4 F’s to Improve Your Blog—and Your Business

When it comes to running a successful business, your first thought might be about keeping your books, or engineering your products and services for your customers. And while that is the heart of your company, the fact remains that you have two critical needs to fill before you can experience success.

First, before you see any sales at all, your customers need to know you and your products exist. While word of mouth is a great way to accomplish that, it’s largely beyond your control. Second, to see growth beyond a few initial sales your customers—and potential customers—need to see you as a leader in your industry.

One of the best ways to accomplish both of these goals is through your company’s blog. And while the word “blog” causes many people to conjure up images of their little sister’s rants about her middle school classmates, for businesses a blog is increasingly becoming indispensable. But for a blog to become more than just a placeholder on your website, here are four F’s to keep in mind.

Frequency

Just as your little sister may have stopped blogging as she matured, many businesses begin their blog with the best of intentions, only to see it fall by the wayside. Because the results are harder to measure than making phone calls, you might not see the value it delivers. But content is king for internet marketing, especially for a company that wants a strong online presence.

According to the inbound marketing professionals at Hubspot, companies that blog see 55% more website traffic than businesses that don’t. And more traffic means more leads—70% more than non-blogging businesses. Overall, two-thirds of businesses that blog at least weekly have acquired a customer through their blog.

Fit

There’s more to the process than simply creating blog posts, however. If you sell wrenches, for example, will your blog generate a lot of interest if you post articles about women’s health? It might—if the readers are the people most likely to buy what you’re selling. Research into your buyer personas is an essential part of your blog development.

Your blog should also be about more than just your products. Armed with knowledge of your customers, you should post about other topics that interest them. Your ultimate aim is for them to see you as a leader among the companies in your industry. And there may be other content out there that will help them in their work and personal lives—share it with them. Remember the lesson from A Miracle on 34th Street: even if you can’t meet all their needs, direct them to whoever can.

Focus

Your blog posts may have a tendency to meander from one topic to another, especially at first where there is a lot you can write about. That makes a post much less useful to your customer, who came looking for a specific piece of knowledge. Keep your focus narrow for an individual post. Your posts should also be geared toward solving a specific problem your customer faces. Remember, your aim is to become a repository of knowledge for them, so they keep coming back—and refer their friends.

Followthrough

Actually writing the blog is really only half the battle. Much like creating the product in the first place, it doesn’t do any good unless someone can find it. You need to take the time to promote your post. In this day and age, that means using your social media accounts to spread the word that you just created a piece of knowledge that delivers value. Depending on your market, you might post it on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest—or all of the above.

A blog is also an excellent opportunity to convert someone from an anonymous website visitor to an actual sales lead. For a blog to be effective, it should include a call to action—something the reader should do. It might be a direction to a product page, or an invitation to have a free consultation or a free ebook that will give them more information about a topic related to the post. The purpose of your call to action is to gather information about a website visitor that you can use to nurture them toward becoming a customer.

While your content should be focused on the people who will be reading your website, it’s also helpful to pay some attention to the technology serving your information to the reader. SEO is still important, adding the right words to your blog title and in the post can give your content a boost that will make it more visible.

Just as your business model will require constant fine-tuning as you find your place in the market, your blogging practices should be dynamic in response to your success. Regularly check on the content you have created, noting the posts that gain the most views and the calls to action that see the most clicks. Adjust your content and promotion to reflect what is the most effective use of your resources.

Creating a blog is relatively simple, but it’s an important part of your inbound marketing strategy, which can support the growth of your business and help you find success in the market.

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