Better Business Blogging (Part 2)

Following on from our blog on recent post on Better Business Blogging, let’s take a look now at some of the practicals. Here are a few important points to note.

1. Consistent Content is Good for Business
Quite simply: don’t hold your business back by having a lack of content. Blog weekly, minimum.

2. Blogs Make Sharing and Dialogue Easy
The name of the game is to stay in touch; keep in constant contact with your audience.

If you get stumped coming up with content for Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Slideshare or Facebook, you’ll be relieved to know that blogging will make this easier. New blog posts make for great shareable content:

• Promote the blog itself
• Tweet snippets of the blog
• Ask questions raised by the blog topic
• Start a discussion on Facebook around the key issues in the blog
• Post your own opinions on that topic
• Turn the blog into a Slideshare presentation
• Have a Google Hangout discussing the topic with some others, record it and put it on YouTube
• Create a film for YouTube- your own video blog summarising the topic or interviewing someone else about it
  (these last two may take some pre-planning)

3. Overcome your Hesitations
Fear of giving it away for free: Online culture is about being transparent and generous, often giving away your expertise for free. This can be daunting, but we believe it will come back around to you for the better.

Writers block: You may feel you have nothing to say, but don’t take your ‘common knowledge’ for granted. If you’re in business we can assume you have a lot of value to add to others, which is why you got into business in the first place, right? So think about common questions you get asked, conversations you have with clients or friends, and remember the ‘basics’ to you may be incredibly insightful to others.

Limited time: There’s never enough hours in the day when running your own business or contributing to the success of a brand. However, blog writing is something that can- and will- bring you exciting results if you commit to it properly. The question is, can you afford not to blog?

4. Formatting and Blogging Rules

• Blogs should be a quick read and your reader shouldn’t have to scroll down too much to reach the end. Longer blogs can be split up and made into a series.
• Format with style. Use paragraphs, headings, bolding and bullet points to ensure it’s easy to read or skim-read.
• Add visuals like images and films.
• Use a clean, modern and attractive design.
• Ensure your spelling and grammar is correct.
• Link with your other social media sites.
• Respond to your comments immediately.
• Your posts should have a catchy and descriptive title, and a compelling introduction to capture the reader’s attention.
• Include a call to action, apart from a hard sell. What is the next social step for the reader? Comment, tweet, share the blog, go to another post?
• Over all, ensure your blog is written with personality, showing off your knowledge and meetings the needs of the reader.

5. What to Write About
Ask yourself “is this blog useful? Is it interesting?” If yes, then you are on the money!

You’re aiming to inspire thought, stir up debate, create a blog that will be retweeted on Twitter and shared on Facebook.  Think about the questions you get asked all the time. If you don’t have a blog on those yet, then you’re already set for your next few blog posts.

Your posts don’t have to be scrutinised for perfection. It’s ok if they’re informal but make sure the content is good and you will have happy readers. You should avoid talking about how great your business is, instead you can show off much more effectively through quality content.

Really Bright Media runs the Social Media Action Group, helping businesses and brands to get on top of their social media output and see positive results. The group is held for a full day each month, for six months. Click here to watch a short video with more information.