Blogging is such an important area for any digitally savvy company, but why and what can help you achieve success?
Why..? Why not!
Manufacturing is one area where blogging can offer a great opportunity to reach out and engage with your audience, building your circle of influence and ultimately increasing your company’s visibility.
Blogging isn’t just about dropping keywords in to content and floating it about on the internet in the hope of being found. Being aware of what you’re trying to achieve with your blog posts is essential, ultimately you’re looking to drive sales and interest in your products and services to your customers and potential customers.
With this in mind we’ve put together 3 top tips for writing and leveraging your manufacturing blog to help you stand out for all the right reasons.
– be the first, don’t follow the crowd. Become an authority and a thought leader. Blogs are about education, so be that go-to on industry news and advice, have an opinion and share worthy information on relevant topics for your audience.
If you’re up to date on industry news and topics then you’re ahead of most and can share that knowledge in snippets on blogs, adding your own thoughts or angle to the latest news.
TIP – Follow key industry players and bodies online, as well as key media sources to help keep you up to date without it being a hassle. LinkedIn groups and Twitter can give up to date and easy to access snapshots of the industry, highlighting the important trends.
– talking to the teams around you is a fantastic way to learn and to find those interesting snippets of information to share.
What’s the latest word on the street from your sales team? What are the R&D team talking about as the next big thing?
Have you noticed a trend for certain products which you think offers an industry insight which could be interesting to the marketplace? This is the information which gives your blog legs and will keep you visible for the things people are searching for online.
For more information check out our free guide, Sales & marketing: Strategies for manufacturers by clicking here.
TIP – add this as an agenda item at the end of meetings you’re already attending with these teams so that you’re regularly talking about the information you need and encouraging conversation.
– Using a variety of resources to support your written content is a really important asset to any blog post. Find something eye catching that represents the overall feel or learning point of the article and mix up the content that you use.
Could that information be represented in an infographic? Is there a relevant video you could post within that topic area to showcase what you’re conveying? These are powerful tools and bring your blog to life and make your content shareable which will drive people back to your blog and ultimately your business.
TIP – Pull on resources far and wide- search out assets from within your industry which you can use, and if it doesn’t exist, be the one to create it and get others sharing your work.
Lastly, make sure your posts have a purpose. Give people somewhere else to go to find out more and engage with you in a different way.
These posts will be around and be seen for the long term, so don’t leave people stranded after enjoying your content. Direct them to more information, your website and downloads of supporting and helpful information from your business.
Photo Credit: Shaftesbury Partnership