How to use social blogging to grow your business

It probably won’t be news to you that many of the leading companies – in fact, basically all of the leading companies these days – maintain a frequently updated blog. You might do the same, even if you’re running a seemingly modest business such as a neighbourhood coffee shop, gym or salon.

The truth is that the business benefits of blogging should never be underestimated. Did you know that according to the content marketing experts at Express Writers, having a blog as a key part of your website gives you a 434% better chance of achieving high search engine rankings, as well as that 94% of people share blog content because they think other people might find it useful?

‘Get social’ with your blogging to boost impact

That latter statistic is an especially important one as far as this article is concerned. You may have heard of the term ‘social blogging’ before, and there are various interpretations of the term. It could be taken to refer to ‘microblogging’ social media platforms like Twitter, or simply the regular posting of Facebook status updates on your company profile.

Alternatively, you might regard the term as meaning ‘regular’ blogging that happens to have strong social elements. If you’ve ever published a blog post that you have then shared on social media, you will have already done some form of social blogging.

What are some of our favourite social blogging tips right now?

There’s so much more that you can do to bolster the social element of your blog marketing, and to attract greater numbers of relevant prospective customers to your brand in the process.

You might schedule multiple tweets referring to a single blog post, so that you can keep drumming awareness of your blog content into the minds of your social followers. If that sounds like too much effort, you might want to check out Buffer’s rundown of 2017’s top social media management tools for businesses of all sizes.

Indeed, simply posting regularly and making your brand continually visible is a big part of the game with social blogging. Remember that while posting regularly will help to boost engagement, you’ll get even better results by communicating directly with your customers. You could do this by posing questions to spark interesting debates, or simply answering queries from customers in a prompt, friendly and professional way. After all, it’s not just that specific customer who will notice what you say.

Never be complacent about the management of your blog

No matter how much you think you know about how to make your blog posts ‘social’, there are always more things that you can do.

Are you embedding social posts into your blog posts to give your readers a sense of what people are currently saying about your industry on the main platforms? What about your blog titles – are they eye-catching? The ‘how to’ title format is a great one for luring people who want to read relevant and usable information, while ‘listicle’ titles such as ’10 ways to…’ or ‘5 reasons why’… can also pique interest.

Even when you have a highly social and engaging blog already up and running, you also need to ensure it is well-integrated with the rest of your promotional activities. Design your main website to have a seamless relationship with your blog, maintain the same tone of voice across your entire marketing communications and sign up with a recognised ecommerce portal like Groupon to further extend the reach of your product marketing beyond your main site.