Are You Leaving Your Blog Half Finished? Tips for Making Sure Your Audience Actually Reads Your Blog

blog-promotion

The past few years, our recommendation to clients about company blogs has shifted from them being a “nice-to-have” to “no-you-really-need-one.” Public relations is becoming more about content creation, and as that happens, blogs are emerging as companies’ best way to showcase their thought leadership with well-produced content in a way that other channels like Facebook or LinkedIn don’t allow.

But coming up with good content can take a lot of time, so once you hit “Publish” on that blog post, all the hard work is over, right? Hardly. So much work goes into content creation that, once it’s completed, we tend to want to turn our thoughts to the next project. And this is where many companies drop the ball. Your content creation strategy cannot just be about creating content. You also have to know how you’re going to merchandise it.

Here are some things you should consider with each blog post to make sure the audience you’re writing for actually sees your posts:

  • Post across your social media accounts: If you do nothing else, you should promote each new blog post on your other social media channels. And because organic reach is nearly dead, you’re going to need to put some advertising dollars behind these posts to make sure they’re actually reaching people. Also, be sure to optimize each post to its respective social platform.
  • Alert your internal staff: A well-written, informative blog post can be a tremendously helpful resource for your client-facing staff, who can forward it along to their contacts that might have an interest in the topic. This not only helps them stay in touch, but it demonstrates to your clients that your organization has a point of view about your industry beyond its own marketing speak.
  • Send it to industry news outlets: Most industry publications have only a few editorial staffers and are hungry for good content. If you have a blog post that reflects the tone and content of one of your industry’s top news outlets, send it along to their editor. But don’t bombard him or her by forwarding every post, so only do this for those with the broadest relevance – and with no specific mention of your company or services.
  • Consider other uses: Good content shouldn’t exist in a silo. A solid 500-word blog post can be broken up for a series of social media updates, fodder for your next e-newsletter or expanded upon for a presentation at an industry event.

The question “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear, does it make a sound?” should apply to your blog. If you write great content, but you’re not directing people to the page, is it actually great content? Don’t let your blog be grounds for a philosophical debate and be sure to follow the tips listed above.

Greg Surber

Greg Surber, APR, is a public relations strategist through and through. He works on a variety of accounts, leading research projects and content strategies, but he also has extensive experience with more traditional PR efforts including national and trade media relations campaigns.

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