For our recent post on the importance of maintaining a business blog, we reached out to our members for some tips. We got a lot of great advice, especially from Mention’s Content and Public Relations manager Shannon Byrne. Her advice is meant for blogging, sure, but it’s so good that it can apply to the rest of your business. Byrne’s advice, with a little additional commentary, is:
Know what your goals are
“Don’t blog just to blog. Know what it is you hope to accomplish with your content before creating a plan.” This is a crucial every step of a business, of course. A must-read blog can seem like a shiny status symbol, and while shiny things are nice, it’s important to have a clear strategy for every step of the way.
Know who you’re trying to reach
“Do your research — know what your audience’s pain points, interests, and relevant questions are. Find out where they’re currently finding information and how they’re interacting with that content. What are they missing?” The key for your business, especially for if you’re smaller, will not be to solve every possible problem your customer will face in life. Narrowing your market as much as possible will mean you won’t reach everybody, but those that you do reach will be more likely to be interested.
Find your right content mix
“Unless it’s what your audience wants, not all of your content should be self-promotional. Figure out the right mix of educational vs. informational for your goals.” Once you find whom you’re trying to reach and what they want, the trick is to keep them constantly engaged in new and different ways. The answer to this question can be, of course, through a blog, but don’t limit it to one stream of thoughts.
Have a good editor(s)!
“Never publish a post that only one person has reviewed.” Double-check your work!
Recruit guest contributors
“This provides some diversity in perspective and gives you an outlet for amplification (reaching the contributor’s networks). If your contributor is an influencer, their post lends credibility to your brand.” Don’t be afraid to reach outside your team for an outside contributor or an independent contractor for a project. Make sure your goals are in check. Bringing in a hired gun can also make projects much smoother.
Have guidelines in place
“If you are recruiting guest contributors and posts from team members, have very specific guidelines in place that outline your goals, audience, formatting, and even instructions for distribution post-publication.” All outside help, investors to developers, should know your mission from the get-go, and how they can fit into that. It’s your company; so let your mission guide it.
Distribute, distribute, distribute
“Just because you hit publish, doesn’t mean your content will be seen. You have to hand deliver it to your target audience. Here are some tips on how and where to do that.” Make sure your business stays on people’s minds. The first and foremost way, of course, is to deliver a quality product.
Beyond that, these tips start to take a cyclical perspective. Want to stay on people’s minds? Run a great blog. Want a great blog? Follow these tips. It’s that easy.