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Why you should blog and 8 tips to get started today!

Apr 23, 2014

THOUGHTS FROM THE RED COUCH – A blog by Jim Matuga, CEO, InnerAction Media

 4/23/14

Why you need to blog and 8 tips to get started today!

One of the most-often questions I hear these days is “Why do I need to blog?”  This is an important question.   If you are in business – and it doesn’t really matter what kind of business – you need to be blogging if you are to market your products or services effectively.

It doesn’t really matter if you are a for-profit corporation, a small mom and pop operation or a non-profit organization.

Let’s first start with the “Why?”  And then I’ll offer you 8 tips to get you started today.

So – why is having a blog for your company important and why should you blog on a regular basis?  BECAUSE BLOG CONTENT IS VITALLY IMPORTANT MARKETING CONTENT.  As I’ve always said:  Content in context rules.  

Here are the top 3 benefits to your organization that result from having a smart blogging strategy:

1)  You can separate yourself from your competition and be known as an “Expert” in your business category.  You become a trusted adviser who regularly educates your audience with quality content in a regular, timely manner

2)  You greatly help your web site to be found through organic search (SEO)

3)  You can increase your visibility through “owned” media – in other words social media channels that you develop such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.

In today’s “honest economy” there is a great deal of value that consumers place on organizations who help educate – rather than sell, who provide informative and useful content, and are transparent when they do so.  It’s not about “Selling” anymore.  It’s all about educating.   That’s the power of a blog.

Did you know that today – blog content is a key factor in search engine optimization (SEO)?  If you want to rank higher in organic search results with Google and other search engines – YOU HAVE TO BLOG!  

In the past search engine companies like Google put an emphasis on keywords—those words that you were using to market your business and how often those words appeared on your website.  

As technology has evolved, Google (and other search engines such as Bing and Yahoo) are using advanced formulas – also known as algorithms – that determine how frequently you post and update your website in addition to the origination and quality of the content you post.  In essence, your “organic” search ranking depends on How Recent, How Relevant, and How Reliable your content is to the person searching your keywords.

What does this have to do with blogging?  Everything in the world.

There is not a better way to add relevant content to your website on a regular basis than to utilize a blog.  If you do not want to call it a blog, you can call it something else such as “Education Center” or something similar – to categorize the frequent posts to your website.  Each blog post or update will also add a new page of “content” to your website  if the blog is set up correctly.  So, blogs…are…powerful.

Where you rank in search engines matter.  One of the most effective ways to increase your search engine rankings is to add unique, high quality content on a regular basis—to blog.

Here are 8 tips I have compiled to get you started once you have set up your WordPress or other blog platform:

1)   Build your blog correctly.  Use a reputable, reliable platform such as WordPress.  I prefer HubSpot’s amazing blogging tool.   It is fail safe and prompts users for all SEO issues such as meta tags, keywords, alt tags, images, etc.

2)  I like to advise this as a simple blog strategy:  Answer the TOP 10 Questions you get from your customers.  Over and over.  This becomes your “Editorial Calendar.” 

3) Be consistent. Don’t start a blog and only post once a year or post a whole bunch of content every day for a month and then not post anything for a long stretch of time. Post as often as possible, but don’t risk burnout by trying to post every day. Keep posts short and to the point.

4)  Come up with your own unique ideas for things to write about, address customers’ issues, look at what other bloggers in your industry are talking about, and always keep an eye out for other things to inspire blog posts.  

5)  Remember to keep your content relevant to your target audience. That doesn’t mean you should always be pitching your products.  Mix it up and pick topics that add value in the life of your prospects. If you do this well they will return to read future posts.

6)  It’s perfectly fine to delegate blog writing to an employee, but it is nice for a CEO to sometimes make his or her voice heard by writing a blog post personally from time to time.

7)  Guest blog on other blogs once you’ve established yourself as an expert on your own blog.  Comment on other people’s blog posts and establish a rapport.

8)  Share and promote your blog content through your established social media channels and email.

Again – The most important thing to do is simply get started.  If you keep in mind these 8 most basic of tips – you can refine your blog content strategy and make blogging a habit to build your brand online, become known as an expert in your field, and build revenues.


~Jim

Contact: Jim Matuga
InnerAction Media
304-288-1503
jim@inneractionmedia.com
Twitter: @jmatuga

About Jim Matuga: Jim Matuga the Co-Founder and CEO of InnerAction Media.  He is a 33 year resident of Morgantown, WV. He graduated from West Virginia University with a BS in Advertising from the Perley Issac Reed School of Journalism in 1988. He has extensive experience in leadership positions with media companies in newspaper (The Dominon Post), television (WBOY – 12NEWS), cable (Rutter Media), direct mail (VALPAK), radio and Internet. Jim is 48 years old and is active in board positions with the Morgantown Area Chamber of Commerce, PACE Enterprises, Rotary Club of Morgantown, West Virginia BASS Federation and the West Virginia Miracle League.

About InnerAction Media: Headquartered in Morgantown, W.Va., InnerAction Media (IAM) www.inneractionmedia.com is a multi-service brand strategy, advertising agency and inbound marketing agency with expertise in providing marketing communications that connect companies with consumers. The company was founded in 2011 by Jim Matuga and Michael Arbogast.

The agency’s core competencies encompass:

Strategic Marketing | Brand Strategy | HubSpot Inbound Marketing | Web Site Development | HD Video Production | Social Media Management | Google AdWords Marketing | Original Music Composition (Jingles)

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