You need to develop a blog for your business if you want to stay relevant. You have heard it a thousand times before, but this time it’s a sink or swim situation. Your competitors have caught up. And your target audience is getting poached from all angles. Get a blog. Don’t lose what’s yours to take.
In this content-driven reality we’re living in, your skepticism about blogging is costing you, your employees and your company a great deal. If you still need convincing, head over to Hubspot and try to argue why you wouldn’t want to generate 67% more leads through a company blog. But if you’re ready to start blogging, here are some useful blog ideas for your business:
- Helpful lists – Like this one you’re reading, for instance. Or one that helps your audience achieve a goal or learn something new. Think cheat sheets, infographics, a nicely curated Q&A, or outlines of must-haves, do’s and don’ts.
- Customer interviews – Want to earn customer trust? Get one of your current customers to share their experience. You can make these interviews as testimonials or get a little more creative. But whatever you do, keep these interviews light, candid and true.
- Share resources – Compile all your favorite resources according to a search keyword or social media topic theme and share it with your audience. We’re talking about sharing relevant, unique and useful resources like applications, guides, white papers, tutorials, cheat sheets, etc. Note that long form and media rich collections are the most bookmarked and shared blog post form.
- Self promote – Write a blog post about your own marketing efforts. Got a new logo or a new video up? Use your blog to tell your audience the whole story behind it, the creative process and even the bloopers. Re-purpose your own content and ideas whenever possible.
- Be the expert – Answer relevant questions pertaining to your industry with subject matter expertise. This is a great way to harvest your leaders’ knowledge and to encourage them to participate in the company’s blog.
- Write for a cause – You do your part by giving back, now let your blog do its part by spreading the word. Make sure you do more than just brag about your philanthropic efforts though. Educate your audience about the subject matter, raise awareness about ways to help and encourage participation.
- Employee features – Show off your talent. Not only are our employees your most valuable asset, they are also the most apt to speak about the work you do. Tell their individual stories and highlight their achievements. Remember, clients care about the work, but it is your job to help them care about the team behind it.
- Write a review – Don’t let it get to your head, but you’re an industry insider. As such, you have unique and valuable insight to share. Keep it relevant, timely and professional. Did you go to a conference? Review it. Is there new book out about your industry? Give your readers your critique. Did you try a new software or a new app? Spill the beans and tell your audience what you thought of it.
- Feature a guest post – Know of someone in your industry that’s shaking things up? Why not have them author a post on your blog? Better yet, why not post on each other’s blogs? Not only is guest posting fun, it helps build relationships, does amazing things for SEO, and boosts your reputation online.
- Stay current – Blog about what’s happening now in your industry. What you do to stay current is up to you, but we recommend curating and monitoring an industry-focused content feed, subscribing to the major publications and newsletters in your field, attending networking events and workshops, and following like-minded professionals in your field on social media.