One of the more important things that should be shared on your social media business page is your blog. Don’t have a blog? You should!
Social media sharing includes news flashes, inspirational or funny memes, product showcases, images, and much more.
The point of all of these is to engage fans so that they like, comment, and ideally share your posts.
When you share your blog you add another dimension to social media sharing: you direct your audience to your website, on which they can more effectively be converted to paying customers. This is the whole point of your marketing efforts, including those you undertake on social media.
Why you need to blog
Every business website should include an onsite blog. An onsite blog provides dynamic and unique content for your website, which is an important aspect for search engine optimisation. A blog:
- Drives traffic to your website
A blog is a simple platform that is easy to use and which helps you connect and share information with your audience. It’s a direct channel for communication with your target customer base. It adds fuel to your SEO strategy and with unique and valuable content published, search engines will reward you.
What search engines want to see is website content that is dynamic.
Most pages on your site will be very static – you don’t update them a lot.
A blog solves this issue.
Every single blog post represents another indexed page on your website, which translates to opportunity for search engine exposure and traffic driven your way. By including your targeted SEO keywords in your blog articles, search engines will sit up and take notice.
A blog that is shared on your social media pages will be seen and, if your content is of high quality, it will be shared by others. This equates to greater exposure of your brand and your business.
A new audience will see your blogs and discover your brand. Every fan or follower who shares your blog becomes a lead generator for your brand.
While you can share your blog in emails and newsletters, social media is the fastest, cheapest, and most effective way to get it seen.
- Helps convert traffic into valuable leads
Every new blog post presents an opportunity for lead generation. All you need to do is include a call to action for your brand in your blog articles.
It could be a call-to-action button at the end of the post, or as simple as an invitation to explore the rest of the website.
Not all members of your blog audience will transform into leads – and this is OK! Great blog articles will be remembered and with brand awareness over time, your articles will find the audience that will convert.
Old fans of your blog may well also convert at such time as you offer a solution to their needs.
- Establishes authority
You want to be perceived as an expert in your field. This way, you will be the go-to business when consumers wish to become customers.
The very best business blogs are interesting and informative.
They provide answers to common questions that consumers have. When you are consistent in the provision of quality and valuable content, you’ll establish yourself as an authority in your field.
It also helps to personalise your brand and give your business a human touch.
When you are viewed by consumers as an authority, you promote a feeling of trust. Prospective customers will be better informed and will believe that you are the vendor who can fulfil their needs.
Your blog also shows that you are committed to your business on an ongoing basis; it demonstrates attention to the details and an ongoing hands-on approach to your brand and website.
- Drives results
A well-written blog with high-quality content provides ongoing results. Once it ranks in search engines, a single blog post can generate new leads and drive new traffic to your website – even months or even years after its initial publication.
As such, the potential lead generation of a single blog post is exponential over time. A little effort in each blog article pays off enormously over time.
The more blog posts you publish, the greater is the potential for your blog to drive results well into the future – the results are not immediate. So think of your blog as a marathon effort rather than a sprint.
How often should you blog?
Ideally, you will publish a new article on your onsite blog every week or two. Some businesses succeed with just one blog a month, but one per week or one per fortnight works much better.
Make a list of potential topics for blogs.
Every one need not apply directly to your brand or business; as long as it can be related to your niche, it’s actually better to provide an array of interesting topics for articles.
Readability is the key.
For SEO purposes, a blog needs to be between 350-500 words.
This is long enough to register on search engines yet not so long that the average reader will lose interest. For more professional or targeted industry audiences, a blog post can be longer – but 1500 words will usually be the absolute upper limit.
Every blog should be grammatically accurate, with perfect syntax, spelling and punctuation. Proofreading is essential!
Consider your audience – and write accordingly. This way, your tone will be conversational, informational, professional, or technical – whatever suits the topic and the audience.
Other blogging benefits
- Tells the story of your brand
- Broadcasts upcoming events or product releases
- Comments on timely and relevant news topics
- Fosters a dual conversation with consumers – invite them to comment and then reply to those who do
- It sharpens your business focus
- Encourages you to research your niche – this ultimately benefits your business strategy
- Makes you approach your business from a new direction and viewpoint
- Puts yourself in the position of consumers – what would you want to see from your business?
- Creates free PR
- Gives your business a voice
- Builds confidence
- Builds sales
- Focuses on your content marketing strategy
- Inspires yourself and others
- Gains audience insights
According to a survey by HubSpot, 60 per cent of businesses that blog regularly will acquire more customers.
When you share your blog, especially on social media, you are helping to build and grow your business. Gain inspiration for blogs from headlines, other great blogs, consumer comments and questions, social media and pop culture.
Include calls to action, target keywords, and a great title to capture interest. Then share on social media for the best results.
By now you should be compelled to want a blog on your website and to promote it to social media.
Social media is one the most powerful ways to build your business. So…
Have you done our free LinkedIn eCourse?
4 Week LinkedIn Optimisation Course: Not only do we share a bunch of valuable, relative and useful info on our blogs, but we’ve got a free LinkedIn eCourse to help you get the most out of this platform especially for B2B enterprises. If LinkedIn is your preferred social media channel, take a look at this course to raise your profile, generate leads and boost your business – so LinkedIn can start working for you.
Meanwhile…
If you haven’t had enough of a social media fix from this blog take a look around our website, there’s plenty of fodder to spark inspiration and help you navigate your way around social media.
Here’s one of our most-read blogs: 13 of the world’s cleverest social marketing campaigns
When you embark on a social media campaign for your business, you naturally want it to succeed. For this to be possible, you need to be innovative, clever and provide something a little different from what your competition is doing. Check out what the big guns have done in social media in the past. Check out what the big guns have done in social media in the past. Read it here:
If Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram are more your scene and where you target audience are hanging out, take a read over these hot tips:
FACEBOOK:
Facebook insights for business PART 1
Lessons to be learned from your competitors on Facebook PART 2
SNAPCHAT
Snapchat 101 – Harness its power for marketing
9 steps to build your brand with Instagram
