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5 Business Blogging Best Practices for B2B Marketing

05-Feb-2016 08:18:00 / by Stephen Rogan

Business blogging is no longer an optional marketing tool for your company. In order for your blog to be highly successful in the B2B market, you have to walk a fine line. You must create quality content that delivers a unique value to your current and prospective customers while supporting your marketing strategy for business growth. Let's take a look at 5 business blogging best practices for your B2B marketing.

1. Always write with your audience in mind

Many business bloggers make the mistake of sounding mechanical or artificial. You must remember that you are writing to an individual business owner or manager, so think about how you would talk to that person in a face-to-face meeting.

Don't use your blog to talk about how great you are. You only have a few paragraphs to get your reader's attention and make your point, so make it informative and relevant. It isn't necessary that you have all the answers, as long as you know where to find them, so don't be afraid to refer to outside sources.

2. Find your voice

According to an article at copyblogger:

"Voice is one of the most important elements of a successful blog. Period."

Your blog posts must convey personality and not sound artificial. As a blog writer, you must have a proper grasp of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and syntax in order to establish credibility with your readers. You must also understand that there is a difference between making a mistake and making a deliberate choice. Many blog articles are written conversationally, so there are opportunities to bend the rules just as we do when we speak face-to-face. You shouldn't go crazy breaking the rules, but you must also not allow your adherence to them to wreck your writing voice.

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3. Your blog must connect with your audience

When you have a meaningful engagement with your audience, you are showing them you are passionate about what you do and you are building trust and credibility. In order to make the right connection, you must:

  • Ask questions
  • Answer questions
  • Welcome opinions
  • Give incentives

An interesting article at The Huffington Post, "How to Connect With the Hearts of Your Blog's Audience", outlines steps to take in connecting with an audience. This article was actually written for a B2C connection, but the main points also apply to B2B marketing, according to Think with Google.

4. Create Compelling Content

A blog is not just a writing exercise to create content. Your blog articles must be informative, compelling, and relevant to your target audience. Your audience is looking to you as an expert when it comes to your blog content. In order to meet their expectations, you must not only be able to provide valuable insights, but you must also be prepared to take a firm stance. You must be objective and professional. Back up your points with accurately cited sources.

5. Post frequently on a regular schedule

Blogging can be a powerful B2B marketing tool. Many business bloggers allow their blogs to grow as stale as last week's newspaper. If you don't update your blog with a new post, there is no reason for people to visit. There is nothing new for them to see.

If you seriously want to use a blog as an effective B2B marketing tool, you'll need to put some thought into your blogging frequency. If you post new content that is informative and relevant to your audience, they are likely to return to see what you have to say. The more frequently you publish new articles, the more content there is for businesses to see and search engines to crawl.

The most effective and engaging business blogs offer content to their readers in different ways. You must always brainstorm different types of content in order to ignite a spark with your audience. Your content choices can include text-based copy, charts, infographics, audio content, video content, interviews, Q&A's, or guest blog posts. If you provide variety in your posts, you will most likely set yourself apart from your competition and drive more qualified traffic which will generate more leads.

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Stephen Rogan

Written by Stephen Rogan