(Shhh!!) 5 B2B Blogging Best Kept Secrets
By now, you understand that people search and use the Internet to find information about your company, product, and industry. The best way to put your years of hard-earned experience and expertise in front of potential customers is providing them with useful, helpful, and beneficial advice.
Valuable content is the main commodity in marketing your company online, and content is king. So what is the best way to leverage this new medium? Simply put, start creating your own highly targeted content.
Start writing a Business-to-Business (B2B) blog.
These five tips will help you position your company in front of your target audience, so pay attention:
- Just Get Started Already - One of the hardest things you will ever have to encounter in your long and prosperous blogging career will happen immediately. Writing your first post may seem like the most difficult thing in the world. Hundreds of questions will bombard your thoughts. “Is this really worth my time,” and “who is actually going to read what I have to say” are natural questions and concerns. Successful blogs do not happen over night. You should nurture, evolve, and grow your blog just like your company. Look at your blog as being its own entity. Just like with anything of value in life, you get out what you put in, and a blog is no exception, which leads us to tip number two.
- Write, Write, and then Write some more- Personally, I cannot stand when I view a company’s website, get excited that they have a blog, and click on the link only to find out the most recent post dates back four months ago, sometimes longer. You should view your blog with the utmost importance, because in all actuality, it is a true reflection of your company. To accommodate such a large obligation, share the load. Make a company-wide contest every month with your employees to contribute to the blog. The top 4-6 get a free day off or some other incentive. Having multiple influences will also add multiple personas to your blog, giving your blog a more genuine touch.
- Content is Everywhere- Trust me, it happens to everyone, and it is feared by all: the dreaded writer’s block. However, there are some tips that can alleviate the stresses of coming up with “what’s next.” Here are a few ideas:
- Go back through your email and see some of the correspondences with customers you have assisted. Do a little editing and presto, a brand new blog post.
- Pick out a new trend in an industry periodical and elaborate in a series of posts on how your company excels at it.
- Get in the habit of writing your thoughts and ideas down on paper, or even make a few notes in your smart phone about an interesting topic. Refer back to those notes on a regular basis for generating content.
- Had a recent customer success story? If you are following tip number two, then you have already started writing about it.
- Target Your Focus- Yes, content is king and content is everywhere. Nevertheless, it is imperative you are steadfast to your goals. Know what your objective in blogging is. Are you going to inform, or entertain, or a little bit of both? Referring back to the second tip, having multiple contributors to your blog allows different personas to shine. Never forget that the perception of your blog by others is a direct correlation of your company’s online brand presence. You need to make sure that the direction of your blog is in line with your company’s overall visions.
- Don’t get “Blog Bog” - Blogging should be fun! Blogging is a selfless act because you are willingly putting your industry knowledge out there for the entire world to see. You should devote significant time, and place diligent importance to plan and prepare for your blog. Incorporate the research, preparation, and drafting of your blog into your daily business routine. If you do not personally view your B2B blog as important, then why would you ever expect that anybody else would either?
A blog is not a press release, and it is certainly not another avenue for a sales pitch. However, you can point out and elaborate in detail the solutions your company provides for specific problems your customers experience.
Remember, the goal of a great B2B blog is to provide helpful, meaningful, and useful information about your product and industry. Relate with potential clients, give them something that benefits them, and they will continue to look to your authority.