By now, you already know you should be writing a regular blog for your business. Chances are this has been drilled into you; if not by me, then by a million other content marketing enterprises over the past few years. ‘We get it!’, we hear you cry, ‘we shall blog!’.
But making time to blog is just hurdle number one of the lengthy obstacle race you’re going to need to run in order to make your B2B blog the best in the business. A great blog post needs more than just great words; in fact, there are numerous key ingredients to incorporate if you’re serious about creating a successful B2B blog.
What makes a great B2B blog post?
To help you out, we’ve created a ‘blueprint’ of a successful B2B blog, which should help you uncover the essential elements that all great blogs include. Here’s what you need to know:
- A meticulously crafted headline
A cracking headline is worth so much to so many, but is so often overlooked by bloggers. Ideally your headline should be written last, once you’ve had a chance to really get your teeth into your subject matter, but it’s the thing your readers will read first, and will determine whether it’s a click through or a scroll past response.
- A clear point and purpose
You’re going to have to make a pretty compelling case for your reader to take time out of their busy day to read your blog post. Before you even start writing, you should have a point in your head that you want to make, and should keep this in mind throughout the piece. Do not be tempted to stray into waffle land, or to travel too far off-piste with your content. Stick to the point, make it well and make it a good one from the start.
- A defined audience
So, you’re a B2B company, but who is this blog post really speaking to? Are you hoping to reach decision makers with this information? Or is it more targeted at the people who end up using your product or service? Define your audience from the outset and keep them in mind throughout the post to really reach out in a meaningful way.
- Media
Great blog posts make use of all sorts of media to make the post more engaging and eye-catching. From a simple stock image to an awesome infographic, you should incorporate some visual stimuli to break up the monotony of words.
- Headings, lists, bullet points
Your B2B customers are busy, busy people, and will come to your blog with very little in terms of time and attention span to devote to it. Break your message down with sub headings, bullet points and / or lists to make it easier to scan the article for information. If it’s relevant and interesting as they scan for the headline facts, they’ll either spend a little more time reading the detail or will bookmark it for later.
- SEO
No web based content should exist without at least a nod towards SEO. A B2B blog can do wonders for your pagerank and traffic, but it’s not going to achieve this by itself. Some simple keyword targeting, a little time spent on meta description writing and the right ingredients for proper indexing will make every blog you publish more powerful and valuable.
- Jargon free writing
Prospects and existing customer may be interested in what you’ve got to say and want to learn more about your subject matter, but they don’t want to feel stupid. For this reason, minimise your use of complex terminology, jargon or acronyms, unless you’re prepared to explain them along the way. Keep it simple.
- A call to action
Why are you writing this blog again? That’s right, you should have had a purpose to this post before you even started, whether that was selling your products, getting more subscribers or creating a social buzz. Don’t be afraid to ask your reader to complete this action when they’ve finished the article, because they’re not going to know what you want unless you spell it out!
If your blog posts have ticked all the boxes on this list, congratulations, you’re running an outstanding B2B blog! If, however, this is all sounding somewhat complicated, why not talk to us about outsourcing your blog, and enjoy all the successes of great B2B blog with none of the stress or effort.
