Laura
There’s something quite inspiring about having to develop ideas for blog topics on a weekly basis. OK, I’m well aware that where I’ve written “inspiring” most people would say “terrifying”.
The problem is, for those who find coming up with blog topics akin to torture, coming up with ideas, angles, perspectives and fresh content on a weekly basis is tough but it can also harm their online profile. Google likes regular and original content. A 500 word blog on a topic linked to your business offer works perfectly as that.
Blogs direct people to your website, they provide content for social media (especially Google+ – people still find it a tedious social network but come on, if you’re running a business why aren’t you using, Google is TELLING you how to get better rankings here). It helps you teach people about your brand, inject a little personality and identity that might be lacking. It helps you add colour. Some people go for the idea that you want to be a “brand leader”. Nah, you want to come across as human, not superhuman.
That doesn’t make it any easier to think up topics for a blog when you imagine there’s so much riding on it. In fact it probably makes it worse.
So how to get started? A blank sheet of paper is probably just as terrifying as the idea of having to write a blog but it’s just what you need. Draw a circle in the center and put your business name in it. Then write as many things you can think of about your business; what it offers, the sector you’re working in, the latest tools you’re using, the last project you finished, a problem you’ve had to solve, an industry story that affects your work. You can write as many as you like.
The take each one in turn and write a sentence about it. It might be something as simple as a new app you’ve downloaded for project management; how does it work, why does it help? It may seem simple but it tells you quite a lot about a business. Say you have just invested in Trello for you and your colleagues and you’re starting on your first project using it. You might think that’s not even of interest to your mother who is, naturally, inspired and absorbed by everything you do. Well, maybe, but what if I’m a company boss thinking about investing in Trello and I stumble on your blog. Your insight into how it works provides invaluable perspective for me and suddenly I trust you. I might even get in touch to find out more. Who knows what comes out of these kind of alliances?
It isn’t just about reaching new people it’s how it makes you look. You appear like a company eager to try new technology, passionate about how you manage and work on projects (great news for a prospective client) and how your employees can get involved and manage their time (great news for prospective employees). It helps people see into your office and get a sense of you, the company, not just the logo.
We are all consumers now and when we share stories about our brand and businesses it’s vital that we come across as interesting, inspiring and passionate workers. We want to seem invested, thoughtful because that’s what we are on our client projects.
All that from just one blog. Although if you’re still in doubt about whether you want to do it, you can always just hire someone else to get the job done.