The professional blog has become a widely used communication tool in recent years. The uses of professional blogs are manifold.
Attracting New, Targeted, and Qualified Clients
Blogs have the advantage of being properly indexed by search engines. Their attractiveness depends almost exclusively on the editorial line. The more specific the topic addressed, the more likely search engines are to feature it.
Communicating with Clients
Blogs have allowed readers to become active by leaving comments. It is essential to engage them, even if not everything they say is necessarily amusing or pleasant. The relationship only exists when comments are open, not heavily moderated, and when you respond to them (also using comments). This connection can also be established through articles by conducting surveys to determine expectations, involving internet users in a process, or dedicating a platform to informed readers.
Involving your clients in your thought process reinforces their opinion of you. You also gain valuable user feedback at a low cost. Why not develop your next campaign with your readers through a contest or other engaging activity?
Talking about your clients is a good strategy for attracting new ones. This will strengthen your image with existing clients. You can also showcase how you have managed to satisfy them.
Communicating about Your Profession and Products
The way you work or anecdotes about your products are elements that humanize your relationship and communication style. Professional blogging primarily concerns “corporate” blogs or those gathering all the news about a brand’s or company’s products. It can be useful to communicate about elements such as sales figures, a new promotional campaign, appointments, unusual uses of products (e.g., Mentos + Diet Coke), manufacturing secrets (not too secret, though).
In a promotional campaign, do not hesitate to reproduce communication materials regardless of their nature. Users will be tempted to reuse your illustrations, comment on them (especially in videos), or even start blogging themselves.
You can improve your image by revealing your behind-the-scenes operations. You can invite people to visit your premises, create a thematic series of articles describing a process, explain company decisions (especially strategic ones), or describe an external event.
Affirming Your Expertise
Expert blogs position you as a leader. Expertise can take various forms (analysis, advice, experience sharing, interviews, dissemination of any deliverables). This will have a strong impact on your image, even though some still fear a leakage of their knowledge. Establishing your expertise allows you to showcase your knowledge and skills, demonstrate quality, differentiate yourself from the crowd, communicate your values, energize your activity, increase your consulting role, and focus attention. This will also enhance the CVs of your employees who participate.
Internal Use within the Company
Internal blogs are mainly intended for decentralized organizations to facilitate information flow. This applies mostly to companies with operations in multiple geographical locations or with more than forty employees.
The great strength of internal blogs lies in capturing employees’ opinions: encouragement, suggestions, and even fears. These blogs must answer a simple question: “What is happening in my company today?”
While internal communication has the advantage of detecting problems, it also requires an awareness of their existence and a certain responsiveness. Otherwise, employees/users/participants will show signs of boredom and demotivation.
Building a Community
Several possibilities are available to provide a framework for your community’s expression: blog platforms, forums, or a consultation space. Creating a blog platform or, failing that, a discussion space automatically generates content by your users, making your service more useful.
Real and potential readers are interested in what is happening near them. This concerns both news and events (outings, restaurants, concerts, etc.) or anecdotes (historical facts, daily life, etc.). The interest of this practice is to attract traffic to content that you might not have been able to write yourself.
Providing a platform, whether hosted by yourself or using a third-party service, is both a financial investment and a commitment to the community.
Our Editorial Tips
Provide readers with what they are looking for. Avoid commercial jargon and use words that attract your prospects. It’s not essential to claim you are the best; the prospect may not necessarily be looking for the best product but rather one that meets their expectations.
Communicate your values. This will improve your image. Talk about them whenever you get the chance and integrate them into your usual discourse. The result is a good deal of goodwill.
Communicate about your activities. The company’s activities and events can serve your image. Your clients and prospects become aware of your activities and are likely to appreciate them.
Offer reference content. A good attraction vector remains the publication of content that cannot be found elsewhere. It can take the form of presentations, articles, analyses, tools, or statistics, among others.
