In a relatively short time, blogs have come a long way. When they first started to proliferate in the early 2000s, PR and marketing pros tended to dismiss them as not having much value.
But in the subsequent years, as newsrooms shrank and communicators expanded their aperture, blogs increased their clout as a communications channel.
These days there are few PR and marketing campaigns that don’t include blogs one way or another, whether it’s pitching influential bloggers who cover your market, producing blogs in-house to get the message out, or both.
With that in mind, here are a few tips on how to develop a blog—with an eye on your social platforms—compliments of Diana Altobelli, search marketing coordinator at Annodyne.
> Time to prep. Determine why you are creating your blog. Once you create a purpose for blogging and posting on social media, you will find it much easier to provide answers and create a following.
> Content marketing strategy. How many times can you hear someone say, “create unique content?” You probably hear it enough to make you really sit down and think before you write.
a. Be unique. Try writing your posts as if you were talking to a friend, in layman’s terms, so to speak. This makes you approachable and relatable. Don’t try to be an industry rock star, at least not right away.
b. Write catchy headlines. Titles are everything, especially when it comes to Twitter. This is the reason a reader will keep reading (or not).
c. Provide a solution. Give your readers something useful. This can be a new strategy, tactic or a how-to tutorial.
> Promotional tactics. Keep it simple. There is enough noise on the Internet. All you need is a teaser to entice the reader to click through with a short status update. Post this to numerous outlets to get the word out.
> Let’s connect. It’s time to break out of your shell and get social (online and offline). The only way to make any real connections is to form relationships. Get to know your fellow industry members and their connections. Help others before asking for help. Offer to write a guest post, interview a thought leader or find users looking for answers.
To learn more about effective PR writing, attend PR News’ Writing Boot Camp, which takes place April 21 at the National Press Club, in Washington, D.C.
Follow Matthew Schwartz on Twitter: @mpsjourno1