Well, what are you offering your readers? What’s in it for them? Is it real, solid information? News they can use? Or has your blog become just another advertising platform and every post is a 250-word commercial your readers just tune out? Your readers visit your blog because they trust you as an authority, but they keep coming back because of good information, not sales pitches. Coming up with good content is a challenge, sure, but if you’ve resorted to hawking products over helping people, it might be time to re-examine your blog.

You need to give people a reason to read one more thing on top of everything else they have going on in their lives. Providing your clients and readers with a little taste of your expertise on a regular basis builds trust in your brand and establishes thought leadership. You want to be an innovator? Throw all your big ideas on your blog. Give your (well-researched) opinion on current events and new developments in your field. Don’t be afraid to get a little controversial. People love big ideas, and they love to talk about what excites them. Give people a reason to spread the word about you, and they will.

I understand the logic there, and sure, on the surface it seems like a free blog would be the best kind: turnkey blogging services like LiveJournal, Tumblr and Blogger are great for people just dipping their toes into writing on the web. However, for business purposes, there are several reasons why these just don’t work for your brand.

•    You’re at the whim of a third party. If your blogging platform decides to plaster banner ads at the top of your blog, there’s nothing you can do about it. If their favicon changes into a pinecone, you’re stuck with it. You have control over your blog’s seamless design integration with your website ONLY if it’s actually integrated with your website.
•    You become a subdomain or subfolder on someone else’s website. You lose the cache attached to blogging on your own domain, and if your content goes viral, all those links get pointed to someone else’s website, whose links may or may not be passing juice to your actual website. All that work for a little brand recognition, but no guaranteed site traffic.
•    With a self-hosted blog, you have access to all the back-end development you need to make necessary changes to your blog for seamless design integration and search optimization. Based on which content management system you use, you can also add widgets and plugins that customize both the user interface and the outward appearance of your blog for a truly unique new face of your company’s brand.

There are several ways to easily set up your blog on your domain and get writing again in the same day. Wordpress is an open source content management system and installs with Fantastico or manually. Also, it’s free! Don’t let time or cost be a factor keeping you from taking on a truly professional company blog.

Like some help integrating a blog on your existing site? Give us a call.

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If you don’t know what to write, look through your inbox. Do you consistently get the same questions over and over about a particular product or service from your customers? Your blog is a perfect place to spotlight that with an informative and useful post. Take a look at your analytics: does one of your main keywords need a rankings boost? Create a blog post with optimized links and anchor text back to your website. If you have an interesting take on a current event related to your industry (i.e. a software company’s opinion on the iPad) that’s a great topic too. You have a lot to say, but you may not have considered blogging as a marketing/PR channel for your brand. That should change.

If you simply haven’t got the time each week to sit down and blog, consider writing a few posts in one sitting and then using your Content Management System (what you use to manage your self-hosted blog, but we’ll get to that) to schedule the posts and stagger out the days they actually publish. That way your readers keep coming back all month long for new content, even if it only took you one morning’s work. If you’re just not the writing type, consider an audio podcast or video blog/vlog. These mediums can be used to great effect and can easily go viral if the content behind them is solid. Get creative! Post consistently on your company blog and new visitors and potential clients are sure to come your way.

While they require regular attention, don’t be intimidated by starting a company blog. A good post should be about 250 words, and in that short span of text you have opportunities for optimized links for SEO, viral content possibilities for Social Media, and new material for increased traffic. Blogging adds humanity to an otherwise stuffy, static corporate website, and generates goodwill toward your brand because readers connect with your company.

Google loves blogs. In an effort to provide users with the best search results Google will often rank blog posts and news articles higher, equating their time-sensitive nature with having the most relevant and up-to-date information. If you write more, Google will notice and index your site more often, improving your rankings. There are so many benefits to starting a blog that the effort to maintain it should only be a minor consideration. However, social media is a marriage, so be prepared to stick with your blog once you start.

This series will look at how you can start your corporate blog, but will also incorporate tips to improve current corporate blogs and hopefully answer some questions you might have about your own company blog. If you have a question you’d like covered, please feel free to email me at Lauren@GlobeRunnerSEO.com.

What is geo-targeted social media?

When you use this new type of social media, it factors your current location into a social media platform. As with other platforms, you develop a network of friends, but in this situation, your location plays a large part in your interaction. The probable leader in this field, Foursquare, is primarily used on the iPhone or other smart phone device. Foursquare notes your current location, and then displays nearby businesses. You can then “check in” to those businesses, earning points and badges, especially if your friends have recently visited those locations as well.

You can use geo-targeted social media to develop a large network of friends who enjoy the same sort of location and activities. When you walk into a coffee shop, for instance, you can see which of your friends have been to this coffee shop recently. You can find out which visitors frequent the shop, even if they aren’t your friends — yet. You may learn that someone likes the same coffee shops, clubs, bars, etc., and request to become friends. If you are in a new city, you can look up nearby places recommended by your friends. You can even play games, such as treasure hunts, by going to different locations that your friends have marked or suggested. All and all, the concept is to utilize your location in your social interactions.

How does this relate to your business?

Using geo-targeted social media, businesses can set up different rewards or incentives for customers to come to their locations. Consider this scenario:  A Foursquare user checks their account on their phone, and sees that your business is nearby. Then they notice that you’ve given them a special incentive to visit, be it an in-store discount or a badge on Foursquare or other geo-targeted platform.  You’ve just plugged into their social life, and most likely gained a visitor. It’s exciting and fun for the user, and a great opportunity for businesses to interact directly with potential customers nearby!

Include Exclusive Offers

The most common and effective way to utilize social media is to provide valuable content, or to present special and exclusive offers to followers and fans. The more exclusive and immediate the offer, the more powerful! “Facebook fans can get a free coffee today only by mentioning this offer!” is a much stronger incentive than “We have a special running this month.” Your offer should immediately drive people to your store, be it your website or physical location, and encourage them to regularly check your updates on the social media platforms.

Provide Valuable Information

A second common tactic is the distribution of valuable information. For example, a home improvement store might regularly post “how to” and “do-it-yourself” tips. Globe Runner’s Twitter account frequently includes posts about technology news, as well as links to informative blog posts and videos that Globe Runner followers may find interesting. Providing valuable “insider” information can help to make you an authority on certain topics, especially in a specialty field, and can be very effective in generating referral business.

Organize Local Events

A third technique: If your business has a physical location, (i.e. a restaurant, coffee shop, bar, or even a retail store,) you can use social media profiles to organize live events, meet ups, or special happy hours. You can coordinate local events, as well as sponsor existing social media organizations or fan groups who are interested in your business’ subject matter. This can create loyalty among your existing customers, and serve as an incentive for them to mention your business or service to others.

These strategies can sometimes be used in conjunction with one another: you might organize a special event where there will be an exclusive offer, for example. The key to a successful social media campaign is to ensure that visitors to your site or social media page can clearly see the value you offer.