
4 Great Tips To Boost Blog Engagement
Say it with us so everyone can hear: blogging is the future.
We’ve been down this road before, but the message bears repeating. Forget what you thought you knew about blogging only a few short years ago. What started off as a way to share personal stories about your new cat or to rant about just how horrible Batman and Robin was has transformed into an integral part of doing business. If your company isn’t blogging, then your company isn’t living. (Hey… that sounds like a good blog title… more on that later!)
Let’s get down to business. We’re here to tell you that one of the best ways to make your blog successful is to boost its engagement. Here are four quick ways to do that:
Understand Your Readers
The most effective way for you to draw in readers to your blog is to understand who they are, where they are, what they want, and how to get their attention. This is basically the same kind of concept as identifying buyer personas, so the strategy is very similar. You want your blog to make its way to where your audience can be found, and you want to provide them with content that speaks to them. Fail at this, and potential customers will never even know you exist.
Write Something People Actually Want to Read
Once you’ve identified who your audience is, where they are, and what they want (or need), it’s time to write content that they’ll actually want to read. This sounds simple enough, but it can be a little tricky at times. Just because a group of people are interested in finding a fun bar to hang out in doesn’t mean they want you to break down the history of a given alcoholic beverage. Craft a blog that includes information that they will find useful and present it in a way that appeals to them. If they’re college students, write in a casual fashion. If your focus is an IT manager, perhaps make it more professional. And if they’re reading a marketing blog… well, you can’t copyright tone, so go ahead and do what we’re doing.
Just Say No to Big Blocks of Text
Every once in a while, you’ll see this online – “TL;DR” – which translates to “too long; didn’t read.” Yes, people on the internet are obviously expecting to read tons of information, but the use of big blocks of text will often be met with the TL;DR attitude, even if they don’t outwardly express it. What you want to do is break up your blog into sections or at least into short paragraphs. Even though you’re using the same amount of words, visitors are more likely to read what you’ve written when it’s organized and simply looks cleaner.
Don’t Forget an Engaging Image
Think back to the last time you were on YouTube. You were watching a video about cats (we’re not judging) and, on the side, amongst the suggested videos, was the thumbnail image of your favorite musician giving an interview. What did you do? You clicked on it, of course. And that is the basic concept of adding an engaging image to your blog. You want an image that represents what the blog is about, but it needs to be visually appealing. A good image can draw in readers even better than a good headline. Just don’t use an unrelated, “clickbait” image – that will create enemies.
If your company doesn’t have a blog, it needs one. If your blog isn’t consistent or its content simply isn’t engaging, then you need us. The professionals at Madison Taylor Marketing can create content that will draw more visitors to your site, not to mention building a marketing strategy for you that will take you to the next level.