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"If you build it, they will come" may work in the movies, but don't count on it when your company's blog is concerned. Yes, a blog can give you a powerful means of getting the public's attention, demonstrating your expertise and ability to solve customers' problems, and attracting interest in your products or services -- but only if you take the necessary steps to direct online traffic in its direction. Here are some suggestions for drawing more eyes toward your blog (and keeping them there):
Obviously no one will bother to follow a blog that doesn't reward that valuable time and attention. In this respect, content is still king in the blogging universe. Take the time to go beyond trivial news updates or rehashes of other people's expertise by composing unique, relevant articles that reflect your company's particular spin on a subject. Post content that helps readers understand and solve their pressing issues, and your blog has a better chance of appearing at the top of their search results list. Make sure your pieces are not just informative, but also entertaining, and conclude them with a call to action that pushes the readers to investigate your site further.
Organic SEO may not be a magic wand, or even the principal element in web traffic control, but it still plays a role in getting your post onto people's online radar when they search for a specific keyword or phrase. If you don't currently have an SEO expert to help you, at least run some faux searches of your own or plug some phrases into Google AdWords to see which keywords get sterling results. At the same time, however, avoid stuffing your post with keywords, or Google may misinterpret your efforts as spam.
Social media as we know it began with blogging, but over the years it has evolved to the point that a modern social media strategy includes multiple channels -- all referencing each other to provide a congruent branding picture. So when you post a new blog article, use your other channels to broadcast the news. Post the article title and a link to the post to your Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and other social media accounts. Impress the contacts, communities and associations that frequent these sites, and you may just start a sharing frenzy that takes your article viral.
Online video users are expected to double to 1.5 billion in 2016 (source: Cisco), and YouTube is the king of the video mega-sites. Take advantage of these two facts by posting a video-friendly version of your latest blog post onto YouTube in an accepted video format. This can be as simple as reading the article text into a microphone to record an audio track, using consumer-level editing software to combine the audio track with a static slide of your company's contact information, and then uploading the finished product. Don't forget to add keyword phrases and active links to your website in the text description section. You'll attract the attention of interested parties who might otherwise have never discovered you -- and you'll make a splash with Google, which rates YouTube as a highly desirable linked source.
A steady stream of blog traffic doesn't just introduce a wider world to your site; it can also provide you with a wealth of prospect and customer data to help you target your ideal audience even more effectively. So start blogging!
William Reynolds has worked as a freelance copywriter since 1997. William has helped many a business market its wares and manage its online reputation through professional website content, ghost-blogging, print marketing content and audio/video scripts.
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