Unlike e-commerce sites, blogs are not virtual sales spaces. Rather, they are platforms that allow content to be designed around a particular theme. These can take the form of news or personal articles.
In short, the goal of the blog is to improve the sympathy capital of a company or a person with its customers. To do this, it is usually included in a section of a website. At first glance, it may seem easy to hold this kind of platform. However, great discipline is required to be as effective as possible.
Recruit an engaged manager
Blogging takes a lot of time. Thus, if the main manager is not a connoisseur and an enthusiast (the two criteria usually go hand in hand), it will be impossible to stand out in the already competitive market. To do this, you have to pay attention to recruitment. It is essential to interview the person on the theme that will be treated. For a company selling smartphones, for example, the candidate must be a techie who is on the lookout for the latest news in the field. Thus, he can easily produce rich and deep articles, not too generic papers.
Set up a strict release schedule
As the blog engages a community of enthusiasts, it will be necessary to release quality content regularly. Of course, it is not essential to put them online every day. However, readers should not be left hungry for too long, as they may go elsewhere later. It is best to set up a formal publication schedule and brief the editors on it. In addition to the actual publication, time will also need to be allowed for research.
Optimize blog visibility
Like any new digital platform, it is not possible to conquer readers in a very short time, if we rely solely on SEO (« search engine optimization »). For this, do not hesitate to sponsor the blog, or even the entire website. This will promote the platform to the public who are interested in its theme. However, we should not rush too much. Indeed, the most important thing is first to fill the content of the blog, so as to offer an already consistent product to customers. Concretely, the manager will first have to put online a dozen articles before sponsoring the blog.
Have an animated FAQ
One of the features of a blog is to offer frequently asked questions (FAQs) to its readers. Thanks to it, they will be able to raise points that seem vague to them in comments. For his part, the person in charge of the blog will have to devote time to answer the various questions. For this, it should not take too long before giving an answer to the interested parties. The best is of course to answer within a minute or within hours. The main thing is not to react a week later, for example, while the blog deals with news.
Produce unparalleled content
When proposing a blog, keep in mind that readers rely on its competitive advantages. Indeed, why would a user trust a new blog, when there are already others that deal with the same theme? First of all, it is necessary to avoid plagiarizing already existing content, especially since it is reprehensible judicially. The company should also not hesitate to call on experienced writers to fill the content of its blog. This not only enriches the form of the published articles, but also brings a new point of view. Yes! Not all writers write the same way. If a hot topic requires analysis, for example, having a different approach than another blog can only be beneficial.
Keep a specific theme
When you start blogging, do not make the mistake of wanting to write on several themes. By doing this, the company will no longer have its own identity. For example, if the offer is for financial services, writers should not venture to write about marketing, or human resources. The field of activity must be scrupulously respected, so as to build a loyal and involved readership.
Set up a blog with a striking design
Blog posts aren’t the only content readers pay attention to. In reality, it is necessary to take care of the overall presentation of the platform. To do this, the company must choose a graphic charter that must be respected in all circumstances. The goal is not to highlight a plethora of colors. Instead, a combination of two to three colors is more than enough to keep readers attention. If the editorial manager does not have the necessary skills to take care of the design of the blog, the intervention of external graphic designers remains an interesting solution. On the one hand, they make their expertise in the field available. On the other hand, the presence of these providers saves valuable time.
Blogging, despite its air of easy-to-manage platforms, offers a great challenge to its managers. Indeed, it is not enough to know how to create correct content to become competitive on the market. It is first necessary to commit to respecting a precise publication schedule in order to maintain the attention of readers. The time interval between each publication must be relatively short (a few hours or a few days) to give real added value to the platform. Also, when Internet users ask questions in the FAQ, it will be necessary to be responsive. The goal is always to show content consumers that they are at the center of priorities. And of course, do not neglect the design part of the blog which, in addition to the articles, helps to embellish the overall content.
