Blogging can be a great way to market your business, product or service and to create customer awareness and loyalty. But, some businesses just jump into blogging without much thought and without a plan. To blog effectively, especially for B2B companies, following a few tips can help make blogging an effective marketing tool.
Tips for Effective Business Blogging
* Decide "why" you are blogging. What is your business goal? To create awareness? To offer content to customers? To develop an online reputation as an expert in your field? Deciding on the reason why your business needs a blog can help guide you to the right blogging strategy.
* Analyze the audience. A critical question is: "Who is your audience?" Are you blogging primarily for an internal company audience or external readers? Are you targeting customers and partners? What is your customer profile, their preferences and business needs? Answering these questions can help determine your blogging strategy and give you insights into relevant content for your posts.
* Determine your purpose: opinion or information. Are you blogging to offer information to readers or to let off steam and offer opinions? For a personal blog, rants and raves might be interesting and even fun reading, but think of your business audience: would they prefer your opinion or relevant business content. tips and insights?
* Why should they read your blog? Are you offering value and content that matters? With millions of blogs, readers have choice, so be sure to offer opinion and information that is relevant to this audience base. Can you help them solve business problems or offer guidance as a trusted advisor?
* Find a niche. Decide on your subject and then start reading other blogs on the same topic. Differentiate your blog by creating your own angle on the subject. A great way to niche your content is to localize it to a city or region: London small business technology or US West Coast VARs or Bangalore IT. The key is to find a niche that is not over populated.
* Use business-relevant keywords in your copy. When writing your blog posts, always think like the audience: what business keywords might they use in a search? The broader your keywords, the less successful you will be because you will be competing with millions of other bloggers. Imagine how many blogs use the keyword, "marketing"? Be unique but relevant in your keyword choice.
* Time your blogs. Blogging is a commitment and it can be time-consuming. Daily blogs are not realistic for all business writers. Twice or even once a week is a manageable blog schedule. The key is to be consistent in your timing.
Blogging and other social media can be a great addition to your marketing efforts. Don't just think of your business blog as "work", write on topics you feel passionate about. You might even have some fun in the process!
Loraine Antrim is co-founding partner of Core Ideas Communication, a PR and marketing communications firm serving corporate clients around the globe. We specialize in strategy, message and content development, media/analyst training and leadership development. Find us on the web at http://www.coreideas.com Loraine's blog on leadership can be found at: http://thecxomindset.blogspot.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Loraine_Antrim
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