After all of the hard work of getting a company off the ground — from setting up inventory and fine-tuning services, to hiring employees and creating a website through the help of a digital marketing firm such as Kaufer DMC – businesses need to be sure they are doing everything they can to attract and keep customers. As Brawn Media notes, blogging is now a key part of the marketing success of a company. However, not all blogging is created equally. To ensure a blog works for them to attract new customers (rather than drive them away), business owners should follow these five blogging best practices:
Get to Know Your Customers
In order to be successful at blogging, Brawn Media says, business owners need to really know their customers and clients. For example, a blog on a trendy and fashionable online clothing boutique website should be lighthearted and fun and focus on the latest must-have outfits, as opposed to long, drawn-out missives about how cotton is made. This is the type of writing customers want to see, and it can entice them to stay on the site and place an order. On the other hand, companies that sell electronic devices, such as computers and smartphones, can write blogs using more technical language, likewise of a Windows hosting service.
Check Your Writing Before Posting
Yes, business owners are busy, and yes, they may not feel they have the time to proofread their blogs, but misspelled words and typos can be a definite turn-off for customers. Errors such as these can cause potential customers and clients to click on the “X” button and take their business elsewhere. Company owners who are too swamped to proofread should hire someone to do it for them. The benefit is definitely worth the added expense.
Write About Things Other Than the Business
While it might be tempting to use a blog as an opportunity to crow a bit about the business and how amazing it is,Hollis Thomases of Inc.com strongly advises against it. In fact, making the blog all about the company or how great the owners are is really unattractive to readers, and will inspire them to shop elsewhere. Instead of making the blog all about them, business owners should try to teach, inspire, or help their customers.
Update Your Blog Regularly
Customers definitely notice how often a blog is updated, Inc.com notes. If the same old blog about Capri pants has been sitting there on the online boutique website for months, it sends a message that the company is not staying up-to-date on the latest styles, and is being run in a rather ho-hum fashion (no pun intended.) This can cause customers to head elsewhere for their clothing purchases.
Make it all Look Good
Before their eyes even begin to read the text, potential customers will notice the images and photos that accompany a blog. Because of this, fellow Internet marketing consultant David Riewe notes that businesses need to be sure their blogs are chock full of clear, eye-catching and appropriate images. A blog about the enormous popularity of cupcakes needs photos of mouth-watering baked goods, not a couple of blurry images of Hostess cupcakes. Good-looking images will help keep readers on the site, and encourage them to spend their money there.
