By: ScottCox Friday June 15, 2018 comments Tags: blog, blog content, blog tips, blogging, content creation, content strategy, Lakeland, social media agency, social media calendar, social media management, social media marketing, social media marketing Lakeland

We recently shared a post about why blogs are important. But knowing they're important and running a successful blog are two different things. So how do you get the most out of blogging? Here are 5 tips for running a successful blog:

Use a content calendar.

We recommend you use a content for blogs just like we do for social media posts. It's really hard to come up with strategic topics on the fly. You may get some good content, but it'll be hard to create a cohesive blog that serves your overarching social media goals that way. Instead curate your topics and sources a month in advance. Here are some ways you can get ideas for content:

• Get content tips from social listening
• Cover the basics, like what, why, and how you do what you do.
• Content clusters - fleshing out one topic in several blog posts

Give value over volume.

We talked about the importance of bringing value to your customers through content in a recent blog post. But quality content that actually answers your customers' questions really is the most important thing in a blog. If you're not sharing something valuable, it doesn't matter how long or nice-sounding the post is. And as long as you're bringing something valuable, you shouldn't worry too much about using fancy words or padding the blog to make it a certain length. Your ideal customer will be interested in what you're saying if you're giving them something they need.

Use images throughout the blog's body.

Images are important to keep your readers visually engaged and to shorten paragraphs. Interspersing relevant images throughout the blog will help your readers understand the content better and change up the scenery for them. Even if you don't use an image in the body of the blog, you should ALWAYS use a feature image for the blog. That's what shows up in the preview when you share the link on social media.

Throw in some bucket brigades.

Bucket brigades are short sentences with a question mark at the end that are set off in their own paragraph. They are easy to see and hook the reader into the next thought. Some blog topics lend themselves to bucket brigades and some don't. But whenever you can attract the reader to start reading or keep reading, you should do it.

Don't forget SEO.

This is the part a lot of people focus on and get scared of. It is important, but it doesn't have to be scary. Here are some bullet points for SEO optimization:

• Use 7-15 relevant tags - phrases that people could use to find your blog in a search.
• Find a keyword or phrase that you use a lot in the blog post and put it in your title, slug, and keyword.
• Don't be afraid to use longtail keywords - longer phrases that narrow but target the searches where people can find you.
• There really is no magic word count for blogs. Just say what needs to be said, and leave it at that!
• Backlink to your own page and other high-ranking pages. It has to do with the algorithm. What else can we say?

Have these tips helped you? We hope so! As always, we want to hear from you for more blogging tips, social media advice, or a sales consultation.

Get in touch via email, Facebook Messenger, or our website. Or set up a meeting with us! Looking forward to hearing from you!