Web sites are like bakeries. You’ll get more attention if what’s on display is fresh and enticing. Just as brick-and-mortar businesses design window displays for the seasons, your web site needs new content on a regular basis. As an added bonus, your site’s SEO will benefit as well.

A great way to add interest to your web site is with a blog. Each new blog article is fresh information for web site visitors. It’s also an opportunity for you to engage customers through email and social media. I advise my clients to think of meaningful ways to stay in touch with customers, and the best way is to provide them with something they’ll value. This could be information, entertainment, or inspiration in the form of a blog.

Starting a blog isn’t for everyone. It takes planning, a lot of effort, and persistence. Depending on your type of business, you may be posting a new article monthly, weekly, or more frequently. Once you decide on a schedule, you’ll need to stick to it. So before you get started you’ve got to have an idea what you’ll be writing about.

If you want your blog to support your company’s marketing, you should be creating original content. Some companies share or re-post content already on the web. This may be interesting to your customers, but it doesn’t say anything about you – about what makes your company unique.

How do you decide what to blog about? Here are a few ideas:

Tell a story. Perhaps your product solved a problem or was used in a unique way. Write about it and make your customer the hero. It will be tempting to sing your own praises, but when you make the story all about your customer, the reader will be able to put themselves in their shoes.

Provide your take on a relevant news article. Don’t just copy and share. Write about what the news means to your customers – put your own spin on it. Don’t be afraid to have an opinion. Do be sure to cite the news article and highlight the aspects that relate to your business.

Do some research and report the results. It doesn’t have to be a major quantitative study. In fact, you could survey a few customers and write up what you learned. People love sharing ideas and best practices.

Have a conversation. If you run across an interesting person, ask if you can share their thoughts in your blog. Chances are, they’ll be flattered. Try writing up your conversation in the form of a Q and A. Of course, you’ll want to run your article by the interviewee to make sure you captured their thoughts accurately.

Give your thoughts about changes taking place in your industry. Write about new discoveries or proposed regulations and share your opinion about how they’ll shape the future of the business.

Share how your company is contributing to the community. Don’t just talk about the size of a donation or scope of a volunteer effort. Write about the impact your efforts have and how others can get involved. Today’s consumer is looking for companies with social impact that goes beyond product quality. Don’t be shy – share.

Which of these ideas should you pursue? Your answer should be based on what makes the most sense for your brand and your customers. You’ll probably want to try out a few to see what kind of response you get.

Whatever you decide to write, always bring your target customer information they can use. Be sure your blog relates to your business and its values, but avoid being overly self-serving. After all, you want your reader to look forward to – and share – your wisdom, whether it’s arriving monthly, weekly, or every few days.

 

Copyright 2019, Liz Behlke