What will you serve up on your blog?
Business goals and marketing strategy come first.
Whether you are starting a blog for your firm or are in charge of your firm’s blog, bring a strategic approach to your blog content. Before picking topics, review your leadership team’s business goals. How can your company’s blog support your marketing strategy to achieve those goals? A blog is a tactic, not a marketing strategy within itself.
The blog can be a valuable communication tool if you have a content strategy to support your efforts. Spend some time evaluating the purpose of your blog. Do you use it to show your target clients that you have superior expertise, an uncanny pulse on current trends, or brilliant time-saving solutions? Aligning your blog posts to your content strategy will help you choose the best topics.
No need to panic over choosing content for your blog.
Try these quick tips for developing well-matched content for your audience.
1-Scan industry conference topics.
Conference organizers often research what industry topics are most interesting to potential attendees. Use their research to your advantage and write posts covering similar topics. After conferences are over, ask organizers what sessions were the most popular as another filter to choose topics.
2-Listen in on discussion forums and social media.
Seek out online industry forums and social media that your target clients participate in. Reading what your target clients are asking peers may give you insight on what is top of mind for them.
3-See what searches are trending.
Use Google Trends to see how many people are searching for a particular topic. You can set time ranges, locations, and search terms. Google Trends gives you the ability to compare multiple search terms results as well.
4-Ask your employees and clients.
What are your employees reading and learning about in the A/E/C industry? Ask them what topics interest them. Maybe you can get them to help out with your blog by contributing a post in their area of expertise and interest. This is the approach HGC Construction takes with their SiteWise blog. Find out from frontline staff what questions clients are asking about industry trends, new products, and challenges they face.
These are only a few examples of how to develop a list of topics that will resonate with your clients and help you achieve your business goals. Stretch beyond posting only your latest finished project, new employees, or awards. Keep a pulse on what your clients are interested in to strengthen your blog content.
