better way to do something, your blog will only be as successful as your audience’s need for it.
Your blog subject matter should be somewhat narrow so that it can be tailored to your target audience and their wants and needs, be it about politics, finances, movies, comics, toys, you name it. For instance, Beyond the White Noise, the title of this blog, centers on expert marketing and communications insight. Having an overly open blog where readers don’t know what to expect from entry to entry isn’t a great way to grow familiarity and continued viewership.
Start With an Effective Hook
Similar to a news headline, you never want to “bury the lede,” which means you want to make sure your title, subtitle, and opening copy conveys the value you’re going to provide in your blog entry. Think clever, attention-grabbing, and engaging copy that sparks curiosity, offers something different, and speaks to your audience’s interests. Now, there are many angles you can take in order to craft an effective hook.
Here are just a few:
-
-
- Explain “how to” do something
- Debunk myths
- Present a new concept or opinion
- Pose and answer a question
- Discuss an issue and present a solution
- Provide a specific number of tips, steps, reasons, benefits, or keys
- Take a position on a controversial topic (tactfully)
- Compare pros and cons of two similar yet different things
-
Establish & Maintain a Strong Voice
Because your blog is an extension of your brand and part of your overall content strategy, you need to establish and maintain a consistent voice across your entries just as you do with all your branding elements across channels. Though it’s ok to adjust your tone at times when the subject calls for it, be it from professional and serious to conversational and lighthearted, voice familiarity is your friend and how you “speak” in your writing shouldn’t dramatically waver, especially when your goal is to bring in readers and keep them coming back for more.
Make It Visually Appealing
Blogs are typically copy-heavy, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t complement the words with relevant, high-quality images, infographics, video, and other visuals to help better tell your story and get your point across. Sprinkle in visuals to add color, life, and action to your copy. Also, it’s smart to break your copy up into smaller paragraphs and thematic sections using subheaders to make it easier to read and digest. Visuals also help your SEO as visual search can be an important part of your SEO strategy…
Incorporate SEO Best Practices
Each of your website pages should be search optimized, both in text and visuals. One way to do this is to devote a new inner page to each new blog entry instead of adding entry after entry on the same page. Not only does it make it easier for pages to load, but it lets you target different keywords which enhances SEO.
Furthermore, unlike your homepage and inner pages, a blog page typically contains more copy, allowing you more freedom and opportunity to incorporate SEO keywords which help search engines regard that page as useful and informative to your topic and industry. The higher that search engines regard your website page, the higher it will rank in search engines and the better chance you’ll have at getting the attention of potential customers before your competitors do.
Post Frequently
You’ll have to post new blog entries on a regular basis — whether daily, weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly — in order to stay relevant and maintain a connection with readers. If you only release a couple of blogs over several months or even stop posting, then people will either forget about your blog or, having already consumed all you’ve written, will have no need to come back.
Even when you think you’ve come to a dead end and covered every subject, try to think of new ways to reimagine old content and present it in a different way. Meanwhile, the more regularly you post and the more content you build up, the stronger your SEO will be.
Get Inspiration From Similar Blogs
Continually churning out useful and captivating content is essential to building a successful blog, but that’s not to say it’s simple. After a while, you may find yourself running out of ideas and not knowing where to go next. Checking out quality blogs, articles, and other content from competitors and industry pros can be the creative spark you need. It also helps you stay on top of trends and new information that you may not be aware of otherwise, which makes good blog fodder.
We’re talkin’ inspiration not plagiarism, which is lazy, unethical, and a way to get yourself into trouble. Once inspired, you can take an idea in a different direction and put your own unique spin on things.
Integrate Your Blogs & Other Channels
For people to read your blog, they have to first know it exists, and you can’t just expect people to find your blog entry link through a search query. So, you’ll need to promote your blog how, when, and where your audience will see it, including social media, emails, digital ads, and search engine ads. Setting up a monthly email newsletter is also a good way to continually remind your audience of your blog and highlight new featured entries.
Just like with most things, the more you do it, the better you’re likely to get at it. The more blogs you write the better you’ll get at writing them. Reading other blogs will help as well, allowing you to get a better grasp of what works and what doesn’t.
This blog entry is one of many you’ll find on the M:7 News Page in the Beyond the White Noise section. We hope you keep coming back for more marketing and communications insight to help elevate your brand. For help writing your blogs and creating a more effective content strategy, start a conversation with M:7 Agency today!