Businesses have a lot of options when it comes to social media. Twitter, Facebook, Google +, LinkedIn and Pinterest, just to name a few. And, for the most part, enterprises have become well versed in these platforms, and on how to best use them to grow their repertoire. One platform that has been a little underexplored, however, is blogging.
The rabbit hole that is the Internet is full of blogs, with fashionista and mom bloggers taking over the scene. As a result, blogging has developed quite a reputation for being an online journal of sorts, on any given topic. And, for those looking for more than an avenue to peruse the best street style or reviews of the best breast pump, a corporate blog can provide a variety of interesting posts and proficiency in a given industry. In an interactive world that is oversaturated with outfits of the day, businesses can stand out by using a blog to expand their web presence and brand identity, drive business and show off their expertise.
One company that has been leading the campaign in corporate blogging is Bond Public Relations & Brand Strategy in New Orleans. As the Gulf coast’s leading marketing firm, the company has been working with both national luxury brands and regional heavy hitters for the past ten years, by building their reputation without the help of social media. However, since recently adding social media as a new service, they have implemented their own strategy. Besides new clientele and new offerings, what have resulted are better web presence and a more personal identity.
"We wanted for our website to be a portal for interesting and usable insights and information, that people could use as a resource,” said Jordan Friedman, Partner at Bond Public Relations & Brand Strategy. "Usually businesses' websites are either digital brochures, or transactional platforms. Our site conveys the personality of our firm, the attributes of our team members, and provides value-added content that visitors embrace. As a result, our visits -- and repeat visits -- have increased exponentially. I should add, incoming new business inquiries have increased, as well."
Bond’s social media manager, Suzette Lake, offered us some tips to help you identify whether blogging is a good move for your business and how to get started.
Know the benefits
1. Businesses that blog have better marketing results and more website visitors than companies that don’t. Consistent blog posts can boost SEO and give a company better web presence, or as Lake explains, “it puts you at the top of the results page on a web search.”
2. The platform can give a company a voice, creating an accessible brand identity and further personifying a company and its team members. Lake adds that it gives staff members a virtual public speaking platform and positions them as thought leaders in their industry.
3. Posts are shared and often go viral, acting as free advertising that can drive positive word of mouth to potential clients.
4. A blog can also showcase your expertise in a given industry and act as a virtual sample of the services the company sells. This could work specifically for social media and online service companies.
Bond’s Tip: Familiarity with your brand may be the deciding factor in a client choosing to work with you. Hosting a successful blog can give you the familiarity.
Make the commitment
While a blog can be one of the most beneficial social media platforms, it is still one of the most underexplored and underutilized. Lake explained that this is because it can be an expensive and time-consuming endeavor, so be ready to fully commit if you’ve decided that blogging is appropriate for your business.
Bond’s tip: Unlike a personal blog, you can’t just create your corporate blog from WordPress. Integrate the blog into your website and hire a social media expert to maintain it. This ensures that posts drive more readers to your company site.
Schedule it
The success of your company’s blog is predicated on how often and consistently you post, as each post can drive thousands of new visitors to your site that you otherwise would not be getting. Over time, people will be expecting your posts, whether you publish daily, semiweekly, or weekly.
Bond’s tip: Create an editorial schedule and stick with it. It can be done on a spreadsheet or word document, and should list a calendar of dates that include when copy is due, when it will be published and who is responsible for generating that content. Lake also suggests scheduling posts specific to holidays and events, and including informative posts, “shoutout” posts and micro-blog posts.
Promote it
You can benefit most from your blog when posts are shared, so promotion is crucial. Promote using the company’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as employees’ personal accounts when they share their own blog posts. Lake also suggests Facebook ads and Twitter promoted tweets, which can boost your posts by paying as little as $5 per post.
Bond’s tip: Cross promote with other companies mentioned in your posts. Check out the company’s Buzzfeed they created for Fourth of July. Through Twitter, the post was cross promoted with almost every location and business they mentioned on the list, driving thousands of new readers to the list and Bond’s website.
Post!
While it may be obvious, write about things that people want to read. Make sure posts are relevant, interesting and address a need. Every once in a while, shake things up by following an influential industry article with fun, casual posts.
Bond’s tip: Weekly team posts position your team members as thought leaders in their given sectors and areas of expertise. It also adds a variety of content to your blog that you otherwise wouldn’t get if just one person were posting.
Bond Public Relations and Brand Strategy has seen a significant traffic increase to their website... [+]
