What It Is
Blogs are short, written articles typically found on company or news websites. The best provide information that is relevant, insightful and actionable in 400-800 words.
Why We Do It
At the highest level, our clients have ideas and insights we want to share and think could be useful to others. The best blogs will give people a reason to come to a website, either through search or through social media. They will also form the basis for thought leadership media pitches.
How We Do It
A blog should always start with the audience – who are the readers? – and an action – what do we want them to do? From there, we frame the idea in a way that addresses our guideposts for good blogs:
- Relevant – will it matter to readers and does it address a current concern or issue?
- Insightful – does it provide a new perspective, a different point-of-view, or compelling information?
- Actionable – is it something that readers can use in their work or their lives? Or is it something that provides other value?
Once those considerations have been addressed, we then listen to our clients before taking part in the writing process. First, go to Trends.Google.com to see what keywords and phrases people are searching for in Google. At the top is a search bar that will accept any word or term. Then, we dive deeper and segment trends by geography, time, and related searches.
Next, we do a Google News search to see if there are other people writing about this topic that you can mention, link to, dispute, or debate. Incorporating the thoughts and opinions of others will help increase relevance and possibly promotion, when the time comes.
Finally, we work with our clients to figure out what visuals can be incorporated into the post, as most readers prefer not to stare at a block of text. Images have been proven to be effective in promoting content as well.
Bottom Line
Blog should be short, easy, and optimized for readers to find, consume, and share.
