Three Ways Blogging Helps with Online Presence
Online presence is one of those “buzz word phrases” in the world of websites and marketing right now. Everyone’s talking about it but no one truly understands what it means or its importance. To start, let’s address what online presence actually is. If you have not already learned this from us, online presence is any reference that is made about your business or brand online. It is your website, your social media channels, news articles about your brand, or any other form of online mention. Why is it important, you ask? Because according to Google, 97 percent of consumers use the Internet to search for local businesses. Wouldn’t you want the content they find about you when they search to be what you want them to read?
One of the best ways to boost your online presence and put your brand in front of your audience is by having a blog. Don’t let me scare you; a blog doesn’t have to be a written masterpiece. The purpose of a blog is to provide valuable content to your readers. Do you get asked the same question about your business often? Answer that question on your blog. Do you have informational tips associated with your line of work? Share them!
Blogging helps create three things that are beneficial to your brand: current content, consistent content and sharable content.
Current Content
By posting blogs once a month or once a week, you are publishing current content and most likely keeping up with the trends in your industry. Not only are you being an informative voice for your audience, but you are also enhancing your brand visibility. Blogging is one of the most effective ways to improve the visibility of your brand online because every time you post a blog, it increases the reach of your website and increases your SEO. I suggest creating a content calendar that is planned out in advance to keep your content and your blog current and updated.
I also definitely recommend your blog being built as part of your website, but if my opinion isn’t enough, Ellen tells you why in her blog post, “3 Reasons Why Your Blog Should Be Built As Part Of Your Website.”
Consistent Content
When writing for your brand, using a consistent voice and messaging is very important. It’s essential to write for YOUR audience – you know them better than anyone else. And blogging is one of the best ways to define how you want your brand to be represented online and carry that voice and messaging onto your website.
One of my favorite things about blogging is that it puts a personality to your company and shows that your brand isn’t just a brand, but real people. Not only does blogging help you bring a personal touch to your brand, but it also positions you as an expert in your field by establishing credibility through your blog posts.
Sharable Content
An important aspect of blogging is sharing your blogs on other platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. By sharing your blogs on social media channels, you are creating more links back to your website, thus increasing your SEO (search engine optimization). If you make it easy for other people to promote you, you will start seeing more people are sharing your content.
A few tips on making your blog posts sharable:
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Use videos and podcasts to branch out from the usual text blog post. A little variety in your blog posts can go a long way.
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Break up your blog posts with bullets, lists, numbers short paragraphs, and headers to make the formatting of your posts easier to read and more interesting.
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Bold the important stuff. Skimming content is the new trend, so you if pull out the most important pieces of your blog, it makes it easier for your readers to find the important things right off the bat.
Blogging isn’t rocket science, but there is a science behind it. If you need help getting started, call Red Sage. We’re here to help.
blogging, marketing, online presence, SEO, social media, website