8 Business Blogging Do's

Recently I was asked to submit some social media do's and don'ts to a blog post. As I reveiwed the previous submissions, I noted that there were virtually no tips about business blogging even though, in my opionion, blogging was an early social media tool. After all, what are comments all about? Naturally I focused my tips on business blogging.

In case you can't find the comment I submitted on the original post, my tips are posted here. You'll notice they are all Do's. I'm not big on Don'ts. The subject got me thinking though that it would make a good topic for a longer article so I decided to get input from other smart, savvy bloggers and I posted a request on LinkedIn Answers. I got so many great do's and don'ts it's going to take me a week to compile and organize the tips into a coherent article. When it's ready, I'll let you know...

While my position is generally that there are no "rules' in blogging, there are best practices that will help your business blog succeed.  Here are eight business blogging do's:

1. DO: Know your “Big Why” – why are you in business? What is the purpose and your ultimate goal for serving others? Clarity about your purpose, your goals, your ideal client and how you transform people’s lives will help guide all your marketing messages on your business blog and various social networking sites.

2. DO: Have a blog for your business. It’s your online real estate and the hub of all your social marketing. You own it and control the content, look, navigation, etc. You do NOT control Facebook, Twitter or any other social networking site so you must have your own domain and site on the web.

3. DO: Keep search engine optimization in mind – know your keywords – but don’t get obsessed. Write for your readers first, the search engines second. [Note: ScribeSEO can help with this process.]

4. DO: Find a optimal posting schedule that works for you. The more you post on your blog, the more traffic you’ll attract. But more than frequency, focus on posting quality content consistently and constantly.

5. DO: Keep the Four E’s in mind when writing your blog posts: Educate, Entertain, Engage and Enrich.

6. DO: Repurpose your blog content in multiple formats like audio and video in order to leverage your time and extend your reach on the web. Your audience likes to consume content in multiple ways so give them choices.

7. DO: Automate syndication of your blog posts to your social profiles.

8. DO: Give your blog readers the tools to amplify your message to their own communities. Have a retweet/tweet buttons, Facebook Like button, Digg, Stumbleupon and other relevant social sharing buttons on your blog posts.

Do you have some business blogging do's and don'ts you'd like to add? If so, submit them in the comments and I may include them in my article (with attribution of course!). Blog on!

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Comments

[Account Deleted]

Hi Denise, I'm new and still shy about posting comments. But I thought it time to tell you how much I enjoy your posts. I always learn something. Thank you!

[Nicky Kriel]

Thank you Denise, it is handy having some useful do's. Love your advice to "write for your readers first"!

[Denise Wakeman]

Elli, thanks for jumping in. I'm very glad to know that you learn from my posts...blog on!

[RodKirby]

Love this post, Denise, great tips! I'd like to add, "Do: treat your blog like a business in order to attract business!" It's important to stay on point, stay consistent, create a value proposition, and stick to it! Excellent article as usual, Denise!

[Keri Morgret]

Michael Gray has a good post today about using an editorial calendar for SEO and deciding at what time in the year you should post for which topics (like when to post an article about Halloween).
http://www.wolf-howl.com/seo/seo-editorial-calendar/

[Barbara Ling]

Love #6 (Repurpose your blog content in multiple format) - it's something I need to do far more often. Perhaps once I clone myself....

[Car Shipping Quote]

I've always been proud of my company's blog and after judging it by this list I'm even more satisfied with it. thanks for the post.

[Dianne White]

Blogging and other SEO techniques must produce quality content and use effective keywords, so that the users can easily find your links in search engines and they'll get curious to click your links.

[Extreme John]

Excellent tips as always, that goes without saying. I will say that I am still amazed at how many blogs are missing basics like the retweet and share buttons, at this stage of the game you would think everyone would have them by now.

[Tom Williams]

Very solid tips. These can all work OK if you are a one-person shop. I believe firmly in using collaborative blogs in business where you have a large number of content contributors. The problem of course then is management of all these people, consistency of content, consistency of SEO keywords...etc. [full disclosure - I own a company that sells business blogging software that addresses these problems]. If you limit the business blog to one or two authors - and they coordinate with posting schedules, content, Search Terms..etc. you can be very successful. I think these 8 tips are fantastic cornerstones.