5 Ways to Keep Your Business Blog Relevant

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A business blog can be a valuable tool for raising brand awareness and inspiring customer loyalty. According to Hubspot’s State of Inbound 2014-2015 report, marketers who prioritize blogging are 13 times more likely to enjoy a positive return on investment (ROI) than those who don’t. Business-to-business marketers that blog also get 67 percent more leads than their non-blogging competitors. However, simply having a business blog isn’t enough. Use these methods to keep your business blog relevant and maximize your ROI.

Post Regularly About News

One of the best ways to keep your business blog relevant is by posting regularly about current topics. This gives readers a reason to continue returning to your blog. It will help you earn a reputation as an expert in your field, which can build trust and brand loyalty. Stay updated on industry news and let topical stories inspire your blog posts. Don’t be afraid to be opinionated, as offering a fresh perspective is always more compelling than regurgitating facts.

Taking a business trip is no excuse for letting your blog lie dormant. Modern devices make it easy to update your blog on the go. Two-in-one laptops like those in Lenovo’s Yoga Series are an ideal choice. You can load them up with your favorite blogging apps, and they have full keyboards for composing posts, or you can use them as convenient tablets.

Make Evergreen Posts

Too many business owners believe that staying relevant is simply about staying current, but this oversimplifies the matter. That’s why it’s smart to vary your blog articles and mix current topical posts with more evergreen ones.

Evergreen posts feature content that doesn’t date. For example, a post on a hardware store’s blog explaining how to tile a bathroom will be relevant to anyone renovating their home, whether they’re doing it today or several months from now.

In addition to how-to guides, you might also create posts featuring frequently asked questions, top tips, and definitions of industry terms. Since these posts don’t lose their relevancy, they often remain popular for an extended period of time.

Invite Guest Bloggers

Guest bloggers can give your business blog a fresh new voice and expert insights. The variety that guest posts bring will help keep your business blog relevant and exciting.

Ask your professional contacts or other respected people within your industry to write posts for you. If your guest blogger has a following, people are likely to visit your blog to see the post. This helps generate more exposure for your blog and your business.

Interview Experts

Some people you approach may not have time to write a guest post, but they may grant you an interview. Most professionals love being interviewed, as it’s free publicity for their work.

Take time to write up some questions before your interview, but don’t be afraid to go off-script if the conversation takes an interesting turn. Face-to-face interviews are best, as it’s much easier to establish rapport in person. However, if you can’t meet with your subject, a phone interview, video chat, or even an interview over email can help you generate relevant content for your blog.

If the interview is really interesting, you may choose to transcribe it and publish it in full. Alternatively, you could write an article featuring the best quotes from your interview subject.

Research Your Audience

A good business blog isn’t just relevant to its industry, it’s also relevant to its audience. To create a blog with this kind of relevance, you must understand who visits your blog. A survey is a great way to do this. Collect statistical information about your readers and details about why they visit your blog, what they want to see more and less of, the topics they’d like to read about, and any ways they think you could improve.

Completing these surveys takes time, so offering an incentive like entry into a prize drawing or a discount for participants could boost your response rate.

With these strategies in place, your business blog will remain relevant for your industry and audience, and continue to draw new and existing readers.