Media Relations for a Connected World
How to make sure your blog actually gets read
06.02.2017 20:14
How to make sure your blog actually gets read
by Mark Shapiro – SRS Tech PR
Many companies write blogs. Management makes them do it, they see their competition do it, and then feel that they have to do it as well. But after writing the blog and posting it to their web site, nothing happens. No one reads it; no one buys more product or asks for more information. What went wrong?
First, write a good blog.
It needs to be interesting and maybe even controversial.
Don’t target your existing customers! Target new customers. Yes, it is nice to entertain and educate your current customer base but what you really want to do is to get NEW customers reading your content, thinking you are a smart person who knows the issues and challenges of the industry, and then, going to your web site to find out more. Your potential customers search the web looking for answers to their problems. If you can provide real world solutions and insight, your blogs will work.
So what should you write about? Here are some ideas - What are the top questions that your customers ask when they first engage with you? What are the biggest problems that design engineers and product developers face when developing their solutions and how can your product help them?
The secret of a truly effective blog is not only to make a point and demonstrate your market leadership, but also to suggest a technical solution that ONLY your company can provide.
Here are more pointers:
Keep it short. Under 1500 words. If appropriate, have a few interesting, thought provoking images – with captions.
Keep it on one subject, one point. If you have a lot more to say, write more blogs.
Don’t spend a lot of time on it. Yes, it should be grammatically correct without spelling errors. This is for the web – easy to read and fresh is what makes people want to read it.
Make sure your point in the title. Without a good title, no one will want to read it.
How to get your blog seen and read?
Now that you have written a good blog, just posting it to your website is not good enough. First - don’t bury the blog on your website and require multiple clicks and searches to find it. Feature your new blogs on your press page, your resources page, even your home page if possible! Whatever makes sense for your website architecture and CMS.
Secondly, you got to promote it. Tell the world the blog is available and invite them to come and take a look. Feature it on the front page of your website, spotlight it in Newsletters and customer communications. Post it to your LinkedIn account and send it to your LinkedIn Groups. Post it to Google Plus.
Personally, for my clients, I have found that by writing and posting a well written blog to their web site, and then skillfully promoting it to the editorial community, we can often get numerous publications that are interested to promote it to their readers.
These publications may just run a blurb and/or a summary recommending that their readers visit the web site and read the blog. That’s not bad.
Even better, they often ask to post the entire blog on their site with a link to the company website. That’s really beneficial and sends potential customers directly to you.
Sometimes, they really like the blog and request a customized version for their publication. This is like a baseball triple! This is essentially free advertising for your company! This can also help secure speaking opportunities at trade shows and establishes the author as a thought leader in the industry.
If your blog and idea are really, really good, the magazine may decide to write their own column or article around that subject, citing you and your team as the experts. This is a home run.
Blogs are good. Blogs are powerful. But you need to develop blogs that are interesting to your potential new customers and then promote it to make sure it actually gets read.
Why write a blog if no one sees it?
By Mark Shapiro, SRS Tech PR
BIO – Mark Shapiro, SRS Tech PR, has been involved in doing tech PR and marcom for over 20 years. He has worked with dozens of clients, large and small, from many different countries, promoting and publicizing a wide spectrum of technologies, products and solutions. More info at LinkedIn and the SRS Tech PR website. Website and LinkedIn
