The average person will spend 5 years and 4 months of their lifetime on social media!
That’s 3.5 hours a day for those of you not wanting to do the math.
Near the top of the social media food chain for businesses are blogs.
Nearly one in two people (46%) use blogs for initial product investigation, and among consumers between the ages of 18-34, blogs ranked as the most important source of information to make buying decisions, according to Research Now.
If you’re not using an effective blog strategy as part of your business plan, you are missing out.
The challenge, then, is how to create compelling blogs that actually engage your target audience.
We could write a book on what constitutes good blog content, but here are four strategies you should start incorporating today.
Make It Useful and Unique
According to SocialTimes, the most important characteristic of social media posting to consumers is that the brand shares new content.
But not all content is created equal.
Webbiquity posted its 10 most-read posts of 2018, and they had one important thing in common: tangible content that could immediately be put into action.
Here are examples of content that consumers find most engaging that you can tailor to your brand:
How-to or “ultimate” guides
Best productivity tools
Studies and trends from industry leaders
Most useful platforms
Best practices
Thought leadership pieces from your team members
Tying information to current events
Nail the Title and Opening Paragraph
Compelling titles and introductions have the power to capture readers’ attention right away.
Studies show that while 80% of people will read headline copy, only 20% will read the rest. This is the hidden importance of great titles, and why getting them right is so vital to a successful blog, according to James Scherer at Wishpond.
Many writers use the Attention-Interest-Desire-Action (AIDA) technique to make their messages stand out.
Optimize Your Content for Search
Blog posts that use a variety of SEO tactics will help you rank higher in search engines and bring more customers to your website by answering their questions.
Include targeted keywords and phrases (title, body, all meta tags)
Optimize meta tags (title, headers, meta descriptions, ALT images)
Use internal links and backlinks
To help in your SEO efforts, you can use this free keyword position checker to see where you currently stand or this Website Review and SEO Audit tool for a more comprehensive analysis.
Post Consistently
Not surprisingly, more is generally better.
HubSpot analyzed the blogging patterns of its 13,500+ customers and found that companies that published 16 or more posts per month got almost 3.5 times more traffic than those that published between 0 – 4 monthly posts.
For Help with Your Blog
Brands that invest the time to craft blogs that capture the attention of their target audience, provide unique and meaningful information, and employ SEO best practices will reap the fruits of their labors. SEO freelance writing, especially blogs, is “our thing” for businesses in San Luis Obispo and throughout the United States. If you’d like help writing yours, please contact me!