How to Create a Corporate Blog Strategy in Five Simple Steps

Blogging, or more specifically, corporate blogging is the buzzword these days. From entrepreneurs to multinational companies and organizations, everyone is working hard to build a meaningful blogging strategy.  Many, though, don’t know where to begin or what will work for their audience. Having consulted with a number of businesses that were interested in blogging, we have come to understand that when it comes to creating strategies, simplicity works best. The more you complicate the process in the name of measurements, metrics or sales, the more you lose sight of what actually matters. And so we decided to simplify the process of corporate blogging and find out how a brand, business or even a sole entrepreneur can kick-start their blogging strategy in the right direction.

Here is our corporate blog strategy simplified in five, easy steps:The first important step is to extract important data such as keywords from search engines, analytical insights from your competitor’s website/blogs, or even opinions from a selected audience of influencers in your industry. It is from this set of data that you can form a central platform based on which blog titles and ideas can be derived.  To do this, you need to target three important areas: Google keyword search, social media presence of similar niche/industries, blogs and websites of the relevant niche.

Keep a set of keywords handy. Though Google now doesn’t emphasize keywords as much anymore to be the primary ranking factor, you still need these incorporated to give the blog post a holistic appeal. So, the more you have relevant data with you, the better you can streamline your content direction.Once you’re done with the data extraction part, move on to finalizing the first ten blog titles based on the keyword research you’ve done and your knowledge of your industry. As you found out in your research from the previous step, there’s probably a good chance many articles have already been written on the subject matter. So how should your blog post be any different? Skip the fluff and focus on delivering real advice that answers real questions your peers are asking – preferably questions no one else is answering yet.

From these questions, let them fuel your topics for the first ten blog posts. That’s roughly two to three month’s worth of content if you’re planning on fresh content every week. You should aim towards creating awareness, credibility and overall impact with the audience.A blogging or content marketing strategy goes hand-in-hand with social media. In this day and age, it’s impossible to ignore social networks. It is through this channel that nearly 98% of your audience will find out about you, be aware of your presence and perhaps endorse you.

We’d be remised to say that to do this well, you will need to hire a social media agency that is able to create a complete social media branding and marketing strategy for you. Not just develop the strategy, but to implement it as well.Most of the time companies (and entrepreneurs) assume blogging to be their sole source for lead generation. The reality is, however, much different. Email subscribers can only come if you deliver valuable content that no one in your particular niche can boast of.  Solve a problem and people will keep coming back for more.

You see, blogs are creative writing platforms that have taken on the shape of a powerful marketing tool over the years, but they don’t deliver if they aren’t driven in the right direction. You can write thousands of blog posts and still get nothing if you’re not innovative in sharing pertinent information or do not create a buzz around your posts. For this, there needs to be consistency and patience. You cannot judge the success of a blog in a month or two.We always recommend you hire a dedicated, talented and knowledgeable content writer. They won’t just help you with the writing, but will also utilize their experience in providing content insights that would be beneficial for your brand. In fact, with a professional content writer aboard, you won’t have to worry about your content quality or managing an editorial schedule, and you’ll have time to focus more on your business and what you do well. However, if you think hiring a content writer is not in your budget, then you will need to stick to a defined routine. We encourage starting out with at least one article a week. We strongly encourage creating interesting graphics for the posts and to help give your article a viral boost on social media as well.Would you like to discuss a blogging strategy with us? Give us a call or send us an email. We’d be glad to assist you.

Note: Do not confuse blogging with a complete content marketing strategy. It’s simply a platform of communication and sharing of valuable information to the audience. With our clients, blogging is one channel for content creation that offers insights and provides value to your audience.