Sep 3, 2018 | Blog, News
Writing a blog? Remember, one idea is always enough.
This idea is not the end it’s only the beginning.
You’ve probably heard this before but have you heard it in the context of blog writing? You might be tempted to cram all your ideas into one blog, to amaze you reader with your knowledge but in reality a much simpler approach is best. Just stick with one idea per blog – develop it and discuss the detail.
Here’s why.
Firstly, you have ample opportunity to blog so there is no great rush or need to cram as many ideas as you can into one piece. In fact keeping to a simple and concise writing approach will give your reader the impression you’re confident and an expert on the topic you’re writing about.
Another reason to keep it simple is to ensure the blog content you’re providing is meaningful and useful to your readers. By sticking with one idea you can explore it in greater detail, analyse it and offer your expert opinion. People will respect your knowledge; appreciate your advice in turn building a level of trust around your blog that will keep readers coming back for more. Regular readers become an opportunity to build new leads and new business.
Most blogs on average are 400 words, but you don’t have to stick to that word count. Long enough to provide detail but short enough to keep a reader’s attention. When it comes to the web people have short attention spans opting to read the first few sentences, skim the rest looking for the detail they’re after. With this in mind sticking to one idea makes a lot of sense. Create an opening paragraph that grabs attention, brings the idea to the fore and encourages the reader to read the detail.
If you just can’t stick to one idea instead opt to draw the article out over a series of blogs. A series will provide a reason to come back for the next blog, allow you to delve further in the detail and fully explore the overall content. Remember to keep a consistent flow throughout and link the blogs together.
Over to you!
I’d like to hear about your blog experiences by commenting below.
If you want help getting more out of your social media marketing, please download our free step by step guide today!
Jul 9, 2018 | Blog, News
Use one piece of content across multiple channels
I am the first to admit that constantly creating content to feed your online marketing can be like walking through mud at times. And because we live in a society that has 24/7 access to information in the palm of our hands, it’s easy to think our efforts can be futile.
However, a big mistake I see often is business owners creating one piece of content and then promoting it only through one channel. Or worse, expecting the content to just be found (especially if it’s a blog or video).
If you write an amazing blog, record a smashing podcast, or shoot an engaging video, no one will see it if you don’t tell anyone. And if you do promote your content, make sure you are promoting it regularly, so you pick up potential new audiences each time.
So, below is my super simple strategy for repurposing content across multiple channels so that I am creating less but promoting more.
Currently, I create the following content:
- A weekly blog (like this one!)
- A Facebook live once every 1 to 2 weeks
- A podcast each fortnight
Starting with my written blog, I:
- Upload it to my website
- Promote it across all of my online channels more than once
- Use a tool like Lumen5 to create a video of my blog
- Upload this video to Youtube, with a link back to my website
For my Facebook lives
- I use Belive.tv to schedule them in advance
- Then once the live is over, I download the video file from Facebook
- The video is then uploaded to Youtube with all the proper titling and a custom thumbnail
- Link back to my Facebook page where the live happened
- Take the Youtube video, create a blog post and embed the video
- Promote the blog link across other social media channels
And lastly, for my podcast:
- Once it is uploaded, the podcast is syndicated through platforms like itunes and Spotify
- I then take the podcast episode and the show notes (a transcript of the podcast episode) and create a blog piece on my website
- Then promote it across other channels
What content are you creating in your business right now? How can you use it in different ways to increase visibility of your business?
Sep 1, 2017 | Blog, News
Planning content with Buzzsumo
Social media content is a great way of communicating to and building relationships with your potential customers. One of the best ways to promote businesses of all sizes is through developing a strong content marketing strategy. The tool I love using when it comes to planning content is Buzzsumo.
However, you can’t simply fill in a website with all and any content that comes to mind and then expect it to bring potential clients. You need to have relevant content that will appeal to your target audience and will answer their questions. But what tool can help you in doing this? Buzzsumo is a great tool to find out what content performs best. This tool allows a user to find out what the content is popular by website or by topic.
With the use of Buzzsumo, it can help you identify key influencers based on keywords. But what can Buzzsumo do in your business?
- Buzzsumo allows you to identify which content is being shared the most and who shared it which is important. Thus, this gives you the details on who is the influencer and knowing who has the public’s trust and attention can give you the understanding on who you can follow for inspiration.
- Buzzsumo can provide you keyword alerts so you will be notified when content is posted or updated. Keeping up to date with trending content, and then sharing it across your own social platforms, can help increase reach into new audiences.
- Buzzsumo can give you an analysis on how your competitor is doing. Knowing and understanding what your competitors can do and what is working and what is not working for them can help inform what you do. This will give you insights on what works best for you and it will help you to avoid things that are not effective.
Writing content is a tough task and no matter how we allot a certain time to gather and think of new ideas, we rarely devote enough time to curating and creating good content. Buzzsumo, to my mind, has proven to be an effective tool when it comes to improving your content marketing strategy. Just always remember in using any kind of tool or system just like Buzzsumo will depend on what you want to achieve and where are you in terms of your own content marketing.
If you want help getting more out of your social media marketing, please download our free step by step guide today!
Jul 11, 2017 | Blog, News
Why post your blogs to social media more than once
So you own a business, and want to create some interest about what you do? Or perhaps you want to position yourself as a thought leader in your industry? Blogs are a simple and effective way to promote what you do in an education way.
A simple definition of blog is that it is a journal or a diary that is on the internet. People create blogs because they want to express themselves; they want their voice to be heard. Sometimes, they wanted to share something about something that they love. And you love what you do, so why not share it!
So you’ve gone ahead and created a blog, now you have to share it with your audience. And social media is the perfect place to share your wisdom. But how often you should post your blog on social media? Is it relevant to share your content more than once? Let’s take a look at why you have to share your blog more than once.
- More traffic. Sharing your blog once will reach some of your audience. Sharing it multiples times will make sure you reach more people. Remember to give it a new introduction each time.
- Reach multiple time zones, especially if you have customers across Australia, or even the world. By resharing or retweeting your blog post, there is a definite possibility that you will be able to reach those who missed your post the first time around.
- Gain more followers. If your blog is engaging, your fans are likely to share it – which means people outside of your community will see your content. If they like your content, you’ll get some extra followers! Also, once you repost your blog, especially if you have evergreen content, it will still be relevant to others even if you posted it few weeks ago.
Now that you know the reasons why you have to share your content more than once in social media, you can use this as an advantage but just make sure that you won’t over do it. Also, make sure that you have different techniques once you repost your blog because if it is always the same format or the same title, your content will look tired. Just always remember than once you create a blog, this will speak about you and you wanted to build credibility and earn people’s trust.
If you want help getting more out of your social media marketing, please download our free step by step guide today!
Apr 19, 2017 | Blog, News
Blogs – why you need to create them
When was the last time you updated your website through blogs and up-to-date content? Do you use it to grow your business online? How you’re able to connect to your audience? And how effective you are on sending the right message to them?
Creating regular, fresh content in the form of a blog is one of the most effective and powerful ways you can communicate your expertise to your target audience. It is another way, in addition to your social media channels, of spreading helpful and valuable pieces of information to your customers.
So, let us break down the benefits of this powerful communication tactic on building and establishing a good presence online.
Blogs help drive new traffic to your website
Whenever you write a blog post for your site, you are able to index more pages on your website. This provides an opportunity for your website to show up in various search engines particularly on Google. If you spend time building up a solid bank of content, you will be able to eventually drive a great range of traffic to your website.
Another good thing about blogging is that it also helps you get discovered. By providing useful information, you’re able to communicate with your website visitors. By being relevant to your intended prospective customers, they are more likely to engage with your content by sharing to different social media networks such as on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Linkedin, etc.
It therefore provides higher exposure to online users who may not even know your business exists.
Can help convert traffic into leads
Now that you’re able to drive traffic to your website through blogging, you’re are in a position now to convert your hard earned traffic into leads. So, how are you going to work on that? Any visitor who comes to your website is a potential lead, or can connect you to potential leads.
Every blog post you create is another opportunity to educate your target audience on what your do, and how your help. Make sure that every blog piece you create ends with a clear call-to-action that gives your website visitors something to do, include give you their email address or phone number.
This can take time, so make sure you put aside some time each week to create your content, and set up calls to action that will give value to who you wish to target.
Blogging helps establish authority
When you’re able to provide answers even to the most common questions, you’re clearly establishing a definite authority to your target customer. Customers usually seek to find answers to their questions online. Finding useful information from your content is a way for them to visit your website more often than necessary. Even better, your website visitors may even share your valuable information with their networks.
Educational content provides greater impact to confused customers by clearing things up.
Blogging can drive long term results
The blogs you have created long time ago is of equal or of higher value compared to your most recent blogs. Don’t ever be afraid to recycle your content by reposting your blog content across your social media channels more than once. Chances are that you can pick up new audiences each time you repost your blog. Also, if a particular blog article has had lots of visitors already, it may be ranking well on various search engines.
Over to you
Blogging is a continuous process. And you need to constantly be working on your content and optimising the channels you post your blog articles to. While you may not be able to see results overnight, if done well and consistently, you’ll be able to generate a significant amount of traffic and possible leads for your business overtime.
If you want help getting more out of your social media marketing, please download our free step by step guide today!