In 2010 one in three companies are estimated to have a blog for marketing, eMarketer estimated earlier this year. By 2012 that number will rise to 43%, it predicted – despite the ongoing growth in social media. "Companies are finding that blogs fill a specific niche that other forms of social media do not," said eMarketer senior analyst Paul Verna. "Marketers perceive blogs to have the highest value of any social media in driving site traffic, brand awareness, lead generation and sales - as well as improving customer service," Verna added.
As businesses put more resources into this aspect of their public face, they should consider the following tips.
Get smart about content. For starters create an editorial schedule, advises Lee Odden at Online Marketing Blog. This will help keep writers on track with content that will most likely meet customer and business needs, give them an assist when the run into a dry spell and create an element of predictability for readers. "Mondays might focus on a message from the CEO or other business leader…Wednesdays might be a tips post about your product or service and Fridays might be a news roundup for the week. Tuesdays and Thursdays can be wildcards or days where you don’t post at all."
And if the CEO doesn’t have time to bang out a post, Odden suggests calling him or her, recording a discussion on the topic then transcribing the conversation into a post (with his or her approval of course).
Other suggestions include the blog review (find ranked lists of blogs in your industry and pick a handful of blogs to review every month or whatever interval works for you); interviews and guest posts (from internal sources, marketing partners, customers) and a building a blog team.
Keep it Coming. Business blogs that have at least eleven articles posted will generate a median of three leads. Blogs that reach the 12-23 posted article threshold find that this median dramatically rises to 10, according to Hubspot. Blogs with 24-51 posted articles generate a median of 13 leads, and will generate a median of 23 leads when the posted article threshold reaches 52. This represents 77% lead growth, more than twice the 30% lead growth that occurs when the number of posted blog articles reaches 24.
Stay away from overused buzz words. Not sure what those may be? LinkedIn identified several after surveying the profiles of its 85 million members. While LinkedIn primarily had professionals' resumes in mind, this advice works well for corporate blogs too. The top 10 terms that are overused by professionals based in the United States, it said, are:
1. Extensive experience
2. Innovative
3. Motivated
4. Results-oriented
5. Dynamic
6. Proven track record
7. Team player
8. Fast-paced
9. Problem solver
10. Entrepreneurial
