When Blogging Becomes a Serious Marketing Tool

Nobody had ever planned it intentionally as a thumb rule to blog for selling. However, it is the best marketing medium in the present scenario. For more than a decade, people have been blogging to their interest. And, when blogging becomes a strategy to market products and services, companies innovate new trends in the field and add new aspects for others to follow. Corporate web development and ecommerce best practices remain incomplete if the site does not have a blog section somewhere clearly visible for the readers.

Blogging has taken several evolutionary phases to reach to its current status, though the basics have remained unaltered. Let us do a recap of the strong basics of corporate blogging, which earns for the company in many ways.

Before going to the overly detailed description, let us do a quick-look of the points covered.

· Inclination & Alignment

· The Biggest of All – ‘Call to Action’

· Links Work

· Keep Readers in your Good Book

· Sometimes Distract Them, Also!

Inclination & Alignment

Because this is not a personal blogging initiative, all the resources and information working for the project must be aligned with a view to feed your readers the exact stuff they are WAITING to read. Collaborate with the Product Team and Marketing & Sales team to fetch valuable information to write in the blog

Well, what all can you fetch from the product/sales team? Let us put them the way its customers do.

‘How is the product helpful for me?’

‘What are the Do’s & Don’ts?’

‘Tell me something more about the product.’

The common idea behind the product creation should be inclined with the interest of the customers. If you can connect with the customers, answering their queries and confusions, you have the fair chance of selling the product well.

The Biggest of All – ‘Call to Action’

‘Call to Action’ is certainly important for a successful blog; however, its placement becomes the biggest deciding factor whether it converts to a potential sale. People would not deviate from your site, if appropriate Call to Action points were at appropriate locations. The more customers spend time on the page, stay glued to the page, and keep on discovering with interesting Call to Actions, the more is the success of conversion.

Make it Easy – Shot, Concise, and Actionable

Make it Visible – Proper Placement

More is Better – Place them at Multiple Location (But, not Busy)

Another important aspect is creating the Call to Action points fitting to all user groups; tailored to connect them at any stage they visit the website.

Links Work

This means, DO NOT push the campaign or promotion in the main content. If done so, the page literally loses its essence and looks definitively PROMOTIONAL. Create links, such as promotional banners, offers, and contests, etc. on the page so that readers are prompted to click them at different phases. However, this strategy must be well planned and the consumer psyche at each stage must be researched excellently while creating the links.

While linking on the same page is relevant, linking in different pages of the website is equally helpful. To cite an example, if your website has separate FAQ section or Knowledge Base section, these are the best places to put the call to action for bring the customers more close to an informed purchase decision.

So consider both – linking on the page and linking elsewhere in the site.

Keep Readers in your Good Book

If you find a genuine reader for your blog, do connect with him or her every time you update your blog with information of choice. This helps in great dean than following up new readers and supplying them with content, which they do not care to read or LIKE. Make a list of such appreciators of your blog categorizing them based on the content type they love to read and connect with them as you post a blog of their liking. Remember, few genuine readers of your blog can spread your message to thousands of potential customers.

Sometimes Distract Them, Also!

At times, a sudden distraction that quickly prompts the readers to check your website does the task. However, too much surprise can bring heart attacks. (Just Joking) So refrain from doing this too frequently or meaninglessly. Wait for the right occasions or suitable time when people readily go for similar purchases without much researching. Christmas, New Years, Valentine’s Day, and Thanksgiving are great occasions for a sweet surprise on your blog.

Blogging will ever remain as a powerful mode of selling. Marketers at all levels well realize the power of blogging and it is evident just by looking at blogs online that market. With changing search engine guidelines, the importance of SENSIBLE blogging has become many folds. Typically, the very basics of blogging will remain unchanged, only a few improvisation or customization will make it better time-to-time.