I think by now most businesses are aware of the shift that has happened between the first iteration of the web and the current state of play, coined web 2.0. In the wide ranging social media scope, blogging has become big business, and one of the most popular and effective ways of talking to customers.

Something that I hear a lot of however, are many businesses not taking advantage of this powerful platform because of their concern over relevance. I suppose it’s a natural assumption for some businesses, particularly in the B2B market, where there is merely the supply of a small part of the end product.

The truth is, every business should be blogging. Regardless of how appealing or unappealing you think what you have to say might be, your business has customers. These are the people who will find your content interesting. Think about it—they have chosen to buy from you. If you can become a source of further information and authority on the product they are buying, do you think they’ll come back to buy again? Absolutely.

So how do you make a blog relevant and interesting? What do you say?

For a start, realise that your blog is not just an opportunity to talk about your product. You must use the tool to deliver opinion, advice and thought leadership. You want to become a trusted adviser on whatever your field of expertise is. You want them to be able to ask questions, and you want to be able to thoughtfully answer them, both possible through the blog.

Before you start writing, identify who you’re writing for. Are you going to talk to business customers, those who you supply for them to produce an end product? Talk about where the industry is going, latest developments, things that others are doing that you think are great, and what your business is doing to lead the field. Similarly, if you are in a B2C business, do all of the above, as well as showing your customers how to use your product.

Don’t forget, this is your platform, and the delivery of the content should reflect your personality. The beauty of blogging is that it can take many forms. At its most basic you can just type, similar to what you’re reading here.  If you want, do it by video. Gary Vaynerchuck has demonstrated the power of video as a business building tool through his www.winelibrary.tv site. There are no rules to how you do it, but you must do it. We now live in a business world where two-way communication rules.

Make sure you write often. Not only will frequent fresh content help your discoverability with search engines, it gives your customers a reason to keep coming back. Always be on the lookout for what you think will make interesting reading to your customers and keep a list of topics and notes that you can write about when you make the time.

Above all, never think that your opinion on your products or industry will not be relevant, but understand that it may not be relevant to the world. It will make sense and be of interest to the people who matter the most – your customers.

PHOTO CREDIT – Kristina B