Content is King: How Do You Improve Your Blog Outreach?
Behind every successful company lies a successful blog. Studies have shown that most people today read around 5-10 blogs (HubSpot Science of Blogging, 2010). With this fact in mind, nearly 40% of US companies are currently using blogs to reach out to their targeted audiences for marketing purposes. Not only does a blog give you a more personal voice to share your thoughts and insights regarding a topic, well-crafted posts give credibility to your company and may even generate lead prospects. 92% of companies who blogged multiple times a day acquired a customer through their blog (HubSpot). More importantly, blogging represents a cost-effective means to continuously re-engage your audience, an important factor encouraging repeat customers. If you haven’t thought about blogging yet, this is a great time to start.
1. Be aware of latest trends
Constantly thinking of ideas for blog posts can be tiring and at most times, a time-consuming affair. Instead, look towards using social media to discover what people are currently talking about and what topics they are interested in. Tailoring your blog posts to answering these issues will help to differentiate your blog from other non-personalized blogs that only publishes generic content.
2. Always reference other websites
If your post includes data and opinions collected from other sources such as other blogs, be sure to cite them. In addition, complement those sets of information with your own opinions. Giving your own input also reveals more insights into what your company stands for, and allows the reader to build up a more complete image of your company. On a more technical note, including links to other useful websites will also increase the SEO effectiveness of your blog, and lead to higher lead generation.
3. Call-to-Action
When writing a blog post, be sure to highlight some features of your products and services that are relevant. However, take good care not to turn it into a typical sales pitch though. HubSpot has good advice on how to create an effective CTA. Adding a Call-to-Action section just when your blog post ends will help direct readers to check out your services and product offerings.
4. Be social and spread the news
Add social buttons for every blog post you publish and share it on your various social media channels as well as to your subscribers if you have a newsletter (which you should have). The inherent virality nature of your
5. Be diverse and offer varied content
Offering a wide range of content for your readers will sustain their interest and keep them coming back to your blog. Creating your own infographics and slides, featuring posts written by guest contributors are ways where you can turn up the creative dial and further engage your readers.
