Hello again, my dear little social media mavens! I hope my past few blogs have inspired you to create a thorough plan for your social media strategy, and that you have been tirelessly Tweeting and Facebooking away—maybe you’ve even launched your own social media campaign!
I feel as though I’ve been so focused on helping you up your social media game that I’ve neglected to talk about the good old-fashioned way of connecting with your customers through this exact forum-blogging. Blogging is extremely important for your business because it allows you to really share and build upon your industry expertise and guidance with your target audience, just as I am right this very moment! Facebook and Twitter is a great way to make constant and consistent contact with your customers, but blogging is a way to really grab their attention and pull them in. A great example of the power of blogging happened here at Design the Planet just last week: a prospective client was searching “menu design” and came across our website by chance. He was pulled into our blog, and later told us that he spent hours reading it, stating that it taught him a lot of useful brand marketing advice and showed him that we “really knew our stuff.” He was so taken by the tone and knowledge instilled in our blog that he drove in all the way from Brandon, MS to come meet with us!
However, the hardest part about blogging, as with most things related to marketing and social media, is actually getting started. As always, I recommend having a brainstorming session before you write anything during which you think about your target audience and what you would most like to read and learn more about if you were in their shoes. Then, think about the knowledge and expertise that you possess, and how that applies to and informs those various topics. Finally, make a long list of very specific topics pertaining to those different main categories that are relevant to your industry so you always have a list of ideas to pull from.
Here are a few general themes that you can flesh out and come up with some specific topics to help you get started:
- Ideas/Tips Related to Your Industry: Whether it be recipes, how-to tutorials, or some other method of showcasing your expertise, providing your potential and current customers with free education positions you as an authority in your field and a trusted source. Answer one question, and they’ll come to you with more.
- Tools/Supplies: Talking in-depth about the “hows” of your trade is another way of displaying industry knowledge and positioning your company as professional, capable, and hardworking. It also creates genuine interest in your brand and shares information that is little-known to most people, even some professionals in related industries.
- Staff Bios and Company Updates: Keeping your audience in the loop about who works for you and what is happening around the office is vital because it makes your readers feel connected to your brand, and puts a face to your name. When you share information about the people that make up your company, you make your audience genuinely care about your company and its success.
- Industry news: Talking about the major events and headlines surrounding your industry is a very smart move because it INCLUDES your company in that conversation and puts your brand in the forefront of people’s minds. Your weigh-ins will spark additional commentary, causing people to slowly but surely tune in to your opinions and value your voice.
- Promotions/Specials: Just as it is important to market any promotions, campaigns, or specials you are running consistently on social media accounts, it is equally important to write about them on your company blog. By promoting these items through your blog as well, you have the additional opportunity to explain in greater detail why you chose this time and this special, providing the “why” and further interesting readers in taking part in your promotion.
What have you found to be some other surefire blogging topics? Drop us a comment and let us know!
Until next time, XOXO!
The Social Media Maven
