We’ve been busy over here at Ecreative working to update our own blog. And while the fruits of that labor aren’t visible (yet!) we did come across some best practices in our research that are helpful to companies looking to kick their blogging up a notch. 

Functionality – Does it do the (right) things?

The most significant improvements you can make to your blog are also the most basic. Obviously, your site needs to be technically capable of performing, but beyond the basics, what little functionality features are going to take it to the next level and help you reach your goals?

The answer to that question depends on your specific goals (hint: they should be SMART goals), but here are some ideas to consider.

Social Interactivity

Social media and blogging go together like two peas in a pod, so you’ll want to make sure your blog is capable of capitalizing on the relationship between the two.

Consider:

• Can your readers share individual articles through social media and email with the click of a button?
• Do you ask readers to follow you on your social channels so they’ll never miss an article?
• Does your blog automatically share new articles to your social accounts?

Goal Conversions

Whatever calls to action you’re trying to get your readers to take, include a path to conversion on your blog.

• Does your blog include a way for readers to sign up for additional contact points? Think newsletter sign up forms or email promotion lists.
• Do you have a system in place to track the performance of your blog goals through Google Analytics?

Tagging

We highly recommend getting your tagging situation under control. Obviously, every good blog uses tags, but it needs to be effortless for your readers to navigate to new articles through the feature.

Consider:

• How many standardized tags does your blog use? If you use too many, readers can’t find relevant articles by simply searching the tag. Keep a concise list that universally applies to all your blog posts.
• Make your tags broad enough to encompass multiple areas of a topic, but specific enough to be descriptive and helpful to a user. This will help cut down the total number of standardized tags you need.

Layout – Make it Pretty

Whatever user base you’re targeting, you can guarantee they have little patience for ugly and confusing blog layouts. Blogging is a very competitive space, no matter how niche your audience. Make sure you aren’t driving people away with layouts that are confusing, busy, or just not nice to look at.

Considerations:

• Is the layout clean and easy to read?
• Can you easily tell what tags apply to an individual article?
• Do your images draw in the reader’s attention, or are they just there to fill space?

Content Strategy – It’s Always King

Whatever your industry, there are a million topics you could cover in a blog post. As you plan out what you want to talk about in the coming months, consider your business goals and what kind of content could help promote them.

• Is there a particular area you’re trying to demonstrate your company’s expertise in? Then devout a significant percentage of your scheduled posts to that topic.
• Are there questions you could answer for your customers around items or services you provide? Write them up and link back to those relevant pages.

Need help coming up with blog content or strategy?

Ecreative can help! Contact us today to take your B2B blogging to the next level.