A business website blog is a valuable resource. After all, content marketing is one of the best ways to connect with a target audience. And blog posts can be excellent for search engine optimization.
However, for a blog to reach its full potential, people must, of course, want to read the content. Furthermore, content must be sufficiently engaging to encourage readers to comment on and share posts.
Engagement is crucial for the success of a business blog. But how do you create blog posts that will get people talking? Here are some tips to help you craft blog posts that will start a discussion, get shared, and attract comments.
Write for the Audience
Try to put yourself in the shoes of your target audience when brainstorming blog topic ideas. Consider what will be helpful for your audience rather than what would meet your business objectives. Blog posts written solely to promote a brand’s products can be tedious. Aim to entertain your audience and solve problems for them rather than selling your products or services.
Be Original
People don’t share information that is already widely known. Instead, people share posts that surprise readers, excite them, or tell them something new. It can be tricky developing highly original content in some sectors. But if you put your mind to it, you could probably find a unique take on most topics.
Maintain Quality
Posting content on a business blog can become a bit mechanical. If you are not careful, you can start creating content merely to fill a space in the posting schedule rather than to engage. But try not to fall into this common blogging trap. Instead, make every post a top-quality, informative, and entertaining piece of content.
Don’t Be Afraid to Be a Bit Controversial
Some highly emotive topics are best avoided on a business website. But people do respond to opinions with which they strongly agree or disagree. Consider issues that might inspire strong feelings without alienating a large portion of your audience. You might feel that sitting on the fence is the best approach in content marketing. Yet, taking sides can generate more engagement and demonstrate your brand’s personality.
Craft Powerful Headlines
Take your time crafting headlines because a good title will attract readers. Headlines need to be relatively short, usually no more than eight words. Nevertheless, you can convey a lot in eight words. So, consider what wording would attract visitors to the page. Make it clear how the post solves a problem, for example. Or emphasize the benefits of reading the content in the headline.
Use Visuals
A page full of text is not very exciting. But add a high-quality picture, engaging video, or helpful infographic to that page, and you have sharable content. Some people take more in from the visuals they see than the text they read. Add visuals that enhance the post and help explain the topic.
Make Engagement Straightforward
Try to avoid placing obstacles in the way of people engaging with your content. Add share buttons to all your blog posts, for example. Allow comments on all posts without asking commenters to log in or fill out tedious forms before they can leave a remark. People generally share content or express their opinions spontaneously. Make it as straightforward as possible for people to do that.
Invite Engagement
If you ask people for engagement, they will be more likely to share or comment. Pose questions in your blog posts and ask people to leave their thoughts in the comments section. A simple request for visitors to share your content will usually work, too.
Respond to Comments
When visitors to your blog see that you respond to comments, they will be more likely to want to leave a response of their own. So, respond to comments and start a discussion on a topic. You might get some negative and off-topic comments. But a polite reply to negative comments demonstrates that your brand is listening to and engaging with its customers.
Keep Blog Posts Short and Sweet
Finding the sweet spot for blog post length is tricky. On the one hand, people generally relate more to short posts that concisely provide value. On the other hand, search engines tend to rank longer, in-depth posts higher. So, it’s probably best to vary the length of posts to achieve both goals. For SEO purposes, articles of 1,000 words or more would be best. But to generate engagement, you would be better off with posts of around 400-600 words.
Conclusion
The crucial point to take away from the above is that it’s best to write for the audience instead of the business. That being the case, focus on what your audience will find interesting or helpful. Avoid making every post about your product or company. If your blog posts are shared, that will bring more traffic to your website, ultimately leading to more leads or sales.
The post How to Improve Business Blog Posts to Increase Engagement appeared first on Influencive.
