Maximizing Your Use of Social Media, Website and Blog
If you've been blogging for awhile, consider whether your business goals could better be achieved by switching the content you choose to blog about and the content you choose to publicize using other technologies. Use the tips below for maximizing your blog's effectiveness as a business tool.
Consider whether you're using your blog as social media. Today, while blogging is frequently considered part of social media, it is under debate as to whether blogging really qualifies as social media when compared to other forms of social media such as Facebook or Twitter. Today, regardless of the label, your blog probably is not the best way for you to have a two-way interaction with your customers, meaning its best uses are probably informational rather than social.
Timing is significant in choosing to blog about something about your business or choosing other social media such as Facebook or Twitter. While you may be very prompt about posting new information on your blog, most users today think of Twitter and Facebook as places to go for up-to-the minute news on a specific topic.
If the purpose of your blog is to establish a resource for your customers or potential customers where they can find information about your business or how to use your products, then you're probably using your blog effectively. On the other hand, if you see traffic dropping off from your blog, consider other places that people are getting that information or whether the content of your blog needs to be improved.
Consider whether your blog format is getting stale. From the bells and whistles available on websites to the different Facebook functionalities to the new Instagram capabilities for photos using iPhones, user expectations are up and your blog should show an awareness of these new capabilities. Whether you choose to add icons linking all your sites together or you upgrade the images you include you'll want to keep both the content and the look of your blog current.
If some of your blog posts are very short and are designed to communicate a specific message, consider adding an announcement page to your website or using Twitter for such messages. These messages can be about launching a redesigned website or some other change in your business that you might have formerly used your blog to inform your customers and potential customers about.
It's usually best to ignore advice that recommends writing for the sake of writing on a weekly or daily schedule because of the availability of new technologies to keep your business conversation going without writing some fluff piece for a blog. You don't want to jeopardize interest in your business by merely writing for the sake of writing. Instead, consider a short tweet making a brief announcement about something going on in your business as a reassurance that you're still there and that business is proceeding as usual.
Part of your business marketing strategy will be to consider whether you're using new tools to effectively communicate your business message. Use the tips above to begin your consideration of whether you're maximizing the benefits you can achieve for your business through your blogging efforts.
