Blogs aren't going anywhere - and every brand blog
could use a little upkeep, particularly as new methods of optimization
emerge.
One has to wonder whether blogs will ever get old.
For close to two decades these journal-style sites have found favor
with consumers, drawing regular readers and spawning everything from new
platforms to products and books. Blog readers, an audience that's some 76 million Americans strong
(nearly a quarter of the country's population), are a brand's honey
bees, skipping from post to post to gather good content and spread it
across the Web on our behalf.
Blogs are the foundation of many a company's content strategy,
central to their need and desire to mingle, inform, and engage. In the
interest of keeping this marketing must-have fresh, here are five simple
strategies for ongoing success.
1. Give Your Blog Credibility by Featuring Expert Guests.
Posts written by corporate executives lend some
authenticity to your blog. Even better, though, is content supplied by
the partners and industry experts with whom you work. Whole Foods' Whole Story Blog features
posts by certified nutritionists, published food writers, and
charitable foundations associated with the brand. Stonyfield's The Yogurt Dish is
updated in part by the organic dairy farmers who produce the
ingredients used in Stonyfield's products. In both cases the blogs come
off as trustworthy and represent a resource for knowledge. By
association, consumers perceive the brands in the same positive way.
2. Post on the Weekends.
According to new data reported by eMarketer,
readers share blog content significantly more on Saturdays and Sundays
than they do during the workweek. That said, only 13 percent of blog
posts are published on the weekends. Brands that follow a 9-to-5
schedule and limit their updates to weekdays are doing themselves - and
their content - a disservice. Look to your readers to help you determine
when to post and you'll get far more shares.
3. Share Your Posts Through Google+.
Recently, research firm Forrester released the results of
a survey that found Google+ incites nearly as much engagement and user
interaction as Facebook. "Top brands" using the social network are
generating 90 percent as many fans through Google+ as they are on
Twitter. Sharing blog content on the site extends its reach and exposes
it to a new and active audience of potential fans.
Late last year, Google began testing +Post ads, ad units designed to
boost posted content. As of last month, the ads, which run across the
Google Display Network, are available to
Google+ users that have more than 100 followers. Early data shows that
brands like Toyota are seeing engagement rates 50 percent higher than
the industry average. Coupled with quality content, the ads can help
increase both blog traffic and followers.
4. Ratchet Up Multimedia.
Adding more photographs, videos, infographics, and animated GIFs to
your brand blog is one of the quickest ways to up engagement rates. Not
only will 40 percent of your audience respond better to visuals than they do to plain text, but content that features a "compelling" visual component has been known to receive 94 percent more total views.
Product shots, photos of your team, Twitter collages, and YouTube
videos all represent viable multimedia features.
5. Optimize Your Tumblr Pages for Mobile.
Earlier this month, Tumblr made an update to its iOS and Android apps that introduced the
ability to customize the look of its blogs on mobile devices. Users can
combine header images with font and color choices to create something
unique to mobile users, as well as to your brand. Tumblr reports that
mobile engagement is up 124 percent year-over-year, and more than half
of its users are accessing the site through their smartphones.
Additionally, the microblogging platform says almost half of its total
posts now come from mobile. Customizing one's branded Tumblr takes just
minutes, and it can improve the brand experience for those countless
followers who prefer to access your page on a phone.
Every brand blog needs a little upkeep, particularly as new methods
of optimization emerge. With regular maintenance this cornerstone of
content marketing is certain to live on - and thrive.