Some of you have recently asked “What should I blog about in blog posts?” Here are some blogging topics you might consider as you look to write engaging, interesting content that is reader-focused.

Fifteen Types Of Blogs Your Customers Will Want To Read

•    Pose a question a customer has recently asked and answer it. If you do not have “real” questions, visit forums, LinkedIn questions, Merchant Circle questions or questions posed on other blogs/blog comments.  Whatever the source, start with real issues that are current.

•    Instruct your visitors how to do something. For example, this blog is instructing you on some basic topics you can blog about in an effort to help you write your own blog.

•    Write about what not to do. Although this sounds counterintuitive, there is a lot of misinformation out there. It can be helpful to debunk myths and warn your audience against taking actions that could harm them. One of our clients, a Long Island law firm, does this through blogging about common mistakes and misconceptions related to various estate planning subjects.  The blog entries are short bursts of “truths”that are extremely valuable to readers.

•    Review something. Review a company, a product, a service etc. that is relevant to your industry or closely tied to your customer base’s lives. Offer a unique perspective that is not found elsewhere online, or review features and benefits others have overlooked.

•    Compare and contrast. Compare several products or services in a way that others have not done so before. For example, a marketing agency might compare several email service providers to help their readers understand why they work with company X. The entry helps build confidence in the agency while educating customers.

•    Do a case study on a local company or organization with a topic that relates to your target audience. For example, we recently did a case study of a Whole Foods on Long Island in which we discussed some of the local marketing strategies they used to integrate into the Long Island community seamlessly. The article is geared towards small local businesses. People can often relate to local places, brands and those that they interact with (i.e. the characters in their daily ‘story’) in their daily lives better than they can with theoretical cases.

• Offer a controversial viewpoint to a “hot” new topic. While this is not for everyone, to get attention some people choose to take a current story and debate it or offer a contradictory view. Our view is that as long as you are presenting an authentic viewpoint with a rationale rather than writing something simply to provoke visitors and drive traffic, you will be in a better position when people start commenting on your blog and expecting well thought out responses!

•    Share News and recently published information in your industry with your customers / clients. For example, a law firm or CPA firm might explain how a new estate planning or tax law in New York can save families $10,000 or more if they make X, Y and Z adjustments to their estate plans.

•    Simplify something technical and make it accessible. Take a technical subject and break it down into relevant bite-sized pieces for your audience. If it helps better communicate what your company does and the value it creates for customers, that is an added benefit! For example, while some clients are savvy in Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, others have never heard of it before. It can be very helpful to write posts that help prospects overcome obstacles and customers understand at a deeper level what you are doing for their business. This gets back to the importance of writing for your audience, not for your peers.

•    Perform and share research. Perform research on a topic and present it to your readers on your blog.  Demonstrate how your study proves your hypothesis (or “rejects the null” – that’s for the statistics gurus).  Data is your friend here. Make sure it is significant and substantiated.  Show sources.

•    Discuss a trend or forecast a trend. If there is a trend to discuss, present or debate, a blog can be a great place to start the conversation and see what is on other people’s minds about the same subject.

•   Spotlight a business or a customer that did something remarkable. We’re all looking for inspiration and like to hear about remarkable events and people.  Truly remarkable events don’t happen every day, so if you have a story to tell, it can make for a great blog entry.

•    Provide Subject Matter Expertise (SME) on a specific subject.  For example, one of our clients writes articles on parenting strategies related to managing ADHD children. Each article written substantiates the writer’s expertise and authority in her niche while giving her clients a complimentary  resource.

•   Summarize another blog or article you have read. Not the most creative approach, however if you take a long or complex article, or something not previously publicly available, you can add value to your audience by packaging the essence of the article and summarizing key points in a new blog entry. It is important to openly give credit to and link to the original source.

•    Relate a personal event to a business learning. Share a story that your readers can identify with —  a story that simultaneously adds personality and offers a more personal insight into who your company “is” at heart. Personalization can help earn trust and show a more ‘human’ side to your blog.

Take Away

The common thread to all of these blog ideas is to think about your audience first and blog about something you believe is important to them in an authentic way. Blogs are a social media meant to spur interaction and engagement. When you put the reader first and your aim is to inspire, educate, motivate and help your readers, you will find the process and the results more rewarding.

We will provide more tips on blogging best practices, blog optimization and how to take your blog and market it using online marketing tools in the upcoming weeks. Stay tuned! If you have any questions, please contact our Long Island marketing consultants or reply here. Thanks!

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