I’ve never been a fan of writing. Writing papers in school was like pulling teeth! So when I started with SocialNicole, I was dreading the thought of putting out new content for clients daily, weekly or monthly. Yet I was in for a huge surprise when I really got started in the blogging game. Who would of thought I would actually, dare I say it, come to LOVE blogging?! Over the time I’ve worked for SocialNicole, I’ve discovered that blogging isn’t at all what I thought it would be. It’s not necessarily intended to be extremely formal or boring, but rather it’s having a conversation. Blogging is giving advice and tips, discussing topics, asking for opinions and suggestions, sharing milestones and most importantly building relationships. It’s crazy to me to think of how many communities I’ve seen grow through the power of blogging. A tool that I would have never given a second thought to a year ago is now a powerful medium that I use daily. There have been failures and triumphs in my blogging journey, but I thought I’d share what I’ve learned along the way with you.
Here are 5 important things I’ve learned about Blogging:
- Find the voice: At SocialNicole, we have a variety of clients. I can honestly say that no two are alike. With the vast array comes a different target market for each one. From serious to playful, we cover them all. When I first started, finding the voice, even for our SocialNicole blog, was something I seriously struggled with. I think Nicole can safely say that my first few blogs were nothing great. With guidance from the SocialNicole team, though, I’ve learned to find the clients voice and write in a way that appeals to them.
- If it’s too long, make a series: It’s as simple as that. People want short, concise pieces of information that they can take in and digest. That being said, I doubt that this post will follow that rule but for the most part, keep it snappy! When I was looking to write a post on Pinterest we ended up spacing it out over four posts! Not only did it maintain readers interest, but it kept them coming back week after week.
- Content calendars rock: As our post from Kay, Creating a Content Calendar for Your Blog, shows, content calendars make life easier. At first, I wasn’t so keen on the upkeep of a content calendar but all I did was make things difficult for myself. After getting the hang of it, it’s now a breeze (most of the time) to manage the content on all of our blogs! If you have a ton of guest bloggers, like we do on our sister site, NPtalk, it also helps you keep track of deadlines which is essential.
- Grow with Guest Bloggers: guest bloggers are another great tool that I’ve found in the blogging world. Not only can they bring expertise in a topic and fresh content, they also bring their own set of followers with them! Be it their coworkers or people from their industry looking for resources, a guest blog can open up a whole new world of people to your organization. Also, what’s better than creating new connections and networking opportunities?
- Connect with clients: Not only is a blog going to bring people to your website, but it’s going to connect you to them. A blog humanizes an organization and encourages customers to interact. When they have comments, respond thoughtfully and throughly. Furthermore take the time to listen to what they’re looking for! If you’re Twitter timeline is constantly discussing a trend or topic in your industry, take it upon yourself to tap into that. Be the first in your field to have the answers or start the discussion.
For me, something clicked with blogging. It wasn’t so formal, it was personal and I can relate to that. I hope that if you chose to take on blogging, either personally or professionally, you see the same benefits and rewards that I have. Do you have a personal experience with blogging? Share below! Photo Credit
