The time has rolled around again and you’re staring at the blinking cursor, pondering what to right for the fortieth week running; when the company first decided on a corporate blog to push SEO, you were all for it – finally, the branding had begun and you would be the voice bellowing above the rest.
But then your throat dried up, subject matter became scratchy and hard to nail down; nobody was really commenting or throwing out conversational tid-bits, your shares were low and only a handful of your watchers gave you a Facebook thumbs up (mostly employees and friends), so where to from here?
Though spending money when you’re not hauling it in by the bucket load may not make a drip of sense on the surface, it could be an alternative worth considering; hiring a company like Search Factory to synthesise and strategize optimum blog content to reach your desired audience will alleviate the guesswork, reduce personal stress and improve exposure as your brand name climbs the rankings. Can’t afford it? While you’re swaying your boss to invest in a professional, try these four wells of inspiration to keep your fingers tapping in the meantime.
What Are Your Competitors NOT Doing?
Social Media stalking may sound like a decidedly Gen Y behaviour, but keeping an eye on the Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr channels of competitors may reveal an untapped goldmine of resources. There are questions businesses always avoid answering, for a variety of reasons; what you need to do is take the subject matter the blue corner won’t discuss and offer a transparency to your processes and their concerns that won’t be addressed anywhere else.
You effectively laughing at their hesitancy and identifying yourself as reliable, straight forward and above all, responsive! If you want to be really sneaky, set up a dummy email account and subscribe to every competitor newsletter, so you’re aware of any upcoming deals, sales or promotions before they spring. Forearmed is forewarned, and when you’re forewarned, you can maximise your blog to re-route the focus from their campaign to your counter campaign.
What Are They Saying in the Ranks?
Rank and file, frontline members are your ammunition against an unforgiving public most days; they man your phones, control email flows and respond to tricky enquiries you’re fortunate enough to duck if you so choose. Customer service is the bedrock of most client centric businesses, so who better to ask what’s on the minds of those questioners than those who serve and secure their consumer faith, day in/ day out?
You can soon engineer a series of blog topics on the most frequently asked questions, respond to common complaints and provide a repository of information to streamline the service role, freeing up time and increasing productivity.
What Are They Saying Out There?
Spend a few minutes on Facebook and Twitter; what is everybody talking about? What are the key trends and how does your industry relate to them? Is it possible to integrate an edge of corporate speak into a pop cultural comparison? Experiment with tone and appeal, as your target demographics will be interested in varying content – instead of tailoring a blog post to speak to everyone, decide on an age group per post and maximise your chances of response and sharing.
What about you, fair audience? Where do you get your ideas from? What has worked and what hasn’t? Let us know in the comments below.
About the Author
This article was written by Jessica Hannah, who is the Content Manager at Search Factory, a specialist SEO agency located in Brisbane, Australia.