But, I believe that it’s possible to combine the two. Creating an informative business blog that is still interesting is definitely one of the more challenging aspects of content marketing, but here are 7 tips to help you do the job:
Contents
Tip #1: Be Specific: General is Bad
The more specific your business blog is, the better. That doesn’t mean you should feel limited to just one topic, but you should have an ideal reader in mind that you consider in light of every piece you publish.
It’s okay to focus on niche markets (like the food industry or the real estate industry, etc.), but for the most part, focus on delivering content marketing advice for all types of small businesses.
My point? It’s okay to be ultra-specific from time to time, but you should never be ultra-general.
Tip #2: Personal And In-House Content
No matter what kind of business you run, there’s about a 99.99% chance that someone else is doing nearly the exact same thing. However, you’re still unique because of the people behind your business.
A great way to be informative and interesting is to share in-house content about your business. Celebrate your company’s successes with your business blog by sharing case studies, milestones, and more. It’s a great way to educate readers about what you do, while also offering something they can’t get anywhere else.
Tip #3: Solve Customer Problems
You know what people love? Having their problems solved. Businesses exist because they create solutions. Why not do that with your blog? This is one of the best ways to provide information. And, if someone’s reading your blog, chances are it’s because you have the answers they need. Take a customer’s real problem, solve it, then share about it.
Tip #4: Interview, Interview, Interview!
What’s better than sharing your own knowledge? Sharing knowledge from someone who is smarter or more experienced than you. Start asking to interview the experts in your industry. I bet you’ll be surprised by how easy it actually is. Everyone wants exposure, right? Plus, once you interview a big name, it opens up many more doors of opportunity.
If you ask someone for permission to interview them for your blog, more often than not, they’ll say yes. It makes the interviewee look good; it makes you appear well connected; it provides valuable information to the reader; everyone wins.
Tip #5: It’s Not All About You
I know, crazy, right?! I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that you are not creating the bulk of your industry’s content. That being the case, it’s time you start sharing the best of the best – even if it means sharing a competitor’s content.
When you share other people’s informative content, not only does it strengthen your reputation, but readers will welcome it. After all, they’re coming to your blog to get information, not to listen to you jabbering on from your soapbox. And you never know what sort of networking opportunities open up when you openly share the good of your competitors.
Tip #6: Are You Interested?
This should go without saying, but you’d be surprised how often it happens. If you aren’t interested in the content you’re sharing, no way are your readers going to be interested.
Tip #7: Judge Yourself on Interaction
How is your blog doing with traffic? Comments? Re-tweets? If the answer is “so-so,” then your business blog probably isn’t informative – or you’re just having some serious SEO issues. Generally though, interaction is a good indicator of whether or not your blog is informative.
Start implementing these tips to make your content beam with knowledge and tell us, how do you make your business blog informative?
[“source-smallbiztrends”]
