Online Marketing Blog recently posted 5 tactics to promote a business blog. It makes the point that even when blogs are posting relevant, updated content and even doing so with consistency, the business blog is still not successbound without blog promotion.
In addition to the 5 effective tips posted above, here are an additional 3 that should be part of any business blog promotion:
1. Be part of your community.
By appearing in forums and commenting on popular blogs relevant to your business, people who are active as well will notice you and your business. Soon enough the blog will become part of the community.
However it’s important to keep in mind that whatever you contribute to your community must be a reflection of your business and you at all times. With a potential “unlimited” life span, your comments are a permanent testament of what you represent online.
Here’s a way to get started:
- Create a profile on the top 5 most popular forums relevant to your business: A few times a week (to start), you’ll check the individual forums and comment on the other users question, maybe post a question yourself.
- Comment on blog posts on relevant blogs: If you subscribe to all the top blogs in your business area, you’ll easily keep the overview of which blogs posts when and what blog posts are interesting enough to comment on.
- Comment on social media profiles: Make a list of all people that you take notice of in your business community. Many social media platforms have a way to keep track of individual people. Take notice of what the community is saying and comment on it on the individual profiles.
2. Advertise on Facebook.
Online Marketing Blog talks about the importance of promoting your blog through social media. If you’re a follower of this blog, you’ll know that I couldn’t agree more. However for many social media promotion does not include paid advertising.
Starting on paid advertising is a big step, but I recommend starting with advertising your blog on Facebook. The setup of your add is fairly easy and straight forward and if you have a decent overview of your target market, you’ll be able to be up and running in half an hour.
Some quick advise to keep in mind when creating your ad:
- Select an image that is both relevant and that catches people’s attention: I usually go for an image that has a white background, so that the ad background and the Facebook background blend together. Most Facebook ads include a photo with non-white background, creating a visual square where the photo ends. By creating a non-square shape your ad will stand out and catch people’s attention.
- Create different ads for different people: If your business spans over different target audiences, create many specific ads as opposed to one general ad. Facebook is set up to make this setup pretty easy to execute.
3. Do a contest.
People love to win prizes. If you have a product or service relevant to your business, create a contest, where your business community has a chance to win the prize. Don’t make the prize too general, like an iPhone that’ll attract everyone. Instead:
- Choose a prize that is specific to and has value for your business community.
- Promote the contest through all the above mentioned channels.
- Create an individual social media page for your contest, but make sure entering the contest is done on the blog.
- Surprise contestants positively by adding 5 more (smaller) prizes for them to win.
- Lastly, make sure that the contest is in accordance with relevant legislation, so your business won’t get into trouble.
There are many ways to start promoting a business blog, but not all ways are suited for every type of business. The promotional methods mentioned above are general and work across many different businesses; however as a rule of thumb, the chosen promotional method must “feel right” for your business blog. If it feels wrong, start with other promotional outlets. There are many to choose from.
What promotional tools do you use to promote your blog?
