4 Reasons Your Blog Content Isn't Performing
A business blog can be one of a company's most effective marketing tools - if you're doing it right. If you’re not happy with the way your blog posts are performing, do a self-audit. It’s likely that your content is falling victim to one of these four problems.
You know that business blogs are important because you’ve heard it a thousand times. “Having a blog is crucial for establishing yourself as an industry leader!” “Usually, your blog is the first impression a potential customer has of you.” But what happens when you’re churning out posts, promoting your blog on social channels, and still seeing no tangible results? You had dreams of your blog content driving up your SEO, generating scores of inbound links, and getting reshared by industry leaders with thousands of social followers - but in reality, it’s just falling flat.
If you’re not happy with the way your blog posts are performing, do a self-audit. It’s likely that your content is falling victim to one of these four problems:
Your writing is too high-level.
Pat yourself on the back for this one: you’re too smart. The English language is your oyster; you’ve mastered grammatical structures and can swap out any common 5-cent word for a flashy synonym. But when you’re creating content to reach a broad audience, none of that is helpful. If you’re an expert in your subject, it probably seems natural to pepper your content with industry jargon you find exciting and educational. But not all your target audience members will be able to digest that high level information. If you want to reach the widest audience possible with your blog content, it’s best to keep your content simple; your writing shouldn’t exceed an 8th grade reading level. I understand your pain, logophiles. Pour one out for Merriam-Webster.
Your audience doesn’t care about your subject matter.
Okay, that might be a little harsh. In most cases, the reality is your audience simply already knows what you’re trying to tell them. Don’t repeat the same overused adages you and other industry leaders have been preaching for years. Use your blog to share dynamic new insights that can help your readers improve their business strategies. Put a fresh, creative spin on industry best practices or publish your predictions about the future of popular trends in your field. Listen to the questions your target audience members are asking and then produce content that caters to their interests. By setting your blog apart from the crowd with new, inventive ideas, you build your reputation as an industry authority.
Your content is too short.
This seems counterintuitive in a fast-paced age when people are getting their daily news from a publication entitled TheSkimm. But actually, it’s true: longform blog posts consistently show higher engagement numbers than brief, quick articles do. The logic behind it is simple: it’s hard to maintain high quality in your writing when you’re churning out a 300-word blog post every day. As an authority in your subject, you get more credibility for a well-researched, longform piece with interesting insights your audience can utilize in their day-to-day routines. Yes, this means you’re better off writing a one lengthy, thought-provoking piece per week than you are brief, daily posts with no meaningful takeaways. Commit your time to thoroughly researching out-of-the-box topics and curating your blog posts around them.
You’re only delivering in words.
It's 2017, people. The time for text-dominated content has passed. Evaluate what kind of industry you’re serving and decide what medium is best for the content topics you wish to publish. If you’re writing about statistics and numbers, consider creating an engaging infographic to express your thoughts. For a more complex how-to article, convert your blog post into a brief video your audience can follow audibly and visually. Some businesses with a customer service focus may benefit from a Facebook live Q&A session, allowing audience members to tune in, ask questions, and learn from a process in real-time. Using every medium available to communicate your expertise will help maximize the number of audience members your content reaches.
Refresh your business blog with a creative, new approach to content creation. Your engagement numbers will thank you.