Posted by George in As more and more companies feature blogs on their websites, I get a steady stream of questions about what exactly should go on a company blog. While I typically will post any SEO Articles and SEO Press Releases that I’ve written for the client on their blog, there are still plenty of uses for a blog that can be both beneficial and entertaining for both customers and the company themselves.
You Too Can Be Ann Landers
No matter what your business is, there are people that are going to seek advice on what they should do in regards to your business. If you sell flowers, somebody will want advice on what will best grow in a certain location or how to keep their favorite orchid alive. If you deal in jewelry, you are sure to have a huge number of questions that come in from guys looking for the right present. The point is that no matter what your business deals in, there will always be somebody with something to ask you. A company blog can serve two purposes here.
The first thing that a company blog can do is allow you to give unsolicited advice based on your experience and knowing what people are going to ask you. If you have customers regularly calling you to ask you the same question, a blog post with the answer is an easy way to curb some of the calls with the same question. The second thing a blog can do here is allow you to answer questions that are posed to you that aren’t the usual run of the mill questions. Even though your answer may be suited to the particular person that asked the question doesn’t mean other people aren’t thinking the same thing and can’t gain something from your answer. Posting your answers to unique questions is not only helpful to your customers, but a great way to keep them coming back to visit your blog, allowing you to establish a trust between you and them which will lead to more sales.
Create a Top 10 List
If you’ve ever watched David Letterman than you already know all about Top 10 Lists, but that doesn’t mean you should leave the fun of creating lists to Letterman. Whether it’s a Top 10 list of the best summer flowers, the Top 10 things to do after you’ve had an accident, or the Top 10 home accessories, there doesn’t have to be any actual facts to support your claims, just your personal belief. Remember, unless you’re giving out legal counsel on your blog (which I wouldn’t recommend), everything you post is simply your personal opinion and while any Top 10 list you create is certainly open to argument, which can lead to great discussions, it’s whatever you want to put on there.
A Funny Thing Happened
Comedians always claim the funniest things from their routines are what happens to them in real life. I’ve worked in a lot of different jobs and I have some incredible stories from all of them. It’s hard to run a business any more without coming up with the kinds of stories that you would tell other people at a cocktail party. Whether they’re touching stories of helping a bride get flowers for her wedding at the last minute or some of the more interesting (and comical) questions you get asked on a regular basis, your blog is a great venue to show your company’s human side.
Showing your company’s human side is a great way to build rapport with your customers, but it also can take provide a good laugh or a tear to their eye, both of which will cause your company to stick in their minds when they’re looking to purchase a product or service that you happen to provide. Who said telling stories couldn’t work for you?
Keep it Easy
No matter what you put on your company blog, the one thing you should always remember is that a blog is an informal way for you to convey information about you, your company, and your industry to your customers. Regularly making use of your blog can help you build a loyal following of online customers that will check back to see if you’ve updated your blog, and can even be used to point links to your website and help with your rankings in Google, Yahoo, and MSN, an added bonus. What it all comes down to is making use of your blog to write in a more relaxed format while still doing your business some good, and that’s what it’s really all about.
I love this post. I had read a blog entry by James Brausch which talked about making the blog the hub of all your business activities. It makes a lot of sense because it can help brand your online presence, even if you already have an offline one.
James Brausch also uses a number of tools to opetimize his articles and sales copy so that he doesn’t have to do split testing. One of those tools is Glyphius, which is still available, even though he doesn’t sell it any more. He says if we combined the kinds of articles people like to read, lists, and rants and such, and then optimized them, more people would be in our traffic, and that’s the name of that tune.