Business owners have to concern themselves with many things that are directly related to the success of their livelihood. There is client acquisition, client retention, sales quotas, marketing strategies and administration. All of these issues have to be dealt with in order to stay “business-afloat” and competitive in the market place.
With marketing being the primary anchor of any business, whether its a product or service, it is the number one area that needs the most attention. As it needs the most attention, it is also a critical area that is the most challenging to handle. It is the most challenging because it requires the business owner(s) to be innovative, creative, flexible and intuitive in order to find what works and what brings in the sales. One highly effective form of marketing that I concentrate heavily in my blog posts, is well, blogging. With the advent of one of the most powerful marketing tools now available – blogging – business owners have to continually be concerned with having a successful, competitive blog. But is being concerned a reason to panic or worry? Absolutely not. The main idea and focus is to simply keep your blog engaged in the following factors to be successful:
Drive Blog Traffic
This is one of the biggest challenges that corporate blogs face. While some may say that the traffic “will come”, your blog team must do their part to help bring the traffic in. This includes things like being active on the social sites like Twitter, LinkedIn, and even MySpace and Facebook. Corporate blogs would do well to establish a presence on these social sites and become an active part of the online community.
Provide Interesting Content
This means providing content that other bloggers will link to, post about and tell others about. Providing rich, interesting content for your readers can have a lasting effect as you want them to come back frequently, for more. Your corporate blog posts may also inspire and encourage others. For instance, this blog post about corporate blog challenges was inspired for me from this post that I read by Buildify. When you provide good content, it’s a win-win situation for everyone.
Avoid Irrelevant Content
Be careful of providing content that has nothing to do with your blog’s goals or objectives. Sure it’s fine to venture off the trail every now and then, but highly discouraged on a routine basis. This is a great way to lose customers and readers as they will deduce that your blog is out-of-touch if you cannot focus on one topic.
Post Frequently
This is one of the main and most important factors. Posting frequently gives your blog life and lets your readers know that you are real and in touch. Often, corporate blogs tend to only post when there’s news to report. Bad idea. Corporate blogs should post frequently and engage their readers on a routine basis. How often is frequently? That’s relevant to your business and what your focus is. It could be anywhere from daily to once a week (not suggested). A posting schedule of 4-5 times per week is ideal and definitely enough frequency to keep the readers engaged and coming back.
Personally, as a blogger I have found that corporate blogs are no different than, say, a personal blog. They both need valuable content, a personal voice and frequent communication. The only difference is the reading audience, and that only serves to help you form your posts outline and pitch. To be successful in corporate blogging, you must find what works and what works well with your niche market.
What are some of your challenges that you face with your blog? What do you think you can do to improve your blog’s visibility and reduce challenges?
I am a freelance writer, blogger and professional motivational speaker. I primarily focus on business content, offering my clients strategic marketing strategies for their businesses. I have been an entrepreneur for over 13 years, after having worked extensively in corporate America.
