Written by Katie Taylor
Crap. You’ve been asked to write a blog post about your company. You think, okay – that won’t be too difficult, 400-500 words about the sector you work in every day. That should only take 30 minutes to pull something together. So you decide to write a few hundred words on your latest project – bish, bash, bosh, done. Stop.
If you’re asked to write a blog post at work, the aim will often be to enhance the company profile, or attract new business. With such an important result hanging on just a few paragraphs, the content and structure deserves careful thought.
So how should it be done? These are five steps we take at Aspectus:
1. Purpose
What is the purpose of the blog post? Don’t write for the sake of it. It needs to form part of a well thought out communications strategy and fit with your company profile. Before you start thinking about writing, you need to make sure you have your branding and messaging on point, and channel this through your writing. Although short, a blog is a vital tool and needs to be aligned with the rest of the communications strategy to convey the right message to your audience.
2. The litmus test
Does the topic interest you? If you are captivated, it’s more likely to captivate others. Don’t make it boring. There doesn’t need to be a difference between a ‘corporate’ way of writing and a ‘personal’ way. Think about it – you probably share interesting content with your friends and family on Facebook all the time. Why not translate this to a business setting? Your writing is allowed to be chatty, even cheeky, as long as it shows enthusiasm and conviction. By connecting your blog post with newsworthy and timely events, it will elevate your thinking and engage your readers. Weave your own views in and fascinate them, but don’t go off-piste.
3. Multimedia
Images and videos can help to capture the attention of your audience. An interesting fact – the brain processes visuals 60,000 times faster than text, so be sure to add rich media to your blog posts to get your content noticed.
4. Be a slave to the rhythm
Think of your blog as that hula hoop around Grace Jones’ waist at the Queen’s Jubilee. Your writing needs to be effortless. Take the reader on a journey, driven by a mixture of short and long sentences, and some well-placed adjectives. The goal here is to get as many people reading and sharing your content as possible.
5. Optimisation
You have followed the above steps and have written a blog post that is captivating and deserves to be shared. Now it needs to work for you. It is all very well sharing your content on LinkedIn but it is important that this is then replicated on all social media channels to encourage prospects back to your website. Use hyperlinks, but be subtle about where you place them in your writing, and ensure they are relevant.
Most people think they are expert blog writers, but it is vital to look at what is under the hood – and convey the message in just a few simple and concise paragraphs. Keep on point, keep it interesting and keep it working for you. Blog writing is an art, and like most art forms, it needs to be perfected.
