8 essential facts you need to know before starting your business blog

A massive number of people believe that a business website is not enough to draw attention. There must be a business blog too. Think about it- a business blog can do more than a website can. It can engage the audience. The website gives information, creates sales. But the blog can create a sense of ownership in the minds of buyers. Think of it as a marketing channel- it will bring more visibility to your brand, create awareness and add to your subscriber list. No wonder then that business blogs are on the rise. In fact, even a few years ago, it was found that 97% of companies that blogged received even more links to their website. Imagine what it might be now. Here are 8 essential facts to keep in mind before you start your business blog, also ask your web development Singapore firm to read this before implementing it.

1. Business blogs are important- over 20% of time on the internet is spent on social media sites and blogs. That’s quite a large chunk of time that you can utilize. Bloggers are powerful influencers. So many of the decisions that consumers take are the result of a recommendation of a blogger or influencer. Blog posts are easy to share and become part of the internet world with no problems at all. What’s more, when they are shared in this way, the website gains a lot more traction than before. Since the world lives so much of its life online, a blog is much more likely to influence a buyer than a newspaper article or a magazine advertisement. A business blog shows the human face of a brand, a more personal side of the company or business. This gives the buyer a sense of personal engagement, making them even more likely to buy a product. It is a norm today to do research before investing time and money in a product. Almost 50% of business blog readers read up to 5 pieces of information before they make up their mind on what to buy.
2. Content is everything- a business blog is nothing without content. Remember, it is an extension of your website and should reflect that sensibility. If you cannot deliver consistent content, don’t think about a business blog at all. Blogs devoted to a business are not unusual or rare. What sets your blog apart? Content will. Deliver clean, crisp, engaging content and you’ll soon have a devoted following of readers. These readers will talk about your work and the news of your brand will spread. This content can also be extended to social media sites as well. There has to be a general pattern of excellence maintained in every portal. We’ve also seen that when content on a blog is longer, it has better chances of being picked up by search engines. No wonder then that the last few years has seen a rise in the average number of words per blog post.
3. Media is mighty- a picture speaks a 1000 words, it is said. Majority of blog readers prefer going through content that is accompanied by pictures. Carefully selected media, whether it’s in the landing page of the blog, the music that plays during the reading of posts or the videos that accompany information can all go a long way to clinching the deal. It is believed that visuals are way more engaging than content alone. Seeing how most people are surfing the internet on their phones, the importance of pictures becomes even more important.
4. SEO matters- Keep SEO guidelines in mind when you write content. It helps tremendously if your blog is among the top couple of hits of a simple online search. Make sure that your keywords show up in these main areas- Page Title, Main Content, URL, subheadings and section headings and image ALT Text. Put your key terms in the meta description as well.
5. Information needs to be relevant- frequent blogging is all and well, but if you don’t connect the information to whatever’s happening around you, it may not make a lot of sense to the user. Steer clear of rehashing old content or worse, borrowing from other sites. You could consider inviting guest bloggers to write. You could get a bigger readership, and you can pay the guest blogger for their services too. Your target should be about 15-20 blog posts a month. You can do this by creating a publishing schedule. Give your readers a chance to subscribe to your blog too- this will keep them posted on the latest content and keep their interest going as well.
6. Readers should have direction- once the reader visits your blog, what next? How do you ensure that they come to your business blog again and again? Give them something to do. Either a chance to participate in a contest or to win samples and prizes. Your call to action should be simple, implementable and easy. Make it sharable- blogs mean almost nothing if they cannot be shared. Make it easy for the reader to share information on their own blog, on social media and other sources. Give them an address or a phone number that they can click on and get to the website or the place where they can take further action.
7. The hosting platform is vital- two things that you need to keep in mind. One, your blog and website should be hosted on the same platform for ease of use. Two, remember that your business blog can be read across devices. Not just the desktop, but the phone, the tablet and laptop too. Make sure that your content- images, media and text- is optimised for it. Also, make sure that the most information is within the first line of sight of the user, and is easy to access.
8. Information should be backed up- blog posts take a lot of time and effort to write. Make sure you keep a copy of the information on Cloud or on Drive. The same goes for blog statistics and any other information pertinent to your understanding of the action needed to move forward. This will be a ready guide, good for reference and as a starting point.

Author

Shu is the Director, Brand Communication & Client Relations of One X Tech. She supports clients in digital transformations, with a particular focus on consumer businesses and leads the efforts in growing new capabilities and partnerships.