1. Optimize Your Post

If you’ve been here before, you will already know the importance of using keywords in your blog posts. A recent study by blogger.com from August 2014, shows that although 60% of businesses have blogs, 65% of those spaces haven’t been updated in the past year. So whether you’re old or new to us, we suggest that there’s nothing wrong with giving all of your posts an SEO review.

It’s important to keep your content fresh and modestly packed with keywords that are relevant to what people are searching for today. Not to mention, adding SEO to your images which are just another opportunity to be found on the web.

2. Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest

If you don’t have time for anything else, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest are your main channels through which to send your posts out to the sphere. If you didn’t catch it, our latest piece taught you how you can create Social Media Posts on the Fly using our Professional Online Marketing Toolkit. Sending your post through these channels will be the first place to go and will continue to get you the same amount of attention—so far this is probably getting you likes, but we can do better.

3. StumbleUpon

StumbleUpon was founded in 2002 and is a discovery engine that finds and recommends web content to its users—being you. After you sign up for an account you are able to “stumble” and rate different blogs and webpages, and others will be doing the same for you. This means that you will be getting more views that can translate to more likes and shares of your content.

4. Google +

Many people have created an account, but aren’t really sure how to maximize its use. In their Complete Guide, Mashable asks users why someone should use Google+. They received over 500 positive responses advocating for the platform including: “a cleaner way to selectively share data with others,” “a lack of distracting elements,” the ability to “share based on mutual interests and get exposure to interesting people and ideas”. Google+, at the end of 2013, was receiving 1.2 million page views per month.

5. Delicious

Similar to StumbleUpon, Delicious is a social bookmarking web service for discovering new web pages according to interests. They make it very simple to add web pages.

6. Friends and Colleagues

Don’t be shy about asking friends and colleagues to share your content. As long as it’s quality (which we already know that it is), your associates won’t mind giving it a little push. The more people in your circles you get to pass it on means more exposure to their circles and so on.

 7. Link to Your Own Past Blog Posts

Wherever possible, link to your past blog posts. Just because it was written last month, doesn’t mean that it isn’t still relevant to your reader. Presenting them with a link lets them know that it’s there. By doing this, you’re still adding to the virality of your past posts while simultaneously enhancing the information on your most recent—creating more reason for people to share.

 8. Reference Other People’s Blog Posts

Referencing content from other people or businesses with the same interests helps you to get noticed. Directing people to other experts in your field shows that you are familiar with the leaders in your industry, the literature that they write and you aren’t afraid to share the wealth. These people will come to you for their next question.

9. Add it to Your Newsletter

If you are writing for a business blog, they may send out a monthly newsletter to keep your potential customers updated on the latest news in your company. You’ll want to secure a spot to include a summary of your posts for the month—these readers are actually interested in receiving your content.

10. Add it to Your Signature

Adding your URL to the bottom of your email signature is simple, but effective. Add the name of your blog plus a path to click and you’ve instantly increased the potential eyes on your space. You’ll be promoting your content without even thinking about it.

Optimizing your post, shameless social media posting, subscribing to social bookmarking sites, sharing within your own circles, back-linking, using your company newsletter and adding to your email signature are all ways to make your blog posts go viral. Add these steps to your marketing mix when promoting your blogs and watch your numbers immediately increase.

Let us know the results with any comments or questions on Facebook.

Since different platforms require different ways of thinking—Facebook posts are longer than those for Twitter, which have a different voice than LinkedIn status updates —there’s no real cut and paste. We have, however, put together this toolkit to help you create better content, faster. Bookmark this Online Marketing Toolkit for templates, tips and tools that you can use over and over again to enrich your social media accounts, your business blog and even your company website.

Building an Editorial Calendar

Where are you in your business blogging journey? Whether you’ve just started or have been blogging for years, it’s helpful to create and refer to a well-thought out editorial calendar. However, there’s no need to re-invent the wheel – check out the Blog Content Planning Guides and Editorial Calendar Templates by B2BInbound to get you started.

Creating the Title for Your Blog

Need help filling that calendar with ideas? While the content is up to you, there are many scientifically proven ways in which to effectively present your ideas. Are you going to be doing a case study this week or just covering the basics? This list, brought to you by Freelance Writing Solutions gives you great templates for possible blog titles that will catch a reader’s eye. No muss, no fuss.

Writing a Blog Post

As important as your business blog is, the more time you can save while still creating quality content, the better. B2Binbound suggests using their blog template that takes you through a checklist for creating valuable but concise articles, consistently. Creating your own template can be a great way to maintain your voice when inviting informed colleagues or guest bloggers to write a piece.

Downloading Images Quickly and Legally

We’ve talked in the past about the importance of images in breaking up wordy text and visually representing ideas. There are tons of places online such as Free Images and Google Image Search that allow you to search a single keyword and receive great quality images for free. Google Image Search now has the option to search images by usage rights and is a leading site to find free stock photos for your blog.

Resizing Images Without Photoshop

In order to maximize space, it’s important to be familiar with the image sizing guidelines pertaining to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and other platforms. Socially Stacked’s The Ultimate Social Media Template Guide offers interesting tips and tricks and lays out the recommended dimensions for a wide range of social networks.

Now that you know the right sizes, upload your image into iPiccy and either resize or crop the photo. You can also apply beautiful photo effects and filters, all within seconds and completely free.

Sending Your Content to Different Channels

Now that your blog post is done, marketing it through your different channels will be a breeze with these helpful social media templates that offer effective options for building your statuses faster.

The Next Web’s templates will help grow your Facebook Page, while HubSpot is ever helpful on Twitter and all other social media sites.

Recycling Old Content

You don’t need a skilled graphic designer to recycle existing content into something exciting and new. When the time comes, Simple Booklet lets you turn your existing marketing collateral into web-based booklets that you can then post across social networks, email and embed on your website.

Checking for Spelling and Grammar

Even the work of the best copywriters and content creators requires a second look. Save time by slipping your content—whether it be a lengthy blog post or a short Facebook status—into Online-Spellcheck.com to ensure it is polished and typo-free.

Voilà!

Instead of re-inventing the wheel, visit these resources for help creating an editorial calendar outline, writing blog and social media posts, downloading and resizing images, breathing new life into old content and proofreading. Save time and enrich your content with this Professional Online Marketing Toolkit and send it to your friends!

What are your favourite tools to use? Let us know in the comments or on Facebook.

Try the PAS formula

The Problem-Agitate-Solve (PAS) formula is a proven method to create Facebook copy that is precise, clear and persuasive. It will also help to produce faster posts, since we know that Social Media Managers usually have their hands in more things than one in the business.

The formula works like this:

1. Identify the problem
2. Agitate that problem
3. Solve that problem

For example:

Feeling physically unfit? You don’t want to be left behind watching everyone else around you become their best selves for the new year. Luckily, our new book, [insert name here], includes everything you need to get on track to your best body ever, including workout schedules, healthy recipes and more. Check it out here [link].

The question at the beginning immediately identifies your target customer by highlighting their problem. Once you’ve caught their attention, the next sentence agitates the problem by making them feel bad for ignoring it. This is where you come in to solve the problem that you presented in the first place. This will get more of your quality people listening, and not to mention, question posts get 100% more comments.

Note: This won’t be as effective if you don’t know the persona you are targeting. 

Make Photos Self-Explanatory

One of the biggest mistakes on Facebook is posting photos without text or that have nothing to do with the post itself. We’ve already explained in the past the importance of images where photographic posts get 53% more likes, 104% more comments and 84% more click throughs on links. To take this further, according to a study done by www.fastcompany.com, the picture posts that performed the best, were the ones where the pictures were self-explanatory.

For example, in an attempt to advertise an infographic called “Novelty and the Brain: Why New Things Make Us Feel So Good”, the researchers found that the post showing a snapshot of the infographic itself had 70% more interaction than one with a simple photo of an illustrated man and a brain. So make sure to be clear about your reason for the post.

Note: Always think about copyright for your images.

Use Self-Referencing Words

Don’t underestimate the importance of “you” in your Facebook strategy. Dan Zarella, a Social Media Scientist at HubSpot, found that self-referential words such as “I” and “me” can be very powerful on Facebook and tend to get more likes. Perhaps this is difficult for a professional business to do, but continuing to remind your followers that there are real people operating the page gives your fans a great morale boost. If this is a bit too personal, the next time you write a post, try adding in “we think” or “tell us” instead and observe the difference for yourself.

Write Less to Get More Engagement

The people working hard over at KISSmetrics have found that posts with 80 characters or less get 66% more engagement —meaning likes and comments — then posts with 81 characters or more. The next time that you are posting and you are tempted to add in a quote or write a novel  — stop and do a quick word count before publishing.

Schedule Posts Strategically

One main point runs through this entire post: it’s important to know who you’re targeting before publishing. This will help you to schedule your posts strategically.  For example, if you are advertising a new blog post for professionals, to start, we know that on weekdays, Monday morning around 11am is usually the highest traffic hour.

Let’s take this further and hone in on our target. If you’re looking for a specific gender, know that men tend to read their ritual blogs at night, while most women read them in the morning. Overall, you will see the most comments coming in on Saturdays. You can find more stats to help with your targeting here.

The PAS formula, self-explanatory photos, self-referential words, writing less, and strategically scheduling posts are just 5 ways to get more likes on Facebook. The next time you decide to post, stop to assess your work against this strategy before hitting the publish button. Stop posting willy-nilly and enjoy watching the likes roll in.

http://blog.bufferapp.com/7-facebook-stats-you-should-know-for-a-more-engaging-page

Do…

Assume that everything on the Internet is copyrighted

Copyright protects the intellectual property of content creators and gives them exclusive rights whether it be a piece of writing, music, photography, graphics, video, design or any other creative work. It gives the author complete control over where, when and how their work is distributed and used. In most countries, copyright is automatic upon publication, so it is best to treat every photo, video or quote as a protected piece of property.

Create original images, content, graphics, music and designs to avoid copyright infringement

Since we’re assuming everything is copyrighted, it is best to create your own works in order to avoid any potential infringement. Write down your own ideas and take your own photos to demonstrate. If you must use an excerpt of another person’s words, use quotation marks and a clear citation back to the source. For images, be sure to use those that are in the public domain, royalty-free or have a Creative Commons License (see next point).

Understand the Creative Commons and its different licenses

Creative Commons was created to help with the difficulties of traditional and digital media and its ever-growing sharing capabilities. It’s a standardized way for individuals or large institutions to give permission to use, copy, distribute, edit and build upon their work. The different licenses take into account the different levels of permissions. Some licensors allow full distribution with a simple attribution and link back to the license (click here for an example), while others are more restrictive.

Don’t…

Misunderstand the idea of fair use

The argument of fair use (or fair dealing in Canada) basically allows for copyrighted material to be used without acquiring permission from the rights holder. In instances such as news reporting, for educational or research purposes and parody, copyrighted material can be used and will be assessed by factors that are different according to different country legislature. For example, in the US, fair use is assessed by four factors: the nature, purpose, amount of material used, and the effect it had on the market. In Canada, the factors are a bit stricter. It’s important to understand the rules set by the country of your registered IP address before using any material under this law.

Think that your duplicated content will be hard to find

Although the Internet seems vast, Google Image Search has made finding images easier for content creators. So you may say to yourself that no one will find your blog in the midst of all of the others, but with the click of a button, the depths can become very shallow and you may have to deal with the consequences that are not easily remedied by simply taking the content down. In these cases, the creators still have an argument. To avoid this, always use material that is 100 % your own.

Simply give attribution credit back to the author

It may sound polite to do this but a common misconception is that a simple attribution or credit link will legally satisfy the rights of a content creator — it won’t. Permission directly from the author is required and if you cannot get in touch with the original maker, it’s best to use a different image altogether. Chances are, there are many other images that will convey the same message in your post.

While reflecting on the rules of copyright, it’s best to assume that all content is protected and to go forward with this thought in mind. Creating your own material, understanding Creative Commons, not mistaking the idea of fair use and realizing that you are never too small to be found on the Internet are all great ways to ensure that your blog is legal and free from copyright infringement. Enjoy the freedom of the blogosphere, but do it legally!

For more on where to find royalty-free images, check out our blog post “4 Types of Images to Enhance Your Content – A Breakdown”.

With the goal of being seen and shared on the world’s social networking sites it’s good to build your posts knowing that images get 94% more views and are digested 60,0000 times faster than those without. Not to mention, the alt tag (or image description) acts as a second layer of SEO. Below is a breakdown of 4 different types of images that can enhance your content.

Personal Photos

A most effective tactic is to completely personalize your material. You can do this by infusing your writing with your own photos. As a content creator, every one of your experiences has potential to teach the world.

For example, in your post on Mexican woven textiles, including snaps of your trip to the factory can evoke an emotional attachment by giving readers the feeling that they are actually with you.

Charts, Graphs and Infographics

Instead of making your reader scan and re-scan your words, try making that dense post much simpler by putting the data where it should be – in visually appealing graphs. Charts and graphs give you the opportunity to use colour to help separate themes and thick visible lines and numbers to easily compare outcomes. If your post is all data, an infographic is the perfect way to tell your story. What would normally be consumed in 15 minutes, can now be swallowed, digested and retained in a matter of 3″

Stock Images

Stock imagery includes photographs and illustrations that can be bought on a royalty-free basis. In many instances they can serve as an inexpensive alternative to hiring a photographer. To make sure you stay on the right side of intellectual property laws, opt to purchase or license imagery, or find images under Creative Commons licensing at sites such as Flickr or www.500px.com. The quickest option is to look for photos that require attribution only which calls for a simple credit to the photographer and a link back to their page.

Imagery acts as a break from text where an engaging, relevant and carefully placed visual is not only great for setting the pace of your story but it helps assure the reader that your post will be short, digestible and useful, thus increasing your website’s average session duration.

Funnies

Comics can act as a wonderful outlet for your sense of humour. When relevant, it works to make heavy content lighter while still being effective at getting your point across. Comics are an acceptable way to poke fun at the ridiculousness of your industry or a life experience that might be shared by your readers in general. Most stock libraries will offer comic illustration options. Be sure to follow the copyright instructions to continue to protect and enrich your brand.

Personal photos, charts & graphs, stock images and funnies are all great images that are sure to enhance your content. A picture is worth a thousand words is a very old saying that is relevant now more than it’s ever been.

Photo credits:

Mexican Textile Factory: Angela Sevin, Flickr; Comic Strip: Duncan c, Flickr

1. Why is copywriting so important to the success of a website?

It’s important for both aesthetic and technical reasons. Depending on the platform, web copy should be written in a way that appeals to an online audience (ie. caters to shorter attention spans while still transcending the key points of the desired message). People don’t want to slog through paragraph upon paragraph of text, even if you’re extremely proud of your business and want to tell your entire story.

On a technical level, the way you compose your text has a direct effect on how well your site gets indexed for certain keywords on major search engines like Google. By following some basic principles of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), you can appeal to Google’s algorithm through proper keyword density (not using a given keyword too many or too few times), optimized meta tags (taking advantages of important text fields that Google uses to determine what your site is about) and adhering to the basic tenants of good grammar.

2. What is your thought process for working with each client?

As cliche as it sounds, every client is unique with different business goals. Some business owners are more hands on than others. If I’m able to get an initial kickoff meeting with the client (which doesn’t always happen to our global scale), then great: I’ll feel them out to get a sense of their business, and that makes it easier. However, a lot of the time I’m working strictly from a design brief and supplied content with no personal introduction, so I have to revolve my writing style solely around that material.

3. How do our copywriters fit into the rest of the Yabsta creative chain?

We work with the sales reps, designers and developers throughout the whole build process. As it happens, clients may have to make changes at the 11th hour, so I always have to be ready for that. I’ll typically start the copy for a given web build before an initial design concept is proposed, then alter it accordingly to the typography of the design.

4. Do you think that it’s important for modern copywriters to have web development or graphic design skills?

Hard to say. It definitely couldn’t hurt, but the job descriptions are so different that in my opinion, most people who are full time copywriters wouldn’t have time to be involved in design or development. As I mentioned before, however, communication with the people who do have those skills is absolutely essential to the finished project.

5. What kinds of projects/clients give you the most satisfaction?

The ones where the client is actually making a difference in the world. For example, I manage and write for the Facebook pages of the Bermuda Heart Foundation and CORE, two organizations that are striving to make Bermuda a healthier place. It feels good to work for people like that.

6. What do you enjoy the most about working for Yabsta Digital?

That I genuinely like everyone I work with…We’re all functional nutjobs. It can be a very hectic environment, but having good relationships with your coworkers can get you through the toughest of work-related times.

7. What is a project that you would like to check off your list?

We’re currently building a website for a new internal product we’re launching (Yabsta Site Builder), and the scope is huge. I don’t think I’ve ever spent so much time on any one copy project before, so that.

8. If you could give our marketers one copywriting tip, what would it be?

It will take time to adapt to writing for the web. No matter how good of a writer you are, if you were taught a more academic style of writing (which most people are), you will feel frustration initially. Expect rewrites and lots of trial and error before you get it down.

9. What do you enjoy outside of work?

Fitness, craft beer, politics, serial television, film, poetry

Recycling your content can not only give you a boost in SEO, but strengthen your impact with current customers. It also gives you the opportunity to establish yourself as an industry leader to a new target by using a new medium. Below are a few ways you can breathe refreshing new life into that tired old content.

1. Create a Brand Spanking New Ebook

Building a high-quality ebook out of your blog posts makes a trophy out of all the championing you’ve done so far. It’s simple to gather your most popular posts, customer questions and comments to create the outline for your ebook. Then be sure to add value to them through additional insights and advice, original photos and a fresh design. Depending on the length and quality, it can serve as great free content to attract leads on your website.

2. Convert a One-Shot Post Into a Multiple-Shot Series

Take that 12-fact blog post that you ran last year and craft it into a 12 email treat for your customers. By adding new helpful advice, photos, examples, and rearranging the sequence, you can extend the life of that post, plus attract new traffic, leads and possibly customers. Spice up your email campaign by using free software such as Campaign Monitor to give you that professional feel.

3. Build an Infographic or Instructographic

If you find that your content contains a lot of data, infographics are a great way to relate detailed or complex information as something that is fun to read for your followers. Use software like Piktochart or Visual.ly for a polished DIY project. If your post is a “how-to,” you can create an instructographic for Pinterest that, similar to an infographic, is the new way to blend instructions and graphics to ease the learning process.

4. Slide It

If your post is data-heavy, your visual learners will appreciate a slide show of facts and insights on your topic rather than words on the screen. Make your slides simple with a less-is-more approach, meaning 3 lines per slide and use simple graphics and compelling images to reinforce your message. You can then promote your presentation by starting a conversation on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn or, up the ante by hosting a professional webinar for your company.

5. Be The Guest of Honour

If a topic has been popular with your own followers, it’s a good candidate for a guest post. We really liked the idea of the “Hub-and-Spokes method,” where you view your original piece as the hub and the guest post(s) as the spokes. If you imagine these parts on a wheel – connected – you will see that the content will continue to drive traffic back to your site. Managers of other sites are often happy to accept outside work on their website as long as it’s relevant and of good quality.

Creating an eBook, expanding a single-shot into a multiple post series, putting together a cool graphic, presentation and guest posting are great ways to give yourself a creative concept break by repurposing your existing content. Recycling content can work brilliantly, just be sure you are adding value wherever possible to the original post.

How do you recycle your content? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter @YabstaDigital

Photo credit: http://bruceandsallywitt.wordpress.com/

Visual Stimulation

It’s safe to say that today your audience will retain more content from a multimedia experience rather than one that is simply text-based. TweetBeam was actually designed with this fact in mind. It is an engaging way to display the Tweets of your topic of interest on a big screen. You only have to set it up once to then sit back and watch the Tweets roll in, with the latest being highlighted.

Audience Engagement

Tweeting is usually encouraged before, during and after presentations. TweetBeam plays on this same concept but adds more of the ‘interacting with your audience’ aspect. By allowing people to see the messages and photos posted live to your Twitter Wall, it creates a connection amongst everyone in the room. Your audience, even those who are not on the Twitter wave, will feel as if you are building more of a personal relationship with them.

Business Exposure

Placing the collage of Tweeters’ photos in the background behind the presenter will make it hard for your guests to resist participating; they’ll want to experiment and be a part of the display. The interactive experience will stimulate them to write about your business and use the event hashtag. These Tweets will spread to their followers and through to the Twittersphere creating more exposure for your event or business.

Content Moderation

TweetBeam allows you to moderate, at the outset, the Tweets that are coming in. Typing into the “block words” field will let you filter out certain words to avoid any profanity coming through on the big screen. The filters are applied in real time, so if an unwanted tweet comes through, you can block it right on the spot by adding an extra word to the list. We want to keep it professional.

Advanced Customization

While TweetBeam gives a professional looking display to your Tweets, it goes one step further in offering advanced customisation for your business. They have previously worked with the rock band Incubus to attract over 2 million viewers for their concert, and Ernst & Young, Microsoft and Disney to include their logos for major events.

TweetBeam gets our vote this week for the fact that it is a creative way to encourage guests to interact with your brand and adds an interesting twist to the Twitter Wall for your event. The guys at TweetBeam even suggest experimenting with placing it in your reception area for visitors to see. Either way it’s an engaging way to get the conversation going.

Creating a successful infographic requires just as much dedication as a written blog post though it is not difficult and it is not the exclusive domain of the tech savvy. Happily, drag and drop software has been developed that does much of the work for you. We’re partial to Pikto Chart and Infogr. They offer cool, free designs to start you off, complete with tutorials on how to use them. Both resources work on a premium model and upgrading is optional.

Although it’s easy to add the information, it’s important to note that a good infographic doesn’t create itself. Solid work is required in order for your creation to benefit your business and reach a broad audience. The following 5 tips are essential to crafting an infographic that goes viral.

Choose an Interesting Topic and Catchy Title

When picking a topic, avoid turning away readers with the same old facts and ideas. Aim to surprise them with new or unexpected facts and present your information from an angle that hasn’t been seen before. Don’t be afraid to add humour into the mix – it’s a great way to add personality and audiences typically enjoy it.

Diversify Your Sources and Statistics

Create a file or Pinterest account to save a variety of quotes and amazing facts from a range of sources. Jot down facts that stand out and attract your attention – be sure to add in some of your own ideas and mark them as original. Use a combination of verified statistics and unique ideas to create something that hasn’t yet been seen.

Promote, Promote, Promote!

If you want your infographic to go viral, you have to work for it. Maximize your social sharing by being strategic with Facebook posting – the more you post in a day, the more the algorithm filters you off the feed and no one will see what you have to say. Noon is the best time to post, expect most people to be on their lunch breaks at this time. In terms of twitter, try using Click to Tweet to make it easier for Web users to share your work in one click. Lastly, don’t forget to include a link back to your website, it’s all about connection.

Don’t Overload It

Resist the urge to include facts just because you have them. Choose only the most meaningful data that you feel will encourage your audience to take action. Ask yourself if you would be moved by what’s in front of you. If not, it’s likely that your readers will feel the same way and bypass you.

Notify Websites and Blogs

It’s a good idea to have an outreach plan. Keeping your target audience in mind, build relationships with like-minded bloggers and websites related to your chosen topic. Reach out to as many people as possible to spread the word about your fantastic new infographic – it may get you featured!

The successful infographic, a clever piece of combined art and data, is a concise and effective communication tool. If the content is meaningful and unique and it is a collation of data that has never before been seen together, if it is concise and convenient to read and you put the hard work in to push it out, it is far more likely to go viral than a straight copy presentation.

Sources: Kiss Metrics, Customer Magnetism &10 Online Communications and Fundraising Best Practices, webinar, Feb. 2014

Can that same success transfer to a business blog? The answer is ‘Yes’. 

A business blog lets potential customers familiarize themselves with your business in a way that 140-character twitter posts are unable to do. We’re not saying substitute one for the other, but certainly don’t shy away from adding it to the mix.

With a good strategy, you’ll find the return on investment will be an inexpensive and extremely effective tool that will reinforce the image of your brand. It will become a subtle way to let customers know that you understand their needs and are knowledgeable in your industry.

Not convinced? We’ve researched some ideas from other industry leaders to help you understand why you should commit to a business blog today:

1. A business blog establishes trust with current and potential customers

A blog can be a useful space to give away free but valuable information, such as useful tips, advice, and thought-provoking ideas. It is also a free ticket to be honest, which customers tend to appreciate and share. A business blog could be exactly what you need to add credibility to sales. Be sure to include a call to action (i.e. a free ebook or a follow-up question) in every post in order to encourage engagement from your readers. (technically marketing, 2013) 

2. A business blog establishes a stronger internet presence than your website alone

“One of the benefits of maintaining a blog is that it gives your business more online visibility. Being found on the Internet is an important part of helping businesses thrive today. A blog will help your business show up in search results when people are doing a search for products or services related to your business.” (The Blogger’s Bulletin, 2014)

3. A business blog gives your company a human voice and builds a community

A blog builds community by allowing people to engage with the content. When people can like, share, and comment, they inevitably feel that they are having more of a conversation with you and your colleagues, which let’s them know you value their opinion or are genuinely concerned about any difficulties they may be having. Consider posting at least once a week and invite guest bloggers to write for you to keep stimulating perspective. (Heidi Cohen, 2014)

4. A business blog can enrich your social media marketing interaction

Blogs, when complimented with other social media like Facebook, twitter, and LinkedIn, can be spread surprisingly quickly. Use Youtube videos within your blog posts and be sure to link to all of your accounts to further your reach.  (the Hub, 2013)

Creating a business blog means creating a voice for your business. It establishes you as an industry leader and adds value to your brand. Opening the conversation up for comment means that you care about your customers’ thoughts and opinions. See Best Practices for Blog Promotion in 2014 for more tips on bringing your blog up-to-date. The answer is ‘yes’, your business should definitely start blogging, today.

What do you need to get started on your blog?

Let us know on twitter @yabstadigital

Sources:

Heidi Cohen

Technically Marketing 

The Blogger’s Bulletin 

The hub