Have you recently discovered that your company needs a blog? Good for you! Your company’s blogs can be an essential component of your B2B marketing strategy. A good blog can help establish authority, increase your brand awareness, and drive leads to your website.
So how do you make sure your new blog is effective? The following steps will show how to give your business-to-business (B2B) company the best possible blog in just 24 hours.
| Takeaways |
|---|
| 1. Establish the Purpose: Define why your B2B company needs a blog. |
| 2. Identify Target Audience: Understand who you’ll be writing for. |
| 3. Choose a Blogging Platform: Select a user-friendly platform. |
| 4. Set Up Website Hosting: Choose reliable hosting services. |
| 5. Plan Content Strategy: Outline topics, formats, and frequency. |
| 6. Develop a Content Calendar: Organize your publishing schedule. |
| 7. Create High-Quality Content: Craft informative and valuable articles. |
| 8. Optimize for SEO: Incorporate relevant keywords and meta tags. |
| 9. Use Visuals: Include images and infographics to enhance engagement. |
| 10. Promote on Social Media: Share your blog posts across platforms. |
What Is A Blog?
A blog is a website that is updated regularly with new content. It’s usually written by one person, or even several people, but it’s not meant to be a “news” site where articles are published in response to current news events.
Blogs are more personal, focusing on things like lifestyle and experiences.
Example: I have three blogs: one for my brand, one for my business brand, and one for my industry brand (shameless plug).
There are many ways you can use your blog as a marketing strategy: you could use it as another avenue of distribution for information about the products or services you offer; you could create posts that engage readers in discussions about relevant topics, or simply write about what interests you!
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Before You Start Blogging
Before you start blogging, it’s important to first answer a few questions:
What is the goal of this blog? Are you looking to increase traffic to your website, or do you want to promote products and services? The answer to that question will help determine how successful your blog will be.
Who is your target audience? If they’re already familiar with what your company does, they might not need as much explanation for them to understand it, and if they’re brand new customers who don’t know anything about your business.
Then there may be more of an education process that needs to take place before they can digest anything on the site.
What type of theme did you choose for your website? This can affect things like whether or not there are photos included throughout the site.
Some themes are more visually appealing than others (for example a black background versus something bright).
It may also impact whether people feel inclined enough about reading through all available content on each page since some themes make reading harder than others due to their color combinations being hard on eyesight when scrolling down pages nonstop (which could lead to headaches later).
What Will Your Blog Be About?
One of the most important things to consider before starting your blog is what it will be about.
You want your audience to know what they’re getting into and where they can expect to see posts from, so the first step is deciding how you plan on using your blog.
This will help determine what kind of content needs to be published, who should be writing it, and why people should care about reading it.
You can also think about other aspects of running a blog as well: Who is going to manage this? What kind of message do I want my brand or business identity associated with?
How can I use social media channels like Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn to promote my new venture (and vice versa)? And most importantly: Who am I talking to? This last question requires us to look at our target market more closely (but more on that later).
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1. Choosing A Platform To Host Your Blog
In the past, bloggers were limited to using one of the many blogging platforms available. Today, you can use any of these platforms or host your blog on your website.
- Blogger: An easy-to-use platform owned by Google
- WordPress: A popular and customizable platform that is used by many websites including this very one (this article is written in WP)!
- Squarespace: A mobile-friendly platform with great templates for creating a unique design for your blog
Most B2B marketing teams choose to use WordPress because it offers all of the benefits listed above and more. If you are interested in taking advantage of some of these additional features then check out our guide on how to create a custom theme here!
2. Creating Your Blog Design
Once you’ve taken the first steps to launch your blog, it’s time to create the design. There are several options here you can use a free theme, or pay for one.
You can also hire a designer to create something custom specifically for your company. But if you’re strapped for cash or simply want a simple way to get started, then this is where templates come in handy.
If you choose this option (and we think it’s best), there are two types of templates: free and premium.
Free templates don’t cost any money but usually require some simple coding knowledge on your part for them not to look like total garbage when put together with WordPress’ default settings;
Premium ones typically have more customization options and aren’t as demanding from an engineering standpoint if they’re going to work properly without crashing once every other hour due to lack of foresight by their creator(s).
That said, both types come with pros and cons: using free templates will allow people visiting your site immediately know what kind of business they’re dealing with because – surprise! – all blogs have pretty much identical layouts nowadays.
So unless yours stands out from everyone else’s (we’ll talk about that later), looking too generic means losing potential new customers before even getting them through the door! On top of that though…
3. Setting Up Your Contact And Subscription Forms
Now that you’ve created your blog, it’s time to set up your contact and subscription forms. Don’t worry this won’t take long.
Your contact form should be easily accessible from every page of your website so that customers can fill out the form at any time they feel like it. You also want to make sure that the form is secure: no one wants their personal information stolen by hackers!
Finally, make sure that this page is easy to navigate; otherwise, people may get confused or frustrated and leave before submitting their information.
To prevent this from happening (and keep everyone happy), follow these four steps:
- Create a Contact Us page on your website where people can find out more about what you do as well as ask any questions they might have about contacting you in general;
- Make sure all relevant information is included in this section so there are no questions left unanswered when someone wants more details;
- Add an email address at which users can reach out (you may want multiple addresses depending on how many questions are asked);
- Include some information about how often employees check their emails so customers know who will respond most quickly if there’s an emergency scenario requiring immediate attention
4. How To Choose A Blog Name
Choosing a blog name is a big deal. It’s the first thing that people see when they land on your site, and the last thing they see before leaving. Your blog title should be short, memorable, easy to say and spell, and easy to type.
Here are some things to consider:
Is it unique? If you’re going to invest in blogging as part of your B2B marketing strategy, then you must use an original name for your blog that no one else is using right now. You don’t want readers to see something familiar when they visit your page!
Remember: there are millions of other businesses out there who are trying desperately (and failing) to get attention from potential customers just like yours so make sure yours stands out from the crowd!
Is it descriptive? A good rule of thumb here would be “the shorter the better.” People aren’t going through thousands upon thousands of words per day looking for something interesting or engaging; so why waste their time?
Keep it short so people know exactly what kind of content will be posted there without having them scroll down further than necessary–or worse yet
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5. Buy Your Domain Name
Once you have a name, it’s time to think about where your company will be “housed.” A domain name (like www.yourcompanyname.com) is the address of your site, so it’s important that it stands out and is easy to remember.
Following are some tips for choosing an appropriate domain:
Choose something short. If you’re planning on writing content on your blog regularly, keeping the length of each post in mind will help when deciding how many characters are available in your domain name.
Going with something too long could lead readers away from clicking through to read more of what you have to say because they didn’t write down all the letters correctly when trying to remember where they heard about you for later reference!
6. Laying Down Keywords & Categories For Your Blog Posts
Now that you’ve decided on a name for your blog and what kind of content it will cover, let’s get into the nitty-gritty.
Writing great content is only half of the battle; once you’ve written it, you also need to decide how people will find that content. To make sure your blog posts are found by search engines and readers alike, we’ll need to start with some keyword research. To do this:
Look at other B2B blogs in your industry or niche (if there aren’t any competitors that have already started their blogs).
See what keywords they’re using frequently in their titles, headings, and copy throughout their site. These should be used as inspiration when creating titles & headings for your blog posts!
Use Google Keyword Planner (https://adwords.google.com/ko/KeywordPlanner) or another tool like SEMrush (https://www.semrush.com/)to see what types of people might be searching for info related to these topics so we can include those terms within our titles as well!
7. Creating A More Comfortable Writing Environment
Writing a blog is a good first step for B2-B companies, but the process of creating content can be intimidating. You might not be sure where to begin or how to create something that your audience will enjoy reading.
To make things easier on yourself and help you create better content, here are some tips for giving your company its blog:
Find a quiet place to work that inspires you. A lot of people find it hard to write when they’re at home surrounded by other distractions like kids and pets (or both).
Instead of trying to write at home in one room while the TV is blaring in the next, try writing somewhere else maybe there’s an empty conference room or café nearby where nobody’s going to bother you?
Make sure it’s comfortable! You don’t want any distractions while sitting down and thinking through how exactly this blog post should go.
Emulate the success of iconic figures like Beyoncé when starting to market your business. Learn from their methods and apply their principles to create a unique and memorable marketing campaign.
8. The Actual Writing
Now that you’ve created your blog, it’s time to start writing. If the thought of sitting down and writing makes you want to run in the opposite direction, don’t worry that’s normal!
But with a little practice and some helpful tips, writing for your B2B clients will become as natural as talking about yourself in an elevator ride.
Here are some best practices for blogging:
Write from your perspective as a business owner or startup founder (i.e., “we” instead of “I”). This helps readers connect with you on a personal level because they feel like they’re getting insights into how their favorite companies were built by real people just like them!
Write about topics that are relevant to your target audience in terms of their industry or company size; this will help ensure they’re interested in what you have to say.
For example: if most of my customers are large companies that have already hired full-time SEO professionals, I might start blogging about SEO strategies used by startups because most small businesses don’t know much about it yet.
9. Don’t Forget The Importance Of Visuals!
Visuals can help you to make your point more clearly and engage your audience. Visuals are one of the best ways to make a blog more shareable. As we discussed in #4, content is key for growing your B2B business and increasing brand awareness.
Visual content is one of the most effective ways for marketers to take advantage of this fact, as it helps us connect with our audiences on an emotional level by providing visual cues that trigger memories or feelings from their past experiences.
The average human attention span has declined from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds today – meaning we’re becoming less likely to read articles when there isn’t something visually appealing on the page!
According to HubSpot’s 2017 State of Inbound Report, 80% of respondents stated “a lack of visual appeal” was their main reason for leaving a webpage within 60 seconds (it also ranked as number 1).
10. How Often Should You Update? How Often Can You Update?
There is no right answer to this question. The goal is to update frequently enough to not annoy your readers, but not so often that you are constantly spamming them.
The ideal blog post frequency varies based on the type of content you’re sharing and how much time it takes for you to write a blog post.
If your readers don’t like what you’re sharing or if they tell you that there’s too much or not enough, then figure out what works best for them and adjust accordingly. Most people prefer updates 1-3 times per week (Monday through Friday).
11. Promoting Your Content On Social Media
Social media is a great way to get your content seen by more people. Use hashtags to get noticed by people who are searching for your topic and make sure you’re creating unique hashtags for each blog post.
Post at least once a day so that you can stay top of mind with new followers, but don’t repost the same content more than once because it’ll look like spam!
In addition to this, it’s important not to use too many hashtags on one post, or else it can look like spamming (which nobody likes).
12. Finding Your Voice For Twitter
Now that you’ve got your blog up and running, it’s time to get started on Twitter. We’re going to start by finding your voice for this social media channel.
As a business, you want people to pay attention to what you’re saying and take action based on it. While this is true for any channel, it’s especially important for Twitter since users have limited space (140 characters) in which to present their thoughts.
You will have to be creative with how you present yourself so that people are willing to follow along with what you have to say and hopefully take action based on your updates!
In order not to overwhelm yourself at first, focus initially on letting people know about your blog posts or website content through tweets linking back there rather than starting from scratch with original content right away.
Once people start following along because they find value in what’s posted there regularly enough, then feel free to experiment with some more original tweets instead of simply posting links back again every few days or weeks (but keep doing both!).
Humor is a potent weapon in the world of marketing. Delve into the psychology of being funny in B2C marketing to understand how to use humor effectively to engage and connect with your audience.
13. Finding Your Voice For Facebook
You’re ready to build a Facebook page for your blog. Like any other social media platform, people need to see your brand come through in your Facebook community. Here are some tips:
Use images and videos in the posts you share from your blog on Facebook. If you have them, use relevant screenshots or clips from videos as well.
This can help get attention and engagement from readers who are browsing through their feed (and might not have time to read an entire post).
Create a group where readers can connect with you directly (this is especially helpful if more than one person is running the page). Groups allow people who love what they’re reading even more ways to interact with one another.
And they make it easy for fans of all kinds to talk with each other when they’re interested in something specific like an event or class being offered by the company behind the blog post that inspired those discussions in the first place!
14. Finding Your Voice For Linkedin
LinkedIn is a great place to promote your blog posts because it has a high authority in the B2B space. You should share your blog posts frequently, especially after they’ve been published.
When sharing links to your blog posts on LinkedIn, make sure to write a summary of the post so readers can decide whether or not they want to read it right away.
It’s also important to share links in LinkedIn Groups as well as with customers and prospects who are interested in your content but haven’t yet discovered you!
You can do this by joining groups where people might be searching for answers related to what you’re writing about for example: if I’m writing about customer service best practices then I could join “Customer Service” groups where people are asking questions related
15. Finding Your Voice For Google+
If you’re not using Google+, you’re missing out on a big opportunity to get your content noticed by the people who matter most: your audience.
Google+ is a social network that’s quite similar to Facebook, but it has some key differences that make it perfect for b2b companies. It’s relatively easy to use and navigate.
So even if you aren’t familiar with other social platforms like Twitter or LinkedIn, Google+ makes it easy for anyone to get started sharing content and interacting with their audience.
Many customers prefer Google because there are no ads on the platform like there are in other networks (although I will say that they do have some paid options).
16. Building An Email Newsletter List
The number one way to build your email list is through the opt-in box. You’ll find this on your website, and it allows visitors to sign up for your newsletter or other promotional offers.
Make sure you have one of these boxes somewhere on every page of your site (at least). If you don’t, here’s a how-to: https://moz.com/blog/how-to-create-an-email-signup-form
You can get creative with the design of this form by adding an image or two and some text that explains what will happen after they click “Subscribe” (e.g., “You will receive our best resources every week!”).
The goal is just to get them interested enough in what you have offered so they fill out the form and agree to receive emails from you in their inboxes later down the road!
17. Commenting On Other People’s Blogs
If you want to increase your blog’s traffic, you should begin by commenting on other people’s blogs.
Commenting on other people’s blogs is a great way to promote your blog, build relationships with other bloggers and readers, and learn more about what people are interested in reading.
There are two ways you can go about this:
Commenting on popular blogs that have high traffic will help drive traffic back to your site.
This is because when people read a blog post from another site and then see yours as one of the top comments under it (or even just below), they’re likely going to click through and check out what else you have to say.
Commenting on smaller-trafficked blogs will allow you some time with those bloggers so that they’ll hopefully come back around for another visit when they see that someone took the time not just once but twice (or more!) over several months or years!
It all starts with getting started today…
Conclusion
There you have it: a complete, step-by-step walkthrough of how to get started building and maintaining a blog for your B2B company. If you made it through this post, you now know everything there is to know about the process.
We hope that this has been helpful, and if you have any questions or comments, we’d love to hear them in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
Further Reading
Here are some additional resources to help you dive deeper into the topics mentioned in this article:
How to Start a Blog: A Step-by-Step Guide Learn the essential steps to start your own blog and share your expertise with the world.
B2B Blog Best Practices: Your Ultimate Guide Discover the best practices for creating and maintaining a successful B2B blog that drives results.
Starting a Blog as Part of Your B2B Marketing Strategy Explore how incorporating a blog into your B2B marketing strategy can enhance your brand’s visibility and engagement.
FAQs
How do I effectively start a blog for my B2B company?
Starting a blog for your B2B company involves steps such as choosing a relevant niche, setting up a user-friendly website, creating high-quality content, and promoting it through various channels.
What are some key practices for running a successful B2B blog?
Running a successful B2B blog requires understanding your target audience, addressing their pain points, providing valuable insights, maintaining a consistent posting schedule, and optimizing your content for search engines.
How can a B2B blog contribute to my marketing strategy?
A B2B blog can contribute to your marketing strategy by establishing your company as an industry authority, driving organic traffic to your website, generating leads, and nurturing relationships with potential clients.
What types of content should I publish on my B2B blog?
You should publish a mix of informative articles, industry insights, how-to guides, case studies, and thought leadership pieces that resonate with your target audience and provide solutions to their challenges.
How can humor be incorporated into a B2B blog?
Humor can be integrated into a B2B blog by using witty anecdotes, relatable stories, and clever metaphors that add a touch of personality to your content while still addressing the business-related topics your audience cares about.
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.
