Blogging has become a very popular way for the business community to communicate with their target audience. If you have not added a blog to your business website you may want to seriously consider doing so. Many businesses have already found out just how versatile this tool can be and they have been able to reach out to potential customers that traditional marketing methods have not touched.
If you take a look at online businesses you will see how successful they have become by adding such a simple tool. Their profits have increased because of the additional consumers they have reached. It has also opened up a means for these businesses to get some useful feedback from their customers on their products and services. For these two reasons alone you should be considering adding a blog to your repertoire of marketing techniques.
However blogging does not come without its downside. Many successful businesses have discovered that their blogs are not working the way they had hoped even if their business is highly successful. They have failed in the blogging arena because they do not know how to recognize the many pitfalls that come with blogging and how to avoid them.
Before you start blogging for your business you should be aware of the pitfalls and how to avoid them so you do not fall into the same trap many other successful businesses have. Here is a list of blogging pitfalls to avoid.
Pitfall #1: Filling your blog with nonsense.
If your consumers have made a comment on your blog that needs addressing, address it. Answer the questions they have truthfully. If you are unsure what topics to address on your blog, ask your current customers what kind of information they would find helpful on a blog. This is a business tool and should be used as such. Fill it with useful information that will be a benefit to your customers.
Pitfall #2: Not knowing how to properly use your blogging software.
Blogging software is really not difficult to use but many companies pretend they are experts in using it when they really aren’t. This hurts your credibility and while your customers may accept the excuse that you are new to blogging, they will only accept this excuse one time. Do your homework and research the many features your blogging software offers before you make your corporate blog live.
Pitfall #3: You didn’t specify the category your blog or posts belong to.
If your target audience does not know what your blog topic is all about, they will get confused and avoid your blog. Use the blog category feature to preview what your blog is about. This will help your readers understand what they are going to read about before they click on your post.
Pitfall #4: The blog is not a reflection of you or your business.
Corporate blogging should be a direct extension of your company and the products or services you offer. If your customers read your blog and are left wondering what your post has to do with your business, there is a problem. Current and potential customers should be able to see a similarity between the information in your blog and what is on your website. Just like traditional marketing tools projects a professional image of your company so should your blog.
Pitfall #5: You didn’t research other blogs in your niche market.
If you are new to blogging take time to research the other blogs in your niche market for ideas. Competitor’s blogs can show you the different strategies being employed in the industry as well as what they are writing about. Take your time formulating your content and utilizing some of the research you have done on other blogs to make yours informative and useful.
Pitfall #6: Your blog has no real content.
Do not fill your blog posts with advertisements and product marketing. This will bore your customers and if they are already reading your blog then you do not need to pitch the sale to them. Instead give them information on your products and services that mean something to them, even if your post is about a related topic.
Pitfall #7: The blog is not updated regularly.
It is important to update your blog on a regular basis. If you do not post on your blog for an extended period of time your customer will think that you simply do not care and they will stop visiting your site. You will be the one that ultimately loses out.
Great tips,
Being lazy and put crappy content on you blog will not make you any revenue. People need to understand that.
Nice warnings, I’ll surely remember these on my next project.
Thanks you for doing this post. It was enjoyable reading.