We’ve all heard the term ‘blog’ by now, and witnessed many businesses use this as a marketing tool. A blog is a great place to share your thoughts, passions and experiences and guess what… it doesn’t have to be poetry or Shakespearean-esque literature, which means everyone can get involved and write their very own blogs.
Businesses that commit to blogging receive 55% more web traffic and 70% more leads than those that do not. It’s therefore safe to say that your business needs a blog.
Hubspot
Blog posts can be one of the most effective ways of gaining traffic and links to your website.
They’re also great for:
- Giving your business a voice and creating brand awareness
- Sharing your expertise and experience
- Creating free PR and allowing you to announce news about your School
- Attracting an audience, which means potential new students
Old fashioned, I know, but get your pen and paper, sit down and think about the below:
- Keep your target audience in mind – who are you aiming to attract to read your blog?
- Make it topical – concentrate on one topic per blog, otherwise readers may side-track from the message/story you are trying to get across.
- Your first couple of sentences need to captivate the reader to read more… Make your headline and first paragraph as interesting as possible, this is key to pulling them in.
- Give yourself enough time to write your blog. Remember it doesn’t have to be an essay every time.
- Don’t bamboozle your reader by using too much ‘Martial Art terminology’, keep it simple. Remember your reader might be new to the industry.
- Include snippets and small sentences rather than long sentences and large paragraphs.
- Bullet points are a fantastic way to make your blog ‘reader friendly’ too.
- Be sure to create your own style of blogging.
Your blog content should be something you can confidently write about and have meaning. When writing your blog you should always consider how it can potentially generate leads.
How many words should my blog be?
This is one of those questions that doesn’t have a right or wrong answer. Depending on the topic you’re discussing in your blog, will depend on how many words. Ideally your blog should be more than 400 words.
Where and how do I post my blog?
Ideally you would have a dedicated area on your website where you can host all your blogs. This is great for ensuring your website has even more of those amazing keywords. You can also use snippets of your blog on your social media channels. Remember you don’t need to post the whole blog, take the first couple of sentences, then pop in a link to where they can ‘carry on reading…’ this will also increase traffic to your website.
#SOCIAL
If social media is a key player in your businesses’ marketing tactics (which it should be), your blog posts are exactly the type of content you want to be posting. Interesting, original and engaging content can be shared across all social platforms. This means that other people are doing the hard work for you (and for free). Sharing your blog posts on social media is one of the easiest ways you can reach audiences. Thanks to Facebook’s advanced advertising options, you can easily get your post out to a whole range of people who haven’t even heard of your business yet. All you need to know is their interests and, hey presto, your ad is out there to the right people!
HubSpot
How often should I be blogging?
Again, this is another one of those questions where there isn’t a right or wrong answer, it is how blogging:
- Fits in with your bigger marketing strategy and goals
- Realistically, what you can fit into your schedule?
Something to remember here is, if blogging is something you want to commit to doing, go for it and stick with it. Nothing is worse than out-of-date content from 2012. So, when you’re setting your goals for this, remember to be realistic.
If once a week works well, that is great. But don’t panic, if you can only manage one a month. Whatever works for you and your business.
Where can I get inspiration for blog ideas?
- Ask your current students what they would like to read about
- Use your life experiences and knowledge
- Make it personal…Talk about student achievements and employees – don’t be afraid to show off!
- Share the load – anyone else in your School that could write a blog?
- Remember, content isn’t just words… use videos and images, then blog about what is happening
- Sporting events – become the next big Martial Artist like XXX
- Industry hot topics – what is in the news about Martial Arts?
Other useful information…
- Read about how important keywords are and ensure to use these in your blog – don’t over do it though!
- Buzzsumo is a great online tool you can use – but be careful to only use the free elements
If you have any questions on any of the points mentioned in this blog, please email us at marketing@nestmanagement.co.uk or call us on 0115 945 5030.
