Blogs are an amazing way to demonstrate your expertise online, control your message and build reputation. The power of a blog is that when you are blogging, you are the journalist.
Blogs allow you to easily tell your stories, readers can interact with you and you can build relationships with them. Blogging allows you to differentiate yourself from competitors, showcase your personality and share information about yourself, team or company.
The benefits of blogging
- Builds your profile through demonstrating expertise.
- Allows you to share information and build relationships with clients and customers.
- Informs people about other things you are doing such as speaking at events or commenting in the media.
- Generates powerful referral networks.
- Create an opportunity to network and share information with people globally.
- Improves your ranking on search engines.
Be consistent in your posting
Regardless of how you use your blog, be consistent. Regularly posting fresh content is important to attracting new readers. This can seem time consuming, however it will set you apart as an expert in your field and if your blog hasn't been updated in a long time, readers may lose interest.
Produce quality content
It is important to produce quality and interesting content in order to engage with your readers. So how do you go about creating content for a business blog? Start by researching your target audience and gauge what their interests are. You can then tailor your content to reflect these interests.
The key here is to think like a reporter. You need to make sure you're constantly on the lookout for newsworthy stories in your business as well as staying abreast of news items in the media that are related to your business.
Find your stories
Here are some ways to find your stories that you can use as content for your blog:
- Sharing your opinion on a hot topic.
- Business announcements like anniversary, staff hires or new products.
- Write about an area you're passionate about.
- Share your expertise with educational 'how to' articles.
- Topics that might be problem areas for your audience where you can provide expertise and advice.
- Interesting case studies relevant to your area of expertise.
Blogging is a powerful communication tool that makes you a digital publisher who can craft the stories and narrative about your business and culture. Creating a blog is a great way to communicate with your target audience in a different way. Include blogging in your PR strategy and discover the communication benefits today.
About the author
Catriona Pollard is the author of 'From Unknown To Expert', a step by step framework designed to help entrepreneurs develop effective PR and social media strategies to become recognized as thought leaders and influencers in their field. Catriona is also the director of CP Communications, which merges traditional PR tactics with cutting-edge social media strategies that engage consumers as well as business.