Social Media is one of the most cost effective means of reaching out to and engaging with your community and potential users/consumers of your product or service. In saying that many businesses are still unsure of what the main platforms are when setting up their profile and how these different platforms work and support one another.
Today I want to talk about blogging as a tool for building and communicating to your community as well as helping you continuously add relevant content to your site.
Blogging is one of the most cost effective ways to communicate with your customers. By sharing your ideas online you are placing yourself as an expert in your field (providing content is relevant and interesting) as well as improving your SEO (search engine optimization) by providing up to date content. Blogging allows your followers to share your articles which further expands your reach allowing you to build your profile quickly and easily.
Below are some tips on creating a successful blog space
1. Find and connect to your “Blogging Tribe”
Identifying your target and providing them with relevant information is the key to building a successful blog space. Once you have set up your blog you need to figure out who are the key industries you need to target and what information is going to be useful to them. Once you understand who your clients/tribe are you can create an aesthetic and creative tone that will draw them in and keep them interested. The number of followers, likes and comments you receive are only useful if there is an authentic engagement with you and your content. Remember no one likes a hard sell its about sharing interesting information and creating a connection. The number one reason why a follower would subscribe to a blog is if they know that blog space is providing real value, this is why top tips are a good way of guaranteeing a steady following.
2. Don’t Flood your space with continuous, long wordy posts.
One of the main reasons blogs tend to get un-followed is if the reader is bombarded daily with long wordy posts. Certain types of blogs have a different posting frequency but overall I find that posting once or twice a week keeps your readers engaged without feeling you are constantly in their face and avoids the danger of repetition in your content. Finding your authentic voice and giving your blog a personality so your followers feel like you are talking to them not at them helps to build a genuine connection and loyalty.
3. Make your posts easy to read
Time is often lacking and users want short, digestable bite size bits of information that they can quickly absorb. Using top tips, bullet points, headers and multiple paragraph breaks helps the reader take in the main points of your article at a glance and will hopefully entice them to stick around long enough to read the entire blog.
4. Inspire and be inspired – encourage and engage in the conversation
The real point of blogging is reaching out and connecting to your community and the only way this will happen is if you link in and start a dialogue with other like-minded bloggers. You will soon find if you are reaching out and connecting with others they will do likewise with you and before you know it you have a network that is continuously growing and building. Get to know the bloggers you are following, inspire and be inspired. I’ve made some great connections this way and have inadvertently made some valuable professional connections in the process!
If the above was of any interest to you please like, comment or share!