Blogging Effectively for Business.

If you’ve consumed any sort of media within the past decade, then you’re probably familiar with blogs. I decided to share some tips on how a blog can work for your business, ultimately capturing the attention and helping your customers interact with your business or service.

 Let’s start with some numbers. By 2013, 58% of the US internet population is projected to be reading blogs on a monthly basis. That’s a remarkable 128 million people. A blog is special because it’s a tool that has two distinct characteristics that allow you to easily, quickly, and effectively create and publish new content while allowing readers to leave feedback on that content, as well as react to feedback from other readers. Search engines such as Google love blogs because the content is always changing, rather than being static. Now, how could that impact your company?

 Active blogs that do well usually end up on the first page of search engine results pages, or are listed in the first couple results of organic listings. If your company isn’t blogging, then it gives the opportunity for others to rise to the top of organic listings, which could hurt your business depending on the context surrounding your industry or company. Remember, gate-keepers don’t exist in 2012. People will be talking about your company and it’s important that you have the ability to have your voice be heard.

 Content is the most important thing when it comes to blogging. Your content should branch out from your main product, service, or business, and it should revolve around things that interest your customer. For example, if you’re selling carpet, you should provide content that helps people decorate rooms, match colors, or understand durability. Mind mapping or spider graphing may help you associate relationships to things that fall in the realm of your product or service. Carpeting may lead to home improvement, which may lead to decorating, and so on. Remember, create value for the reader.

 Lastly, pay attention to any comments, conversations, or interactions taking place within your blog’s community. Create context and engage with people who are interacting with each other in the blog’s comments section. At the end of your blog posts, you should encourage comments and remember to be personal when addressing people on your posts. Your voice should be conversational and friendly while acting as the face of your brand.

Question of the Day: What are you selling and how are you creating content for your readers?