Blogging essentials for financial services professionals

Getting a company’s blog up and running is an exciting challenge – it’s one of the greatest opportunities to engage with clients and prospects.

Here are 10 things to always keep in mind during the early days of your company’s blog.

Get the right writers on board

People with a lot of customer contact are great sources for helpful blog topics. Out of that group, find the strongest writer – that may not be who you expected – and let them solve problems with well-written posts. That said, the more writers you have writing, the more content you have being generated.

Customers come first, not your company

People may not be that interested in the day-to-day of your business. Ask yourself: What advice can we provide? How are people using our products? The best posts generally solve customer problems.

Don’t worry too much about SEO

As Google changes its algorithms to be more “social,” keywords are becoming less and less important than whether or not the content is being shared. Keep this in mind when creating your editorial calendar.

Market your blog

Businesses tend to shy away from promoting something that may not be perfect, especially if someone thinks it might hurt the business. That said, if you don’t promote your blog, no one will know about it and you’ll be wasting valuable resources. Avoid the soft-launch approach. Be proud of your blog!

Always include a call to action

Hopefully your company is blogging to increase business, not just to be trendy. With a call to action, you’re driving your readers to engage with your company. A call to action can be as simple as including a link to another page on your website or a request to contact you with any questions (via phone or email).

Expect weak results in the short term

Many famous bloggers have called blogging a marathon, not a sprint. So stay dedicated and positive when you’re starting out. As you build up content, you’ll see more success.

Consider a blogging consultant

Think about partnering with a corporate blogging consultant who understands the needs of your business, and who will help you build a blogging strategy around your resources, brand and long-term goals.

Post frequently

Every blog post is another opportunity to engage a client or prospect. If you post once a week, you’ll get about 50 opportunities to share your message. If you post every business day, you’re in the mid-200s. Your company’s sweet spot is likely somewhere in the middle.

Decide how much you want to know

Are you interested in the terms “page views,” “bounce rates” and “pages per visit?” Do “keywords,” “unique visitors” and “loyalty” sound like things you want to spend time thinking about? Be honest.

Stay positive

There’s no place for snarky remarks, attacks or cheap shots in business blogging. Online readers can cut and paste – or take screen shots – and post them to social networks.

It’s time to start blogging, so keep these 10 tips in mind and enjoy yourself!

Contact us today if you want help getting your company’s blog started or if you’re looking for content ideas. You can reach us at 416.925.1700 or info@ext-marketing.com.