Did you know that corporate blog posts are one of the most popular type of content marketing? That’s why nine out of ten marketers use blogging to achieve their content goals. (We do, obviously.)
But it’s not as simply as just typing up some palaver once in a while. There’s a lot of strategy and planning–as well as a ton of writing and editing that goes into it.
Some people think blogging is easy. It’s not. We asked some business leaders and marketing professionals about corporate blogging and their answers may surprise you. So if you don’t have a blog as part of your business’s marketing strategy, now is the perfect time to get started. Learn more about the benefits of blogging, as well as how to write and maintain a corporate blog below.
Why Your Organization Needs a Corporate Blog
A blog provides many benefits for you and your business. Here are some of the top reasons to make blogging a priority:
Improved Search Engine Ranking
Blogging can help you rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs). The higher you rank, the easier it is for people to find you online.
Increase Website Traffic
When it’s easier for people to find your business online, they are more likely to click on your website. Put simply, this means more traffic and more potential customers getting eyes on your brand. What more could you want?
If you want to grow your organic traffic successfully, there isn’t a better way to do it than to have a targeted blog. Companies can greatly benefit from having a blog because it will drive more organic traffic, bring more leads to their services and products, and it will make Google perceive them as an authority in a particular field. However, this is only assuming the company conducted targeted keyword research to create topical clusters with one pillar and multiple supporting pages. As far as the drawbacks, I can’t name a single one because what a blog can do for your business is only positive. After all, it will bring more customers, build a potential fan base, establish your brand as an authority in the eyes of Google, and rank you for more important keywords from which your business can only benefit.
– Jason Vaught, President, Houston SEO Company
Credibility, Thought Leadership, and Messaging Control
Blogging gives you opportunities to share your knowledge with your audience. By establishing yourself as an expert in the industry, you can gain credibility and increase the likelihood that people will want to work with your business over your competitors.
If a company has a blog, it can use the blog to communicate with its customers instead of relying on third-party media organizations that may have different perspectives. Since the company controls the blog, it can make sure its customers understand its viewpoint. This is also true for celebrities who have their own social media profiles.
– Eric Novinson, Founder, This Is Accounting Automation
Improved Lead Generation
Regularly sharing blog posts can also help with lead generation. You can include calls to action (CTAs) in your posts that encourage people to visit specific web pages, sign up for your email list, etc.
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Writing and Maintaining a Corporate Blog
Do any of those benefits sound appealing to you? If so, you need a blog. Follow these guidelines to create and maintain your own blog:
Set Specific Goals, Such As Brand Awareness or Education
Start by deciding what you want to accomplish with your blog. Do you want to generate more leads, for example, or are you more interested in building brand awareness and driving up website traffic? Educating your audience is another use for a corporate blog.
A blog is the ultimate hub for education, and they are relatively simple to maintain—if your strategy is optimized! A blog page on a website allows brands to educate their audience on the top topics in their niche, highlight any press mentions, and showcase the brand’s journey through more personal posts. The key to maintaining a relevant blog is repurposing content. You can take content from an Instagram grid post, carousel, or TikTok and expand upon it, turning it into a beautifully crafted and new piece of content. Every member of your audience likes to consume content differently, and a blog is perfect for those detail-oriented readers! You can’t go wrong with including blog content on your website, but you can go wrong if the posts aren’t SEO-optimized. Without detailed SEO optimization, the posts will be taking up valuable space on your site and not helping to drive traffic or sales.
– Chelsea Evans-Flower, Owner, Scott Social
Clarify Your Target Audience
What kind of people do you want to read your blog? Clarify your target audience and tailor your content to them. If you want to reach young parents, you’ll need to use a different style than if you want to reach middle-aged business owners.
Do Keyword Research
Keyword research plays a critical role in helping you rank higher on search engine results pages.
Choose keywords that people are likely to be using when they conduct online searches and incorporate them naturally into your blog. For example, if you sell salon scheduling software, you might want to use keywords like “salon scheduling software” or “salon management software” in your posts.
We find that a company blog helps build additional context around our company and services, and creates a wider pool of relevant keywords that Google then ranks us for. Without a blog, our site is restricted to a narrow selection of keywords, which limits the traffic and inquiries we receive. Therefore, our strategy has been to create blog posts that dive deeper into our individual services to help build a comprehensive list of relevant search terms.
– Ryan Stone, Founder & Creative Director, Lambda Films London
Prioritize Content Quality
Content quality matters more than quantity. If you post daily, but your posts are short, poorly written, and don’t provide any value to your audience, you won’t get the kind of results you’re looking for.
Maintaining a blog on our website has been a key strategy in building brand awareness. Through our blog, we provide users with valuable content, creating positive experiences and associations with our brand. This approach to building brand awareness is subtler compared to direct advertising strategies, but in our experience, it’s more effective.
It allows us to strengthen our relationship with our target audience gently and organically. By consistently offering insightful, useful content, we’ve seen a noticeable increase in brand recognition and loyalty. It is a great strategy that has proven to be a wise investment in cultivating our brand’s presence in the market.
– James McNally, Managing Director, SDVH
Vary Your Content
Share a wide range of content types on your blog, too. Publish a mix of informative articles, interviews with team members and experts, behind-the-scenes content, etc.
Develop a Content Calendar
A content calendar helps you post more consistently and ensure you don’t miss any important dates.
For example, during the holiday season, you may want to post gift guides or other relevant content. With a content calendar, you can plan this content in advance and make sure it’s ready to go when your audience is most likely to respond to it.
Corporate Blog Mistakes to Avoid
You now know what to do when it comes to corporate blogging, but do you know what not to do? Keep these common mistakes in mind and do your best to avoid them:
Excessive Self Promotion
When creating blog content, avoid being overly promotional. It’s fine to mention your products, include links to your services, etc. However, your main goal should be providing value to your audience. Focus on how you can help others rather than how you can sell to them.
Inconsistent Posting
The benefits of consistent posting are similar to those having a consistent social media schedule. Posting regularly will help your search engine ranking and encourage people to check out your blog consistently. This is why a content calendar can be so helpful. You always know what you’re going to post and when. On the flip side, when you post inconsistently, it doesn’t help your rankings, and it can give your audience an unfavorable view of your company. If a prospective customer sees that your last blog post was from 2019, they may think you’re not even still around!
Excessive Jargon
Jargon is everywhere, unfortunately. Sometimes it’s just slips in to your casual conversation without you realizing it. But in writing, you have the opportunity to revise before you post. So when you’re creating a corporate blog, don’t include too much jargon or technical language in your posts. Think about your audience and what they are likely to understand. Cater your content to them and their reading level, existing knowledge, etc.
Companies like us at Carepatron leverage blogs for several reasons, some being: to attract website visitors; to build our brand authority by offering thought pieces and industry-relevant resources; and to nurture customer relationships by highlighting testimonials and announcing service-related news. By consistently publishing informative content, companies can showcase their expertise on relevant subject matters, potentially convert readers into leads, and improve search engine rankings. However, maintaining a blog requires consistent effort, engagement strategies, and always keeping up with ever-evolving trends. Still, these drawbacks do not outweigh the benefits a blog offers.
– Jamie Frew, CEO, Carepatron
Need Help with Your Corporate Blog?
So, are you convinced that creating a corporate blog is a smart move for your business? Do you need help getting started or keeping your blog going? Mandel Marketing is here to help. We will do the heavy lifting for you and give you more time to focus on running your company. Our founder also wrote a book, An MFA For Your MBA, that will help improve your writing skills.
Get in touch today to learn more about our content marketing services.