Blog

You’ve undoubtedly heard the saying, “Content is king.” While you might be sick of hearing it, that doesn’t change the fact that it’s true. Content is the foundation of marketing. It’s time to start thinking of your company as a publisher. You need to share content with your target audience that educates them and builds trust with them.

Before you start publishing content, you need to develop a content marketing strategy. You can do so in 5 simple steps:

Identify your goals – What are your goals? Who do you want to reach? How much market share are you trying to achieve? Are you trying to change the perception of your brand? Increase brand awareness? Make a list of clear organizational goals, so you’ll be able to track your progress more accurately.

Define the informational needs of your target audience – Content marketing boils down to giving your buyers informational that’s useful to them. Listen to your customers. Interact with them. Find out what’s important to them, and build content around that.

Know what action you want readers to take – What is it that you want your readers to do with your content? Share it? Get motivated to learn more about your company? Place an order? Sign up for an email list? Download something?

Figure out the medium – There are many different ways to distribute content to your buyers—blogs, emails, ebooks, white papers, social networking websites, press releases, articles, case studies, testimonials, reviews, etc. Find the right mix for your company.

Track your results – You can’t know if your content marketing strategy is working unless you track your results. For all online marketing, use web analytics to measure your traffic, traffic sources, visitor activity, etc. Measure everything against the initial goals you set. If you’re not progressing steadily toward those goals, you may need to reconsider your content marketing strategy. Maybe you’re not producing content that resonates with your readers. Maybe you’re giving it to them in the wrong format. Or maybe you’re just not promoting your content enough.

How has your business used content marketing? Share your experiences by leaving a comment below.

Comments are one of the many metrics used to measure the success of a blog. If your blog isn’t getting any comments, you’re probably not doing too well.

Here are 5 reasons nobody is commenting on your blog.

You’re playing it safe – If you never take a side on an issue or stir up any sort of debate, people won’t have a reason to leave a comment. You need to appeal to your readers’ emotions so they’ll get fired up and want to share their thoughts on the topic at hand.

You’re not asking for comments — It’s simple, but effective. Ask your readers to leave a comment. Treat it like a call to action. When you ask someone to do something, they’re likelier to do it.

You do a poor job moderating comments – Why would anyone leave a comment if you take forever to approve comments or if your comment section is riddled with spam? You have to be an active moderator if you want to give people a good reason to interact in the replies.

You make it too hard to comment — The harder it is to leave a comment, the fewer comments you’ll get. If you require the reader to register for an account before he can comment, you’re going to miss out on a lot of potential comments. Also, if you require the reader to complete a CAPTCHA before their comment can be approved, you could lose more comments because sometimes those images are just too hard to understand.

You’re not getting any traffic — We conclude with what’s probably the most obvious reason you’re not getting any blog comments, because you’re also not getting any traffic! Just because you have a blog and post great content doesn’t mean that readers will automatically come. You have to take the time to promote your posts effectively. Spread them to your audience using Facebook, Twitter, blog carnivals, emails, and other tactics.

What are some of the other reasons blogs don’t get comments? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

The question of whether or not to hire a professional SEO agency may not be as deep as what Hamlet was pondering, but it is an important consideration, especially for small business owners.  An entrepreneur is only capable of addressing  a limited number of business issues without sacrificing the well-being of the company.  An I-know-it-all or I-can-do-it-all mentality limits the business owner from concentrating on running and building the business. It also places an owner on a fast track to becoming burned out.

An online presence is a must for 21st century business.  At the very minimum this entails a website.  A website and search engine optimization (SEO) goes hand in hand or else the site is merely a needle in the proverbial Internet haystack.  Accepting this premise moves the question forward to include Who and How.  Who will perform the required SEO and how will it be accomplished?

As far as the company is concerned, the question of  Who is easily determined by a process of elimination.

• Who in the company is an expert in SEO?
• Who is capable of developing SEO rich content?
• Who in the company has the time and skills to focus on SEO and rankings?
• Who is qualified to determine which search engines will be the most beneficial?
• Who can keep up with the changing algorithms of several search engines?

After completing the inquiries, a blank page is a good indication that hiring a professional SEO agency may be in the best interest of the company.  If not totally convinced as yet, then also consider the following:

Cost-Effective Measure
There is a great deal of truth in the old adage, You have to spend money in order to make money.  You can also save money in order to make money.  Hiring professionals in SEO will lessen the cost of the inevitable mistakes made in-house and speed up the ROI with increased traffic to the site. To further  this, conduct research and compare both domestic and international agencies in order to secure reputable services at the most cost-effective pricing.

Dedicated Services
Outsourcing to a professional SEO agency ensures a dedicated commitment to the promotion of the company without sacrificing in-house resources. These resources will be best used preparing the back-end operation to receive the increased traffic and sales that will occur over time.  Opt to receive reports from the agency in order to plan for ramping up operations in line with SEO progress.

Professional SEO Strategies
Strategy is at the very core of search engine optimization.  The most effective strategies are born out of a combination of expertise and optimal implementation.  SEO agencies can supply both, as well as the ability to keep track of and forecast changes in the field.  In this time of unprecedented technological change, an SEO agency is poised to shift strategies commensurate with technology. They also keep the client informed of any new trends that will impact other business strategies as well.

Professional Tools and Analytics
It is the business of SEO agencies to possess all of the state-of-the-art content marketing,  analytic and reporting  tools necessary to provide their clients with optimal results. Their expertise also affords their clients with the tools that address their specific promotional needs. There is no way a small business, absent a fully equipped SEO division, could replicate these benefits without a greater expenditure of time and money.

Access To Learning SEO Standards and Best Practices
Learning is a key component in the success of any business enterprise.  A part of hiring a professional SEO agency is the knowledge that can be garnered about the best standards and practices in the field.

As owners know the story of their own business and industry, the SEO agency is knowledgeable in how to best implement SEO across a number of industries.  The client also benefits from learning what works and what doesn’t work for their particular field without experiencing the pain involved in trial and error processes.  The learning curve is expanded with the professional feedback received from SEO experts.  As the company grows and readies itself to take over some or all of the SEO responsibilities, the existing agency relationship can serve as a continuing learning resource.

Knowing how to write a blog involves understanding some basic do’s and don’ts. Below are listed some of the more grievous mistakes to avoid.

1. Boring Headlines

You could write the most useful and informative blog, but if your headline did not attract attention, it would never be read. It is far too easy to spend your time and effort on the content, but when it is all done, you must make the effort to find a headline that will “pop” and bring traffic to the site. Check out the blogs that are successful and model your own headlines after theirs.

2. Unbroken text

There is nothing more discouraging to a reader than to see a paragraph that never seems to end. Getting the reader to the site is most of the battle, and no one can afford to drive off their readership with an intimidating block of text.

Make use of small paragraphs, bullets, lists, and other methods that are appealing to the eye. The idea is to deliver the information quickly. If you cannot identify the purpose for a sentence, remove it. Your readers will appreciate your clarity.

3. Marketing laziness

Successful business blogging requires making use of the available marketing tools. Use social media sites to get your blog out there. The more you get involved in the blogosphere, the more attention your own blog will receive. Link your blog to other blogs. Comment on related blogs, linking your own blog in your helpful post. Friend successful bloggers on social media sites. Give others the opportunity to get involved with your blog with comments or even guest bloggers.

4. Advertisement Overkill

If your reader feels that you are more concerned with the advertisements on your page than the content of your blog, they will quickly be turned off of your site. Knowing how to blog effectively means knowing how to find the balance necessary between providing useful information and advertising (leaning toward the former). The relationship that must develop in order to get faithful readers will not develop if they feel that the blogger’s sole purpose is to make money.

5. Inconsistency

Your blog must posses a consistency. The trust that is built between author and reader is greatly strengthened when all aspects of your website are unified. From pictures uploaded, to content, to layout and design, let your message be clear and theme unified.

6. Missing Contact information

Help anyone who wants to get in touch with you. Create a tab on your website that lists your basic contact information. If a reader ever feels the need to reach out to you, you want them to be able to do so easily. Providing your contact information is also a simple way of vouching for what you write.

If you have come across any other blogging mistakes which I have not mentioned here in your blogging experience, please post it on your comments.

The Internet…if you are in business, you can’t live without it and at times, you can’t live with it. The seemingly endless advances in internet technology challenge businesses of all sizes to be adaptable to change in all forms. For example, online marketing barely existed before the Millennium and in a little over a decade, it has not only exploded, but reinvented itself several times over.

The same can be said for blogs and blogging. Once the domain of diarists, blogs have become an integral part of online marketing strategies. There are two main questions for business owners to ask when considering venturing into blogdom as an online marketing strategy; What are the marketing benefits? and How do I start?

There are four main areas for consideration when weighing the marketing benefits of adding a blog to a company’s online presence:

1. Increased Web Traffic – Once online, a business is in competition on a global scale. The issue for the business becomes distinguishing itself above the norm. A blog can increase company awareness and drive traffic to the website with content that adds value to the readership. If interesting enough, repeated blog hits are far more likely than on a website alone. If the content warrants, there is a high likelihood that the blog posts will be shared, this in turn will drive more traffic. As a marketing tool, a blog can diversify even further with RSS feeds, mass email marketing, social media sites and click-through ad banners.

2. Personalized Online Customer Service- Customer service and satisfaction are commodities that have served to distinguish traditional business concerns for decades. A blog offers the opportunity to personalize the online business-consumer relationship, offering value-added customer service through its content. More invaluable, however, is the commentary from the readers in analyzing and forecasting consumer trends and interests.

3. Community Building – Community is the coming together of individuals who are united by common interests. Inherent within the concept of community is the establishment of trust and loyalty. In the world of business, building a base of loyal customers is a primary goal. A blog offers this opportunity through the interaction it provides with an expanded Internet community. Linking with other blogs, websites and social media sites are effective community building avenues to pursue. This is based on the underlying principles of reach and frequency in effecting a successful marketing strategy.

4. Search Engine Optimization – SEO reigns supreme in the cyber kingdom. A kingdom that, as of December 2009, included 234 million websites, 126 million blogs and 2 billion Internet users. Based on a keyword or set of keywords, search engines literally search for online information. A set of keywords can elicit as many as 1 million responses, therefore, where a website is ranked is of major importance. The top spots are generally paid for, but the greater the requests for a set of keywords, the higher the rankings are raised. As a result, marketing techniques that generate the greatest amount of hits are used in adjunct to a website. A blog is one of these techniques, as are social media sites and interconnected links.

Once the marketing benefits of a blog are understood, the next step involves formulating a comprehensive and strategic online marketing plan. This is especially true if a website is currently the only online presence. Prior to implementation, there are four primary factors that should be addressed in the planning process.

1. Goals – Clarity of purpose is essential for any new endeavor. Establishing goals and benchmarks for the online marketing plan as a whole, as well as each online presence within the plan, is the starting point from which the other factors will be addressed. At the core is the desire to strengthen and grow the business. It is important to question how a blog or other online venues need to be approached and planned for, in order to achieve this goal. This will also determine what type of content will be focused upon in each area.

2. Time – This incorporates the time involved in setting up the blog, writing the content, when and how often it will be published, responding to comments, plus tracking and analyzing responses. All of these elements are to be considered with every online expansion, such as social media sites, guest blogging and the establishment of links. An overall ramp up schedule for the implementation and execution of each online presence is critical to this process.

3. Resources – The budgeting and forecasting of financial and human resources is vital to the planning process. Consistency is one of the elements necessary for a successful blog. It is better to publish less frequently and ramp up, than it is to take on too much and fall behind, or even close down. This includes expanding into other online ventures such as social media. The budgeting process opens the door for a number of decisions including what type of blog platform to use and how much to allocate towards paid advertising, blog posts and search engine optimization.

4. Content – Content is the single most important factor for drawing readers to a blog and keeping them coming back for more. Content should be aligned with the purpose of the blog. Is it to serve as expert advice in a particular industry? As value-added information for the consumer? A vehicle to provide additional service, including discounts to its customers? To be as effective as possible, choose what you know best and form your content around it. The greater the authenticity, the better the impression you will make on your readers.

Do you have any blog concerns you would like addressed?