6 Steps to Building your Brand and Business with B2B Bloggingby Lorél Marketing Group

• “Marketers perceive blogs to have the highest value of

any social media in driving traffic, brand awareness, lead

generation and sales – as well as improving customer

service.” -Senior Analyst, eMarketer

• 43% of US companies will

• be blogging by 2012.

Source: eMarketer.com

• Today, with the increasing popularity and unique benefits of social

networking, more and more B2B companies are deciding to get in on the

action – in particularly with blogging.

• Bloggers are no longer limited to posting personal journal entries in efforts

to connect and socialize with friends and family.

• With it’s online exposure, branding potential, and relationship establishment

and retention abilities, blogging is becoming a wide-open opportunity for

businesses to submerge their brand into a populated pool of current and

potential consumers.

• B2B companies are budgeting more money for blogs than other marketing services

• direct mail

• Tradeshows

• Sponsorships

• print advertising

• Many companies fail to understand the

crucial aspects of building an effective

blog.

• So whether your just starting, or already

• have one, here the 6 steps in developing

• and maintaining a successful blog.

Image: eMarketer.com

1. Develop the Strategy• Just like any other social media initiative, it is imperative to first build a strategy.

• The strategy should outline the “why” and the “how”

you plan to leverage the social media platforms

to reach your marketing.

• Why do you want to start a B2B blog?

• What will be its purpose?

• What fundamental contributions will

your blog offer your company, and

more importantly, its readers?

• Answering these questions efficiently will assist you

in developing a more refined plan of action.

Image: information-management.com

2. Understand the Important Features within a Blog

Business Benefits of Blogs:Business Benefits of Blogs:• Increases SEO Value• Increase traffic• Gain a following• Build Credibility

Effective Blogs:Effective Blogs:• Reflect soul• Connect with the audience• Reflect who you are (as a

person and a business)• Are informative• Will position you as the ‘Go

To’ person within your industry• Are active blogs (posts made

consistently - once or twice a week)

Image: blog.silex.co.in

Always maintain a connection between your post topics and the

products/services you company offers, but Do Not continuously

promote your company directly within your blog.

• Who do you want reading your blog? How wide is your target audience? What type of

people/businesses would be interested in your product or service?

• Initiate audience categorization…

• to assist in determining topics

for discussion

• to engage your listeners

• to reach different audience types

• to retain relevance to your varied

targets

3. Find your target audience

Image: thelostjacket.com

4. Listen and Engage

Leverage the marketing tools you may already be using – email, direct mail, whitepapers, etc.

- What is your audience interested in? What topics are they responding to the most?

Use your blog to expand upon the topics that are already getting your audience’s attention.

• Listen to what’s being said about your company• Observe current discussions relative to your industry• Monitor the topics being discussed within your target industries• Allow an open section for comments to be made under each post• Leave one or two open-ended questions in each post

If your audience comments on your blog, return the favor by personally responding to each comment made.

Continuous engagement is key, even after your blog is written and posted.

• Unlike whitepapers and articles, blogs create the opportunity to give a human feel to your company

• Establish a unique, engaging voice to your posts

• Avoid technical & business language

• Humanize your posts

• Give a face to your blog - provide a photo and short bio about the writer(s)

5. Give your Blog Personality

You need to come across as a human being who is knowledgeable, can relate to and approachable - take advantage of the opportunity for continuous discussion.

This creates loyalty and drives the size of your blog followers.

Image: http://blogs.forrester.com/augie_ray

Image: eMarketer.com

6. Understand & Strategize your Business’s Blogging Benefits

Blogging is a great resource to implement to improve search results and drive traffic to your company website, and should be promoted similarly to your company website:

• Utilize Google AdWords: research & implement keywords your target audience is searching for on similar topics to your posts

• Promote your company's link in your blog profile• Reference other blogs for credibility, cross-linking and further promotion• Provide your company’s link within your blog, and

your blog’s link somewhere accessible within your company website.

• Include social media sharing functionality for

blog homepage and each post• Include links to your specific company pages

only when appropriate to the content• Promote your blog link across your other

marketing platforms

A Closing Remark:

If your information is helpful and worthwhile to reader, your company’s internal goal will evolve naturally over time – whether it’s visits to your blog site, visits to your company site, conversion, etc.

Thank You

Want to jump start your marketing strategy and programs?Lorél Marketing Group can help you get started with a no-costdiscovery meeting that can align your goals with a vision for yoursuccess. Care to learn more? Contact us today.

Lorél Marketing GroupEmail: info@lorel.comTelephone: 610-337-2343 Website: www.lorel.com