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Business Blogging Fundamentals – Part 2 – Key Considerations for a Successful Blog

July 14, 2010 By Roohi Moolla Leave a Comment
bloggingIn Part 1 of this series, we looked at some of the reasons you should be blogging – and why a blog is an essential component of a website.

Here in Part 2, we look at some of the tools you need to implement in your blog to attract, retain and keep an audience returning to your blog.
There are a lot of issues to consider for your blog, starting with some of the most fundamental questions about your blog’s ranking, posts and readability to more complex questions about metrics, strategy and technical tools to enhance your blog for maximum effectiveness.
Here are the top 6 considerations for a business blog:
  1. Your Blog – Do you have a blog? How does it ranks on Technorati? Do you post regularly? Do you have a blogging strategy? Do you read/comment on other blogs?
  2. On-page SEO – Check metadata, keywords, images, readability
  3. Off-page SEO – Look at domain info, page rank, indexed pages, traffic rank, inbound links, directory listings
  4. Social Mediasphere – Connect with social networking sites including Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, del.icio.us bookmarks and Digg submissions
  5. Converting Qualified Visitors – Do you have an RSS feed, email signup and conversion forms on your Blog/Website?
  6. Competitive Intelligence – How do you track your rank and compare your score over time and against your competitors?

And here’s a summary of the top 3 Keys to a successful Blog:

  1. Reading – make sure you stay up-to-date with other blogs and information in your industry
    1. Use RSS Reader (www.google.com/reader)
    2. Research blogs
    3. Subscribe to other blogs
    4. Read, read, read…
  2. Writing
    1. Use your own URL (e.g. www.yourblog.com, NOT http://yourblog.wordpress.com )
    2. Allow RSS subscriptions
    3. Allow RSS emails
    4. Integrate automatically with Social Media tools
    5. Allow email subscribers to your blog
    6. Create an editorial calendar – pick a schedule that works for you – daily, weekly, monthly
    7. Consider your content and your target audience and make sure that each fits the other
  3. Commenting
    1. Increase the value of the conversation
    2. Share examples
    3. Add a point
    4. Disagree
    5. Add a resource or useful link
    6. Ask a question
    7. Use your real name

Remember, blogging is about your expertise, your knowledge, your industry, your side of the conversation – and what you bring to the table that’s interesting and of value to your audience.

Filed Under: Blogging, Business, Marketing, Social Media Tagged With: Blogging, RSS, SEO, Social Media

Got my Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts – now what?

June 10, 2010 By Roohi Moolla Leave a Comment

Toe in the WaterFor many people I speak to who have begun to stick their toe in the water with Social Media, many say that they opened their Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts, started Tweeting, Facebooking and LinkingIn but just aren’t really seeing much in the way of results. My question to them is usually “What goal do you have in mind with your Social Media Strategy?”.

Most of the time, people are so excited about the the possibilities of connecting with potential clients and reaching so many people with the low-cost tools of Social Media that they jump in, feet first – and forget that the basic aspects of marketing still need to be honored.

Before embarking on your journey into the world of Social Media, it’s still essential to define your goals first – what do you hope, want or expect to achieve with your efforts? Perhaps it’s decreasing the number of customer complaints, increasing the number of new clients, increasing the number of referrals, increasing traffic to your website, reducing the cost of lead acquisition, increasing the amount of revenue per customer, initiating new product ideas and…I could go on – but you get the picture.

So think about the basics first. Define your goals – think about what you want to achieve, and then start with some small but strategic steps to get there. Set aside a few minutes each day, be consistent and be patient. Measure your results against your goals, and keep testing your message. Remember that adding value and information to the social conversation is the key to building relationships online. 

And…here’s a great article with a good comprehensive list of more points to keep in mind when thinking of your Social Media strategy…

Filed Under: Business, Facebook, LinkedIn, Marketing, Social Media, Twitter