Effective content marketing is all about the pull, not the push. Business blogging is a great way of achieving this. In fact, marketers who implement a strategic blogging game plan generate up to 67% more leads than those with no clue as to what they are doing, which is why you need to keep business blogging at the heart of what you do.
Whether you want to get discovered, attract a targeted audience, or establish yourself as a reliable source of knowledge — blogging can take you to new heights…
● Blogging can generate up to 97% more backlinks.
● Prioritising blogging makes you 13x more likely to deliver a positive ROI.
- Increased amounts of pages to your existing website which will be new, fresh content daily/weekly.
Here’s how to reap the rewards:
Keywords
Keyword research outlines what information your key audience is searching for, and how you can effectively target them.
And it’s pretty easy to do:
● List the problems your audience face and the solutions they are seeking.
● Review the current content available using online tools.
● Determine which keywords are currently driving traffic to your site (using tools such as Linkdex)
Storytelling hook
Humans crave stories. Adding a storytelling hook into your content can attract 300% more readers, and encourages people to spend 520% more time on the page.
When creating content, don’t be afraid to lay it all out on the table. Discuss your challenges and how you beat them; take readers on your journey with insights and real-world examples.
Content creation
Now you have the foundation to write your content, it’s time to put fingertips to keypad!
Every word should energise your readers and inspire them to take action.
This means…
● Keep it original
● Keep it easy to consume with lists and media
● Keep it up to date
● Keep it useful with relevant links
● Keep it valuable with expert knowledge and facts
Feature image
After your headline, readers see your blog’s feature image. Generic stock imagery won’t make the desired impact and certainly won’t entice readers to read more.
Instead, use sites such as iStock and Shutterstock to find powerful imagery that sums up your blog post in one snap. Or even better, use your own photography. (We would recommend this!)
Either way, set the scene and captivate your audience; keep it eye-catching and think outside the box.
Multimedia
Images, video, GIFs, tweets, etc. — they all enhance the appearance of your content. And used correctly, can amplify the message of your blog post. Blog articles with images get 94% more views.
Social sharing
There are over 75 million blog posts published each month — and that’s just on WordPress. So it’s fair to say, competition for attention is at an all-time high.
Social media may only be the tip of your content amplification strategy, but it helps you cut through the noise and reach a valuable audience — especially if your readers share your content for you!
So, include powerful statistics and quotes that highlight the value of your post. Then use click to share functionalities and pullouts to encourage sharing.