Blogging is an online equalizer. Given enough time and the right words (SEO), blogging can take a small business and put them ahead of their competitors in web searches – which is great when advertising and marketing dollars are far from equal. But, the biggest challenge we hear from clients is their lack of ideas on what to blog about.
First, spend a few hours developing a plan. Determine how often you’ll blog (once a week, twice a month), put those dates into a spreadsheet and alongside it you’ll enter in the topics of each post. This prevents the “I have to write a blog post, what do I write about?” conundrum. Second, make sure you carve out the time to do the blogs by booking a couple of hours in your calendar. If spending the time writing is an issue, consider hiring a professional – we can help with this.
To determine topics for the spreadsheet, here are a few ideas to keep that blog regularly updated, interesting and at the top of the searches.
– Look to your web reports – what pages are the most popular and what terms are bringing eyeballs to your site? Write posts about the things people are searching.
– Don’t repeat the same content but expand single ideas. If you’ve given an overview about the light bulb, do an in-depth blog on the colours available, another on the wattage, another still on the filament structure, etc.
– Check what your competitors are doing. Don’t copy them by any means, but use their ideas as a spring board for new ideas.
– Ask the question of what readers would like to see. A three question survey will uncover surprising answers.
– Feature a guest expert and have them weigh in on what they do.
– Present a case study of a client and how what you do helped them out of a tight spot.
– Give a glimpse into your opinion on the future of your industry, or what the future for a product or service holds. Expand on this by discussing the future of a related product or service.
– Discuss news or facts and statistics current to your industry.
When you review all the options, there is plenty to talk about in B2B blog posts. Be organized and you’ll never falter at the keyboard again.