I’m polishing up on my inbound marketing training etc. today and figured I’d put up a quick post about blogging strategy practices.
These might be very, very simple steps but they’re necessary steps and very important to remember.
1. Be passionate or find someone who is passionate.
Blogging does get tiresome. There are no end of posts out there on how to get your second (or third or fourth) wind and how to keep your enthusiasm.
Whether you’re blogging yourself or you’re managing bloggers for a company/organization blog the excitement and enthusiasm needs to come across in what is being written.
Excitement and passion help with engagement and engagement is what we’re all about in Social Media. Excitement and passion can be contagious too. Excited, passionate customers tend to be happy customers.
2. Think outside your arena.
Focus can be good but in blogging, broadening your content topics is a must. You don’t want to write “this is me, this is what I do, buy my stuff” all the time.
Write around your topic, touch on your topic, don’t stand on your pedestal all day long.
A great example of this is “On the go with Amy”. On the go with Amy is a blog operated by Best Western Hotels. It’s a site filled with travel information, how to travel best and of course there’s a little about hotels in there.
Thinking outside your area helps to build your general reputation it shows that you know more than your specific, target area, and it’ll bring other readers/customers to your site.
3. Engage – BY NAME
You’re hoping for comments, right? Comments mean that people are reading your posts and that that they’re taking an interest (to a point at least) in what you have to say.
Thank them for commenting! respect them in your comment section.
Be sure to reply to comments and use the commenter name or username; “Andy, thank you for responding…..” etc.
Using a name in a comment shows that you’re taking an interest in the comment and the commenter, it makes the commenter feel a little warm and fuzzy inside.
