Starting a company blog not only creates a new channel to let potential clients know you exist, but it offers a way to show off your expertise in your field. This can be a huge advantage, especially for startups or smaller firms. A steady flow of good information that goes out to the public can bring remarkable returns.
So how can your company take advantage of a blog? And what should you avoid doing? To find out, we asked members from FounderSociety this question:
Q. What is your top tip for companies interested in starting a company blog?
1. Focus on quality over quantity
Given our "information-overloaded" society, understand that your blog is just one small piece of the marketing wheel, so use it wisely. Post interesting, relevant, keyword-optimized content geared toward your market, and use that content on other channels to increase awareness and back links to your site. Also use it to build your brand by bringing in future leads, prospects, and clients. Monitor analytics to gauge performance. —Angela Delmedico, Elev8 Consulting Group
2. Provide value and the sales will come
Too often, I see company blogs that just drone on and on about their products. Visiting them is the equivalent of going to a library and being babbled at by a used-car salesman. If you want to start a company blog and not have it amount to little more than wasted effort, write about things that matter to your audience: both customers and prospects. Provide value and the sales will come. —Steven Buchwald, Buchwald & Associates
RELATED: Blogging: If I Knew Then What I Know Now
3. Establish your expertise
There is a ton of objective advice on starting a blog. Yes, you need to be consistent in your publishing and have lead magnets. Content is king, though. If you have the right messages and answer your ideal customers' pain points, you win; if not, you'll hear crickets. Specifically, we teach our clients that content should establish you as an expert and lead your market to want to hear your offers. —Tony Banta, Venture Greatly, LLC
4. Write about customer interests—not your interests
You are starting a blog to attract customers, so this is not about your own personal musings or selling your products. To attract customers through your blog, you need to talk about things they are interested in and looking for. What FAQs do you always get? What are people asking on Quora, Reddit, or Twitter, for instance? Answer each question in a blog post. Customer-focused content will attract customers. —Todd Giannattasio, Tresnic Media
5. Optimize content to make sure the right people find it
Make sure your blog content is highly relevant to your audience, and optimize content to make sure the right people find it. SEO and relevance go hand in hand. While blogging, educate your leads with the answers they wanted when they entered the keywords into Google that brought up your blog. Blogging with your customers' needs in focus will help position you as an industry leader. —Bryan Driscoll, Think Big Marketing, LLC
RELATED: How to Optimize Your Blog Content and Get Noticed
6. Don't advertise
The company blog may sound like a perfect way to advertise to prospective clients; however, doing that is a huge turnoff and will lead to huge bounce rates. If someone looks at the information and finds that doesn't offer anything useful, they will leave. Instead, offer information that you consider valuable; that alone is the best advertising material for you. —Ajmal Saleem, Suprex Learning
7. Stop blogging without a clear direction
Small businesses often take content marketing advice intended for enterprises and end up simply blogging because that's what was understood. Remember, 2.73 million blogs are written every day, so slow down and create quality content that provides the best value. Structure it well, design graphics, and create a checklist, etc. Moreover, invest in proper SEO research beforehand, and outreach and marketing afterward. —Ryan Meghdies, Tastic Marketing
