The Life of a Blog Post: Blogging for Business
Submitted by:
Liam Dempsey, Director/Designer, lbdesign
December 13, 2011 09:54 AM
As businesses continue to embrace and move further into online marketing, many still struggle to understand the commercial value of blogging. To address that, my colleagues and I at lbdesign created a simple, stylized graphic illustration detailing the Life of a Blog Post. Our goal in creating the illustration was not so much to produce a sales brochure, but rather to share our knowledge of web-based marketing for the benefit of others.
Ideation
Developing ideas and managing the flow of content for a blog can be a challenge.
The proverbial question for bloggers persists: what should I write about? Answer that question by considering your audience and customers. Try to see your business from their perspective. Show your professional knowledge and skill by writing about topics that matter to your customers. Demonstrate your concern for their business loyalty by telling them how to get more value from of your products, how to save money when using your services or how to build their own commercial advantage through your assistance. Be creative! Be bold! Be exciting!
Creation
Successful blogging takes skill, practice and a lot of hard work.
Your blog post is a very public way for you and your company to shine. Take advantage of the potential exposure by putting your best foot forward. It is very important to craft creative, engaging and succinct content that is relevant to your key audiences. Posts must be concise and thoroughly edited – make every word count! Be sure to use interesting and well-formatted images to help guide reader’s eyes to and through the post.
Distribution
Knowing where and how to share blog posts requires experience and insight.
Once it’s on the Internet, it’s very important to tell people about your post. Those following your blog via RSS will find out about it on their own, but how about others? Introducing your post on Twitter is a good way to start – remember to use hash tags (#) where appropriate. Share the post on LinkedIn and Facebook, taking time to highlight the post in a catchy and unique way. Don’t forget to email relevant customers or contacts the link to the post: be sure to tell them why the post is particularly relevant to them. You can also mention the blog in your company’s e-newsletter.
Connection
Converting blog visitors into customers, supporters or contacts is a key goal.
Getting the post in front of your key audience is only part of the task. What can you do to encourage comments and feedback? Use your blog to create conversations with your readers. Invite comments on the blog or via email. Keep the conversation flowing by responding to comments in a thoughtful and timely fashion.
Your blog can be a powerful networking tool. Grow your customer and client base by connecting with readers of your blog. Integrate your networking efforts on Twitter and LinkedIn with your blog to strengthen your ability to develop meaningful and lasting relationships with those who visit your blog.
Blogging offers businesses a powerful method for improving connectivity with existing customers and, perhaps more importantly, winning new customers. By better understanding the blogging process, businesses can deliver a strong return on investment for their blogging efforts.
Tags:
enterprise use, myBrainshark, social media, tips & tricks