There are many ways to keep a brand sparkling, to engage with customers and clients but one of the gentlest yet most effective of forms is the humble Blog.
Blogs when written with the cadence and tempo of a story enables businesses to share value and expertise to their audiences. Blogs can show current and potential customers who they are; what they do; why what they do is important and more importantly how they can bring value to their customer base. Blogs make a company appear more professional by showing leadership within an industry.
Build trust with the audience is the modus operandi of the Blog.
Blogs in their infancy are short reads, bite sized chunks of information that are easy to digest, bring a smile or thought or at times just a relaxing break from a busy day.
This is where the ‘story’ can be of general interest and guide the reader as did the yellow brick road, to Oz. A gentle amble encountering new and perhaps fascinating characters on route but not stepping in the waters that are marketing copy. These blogs are two to four minute reads, interesting, useful with no pressure nor demand on the sales engine living just beneath the surface.
Blogs often by their very nature evolve into articles, or better defined as the home of the wisdom keepers, insights, and points of view. It is here where the story becomes stronger, more robust and joins the ranks of the leaders not just the story tellers.
Longer reads upwards of five to seven minutes are filled with more facts, guidance, options, and values. It is here, through the written word, we see why a particular company, product or service could solve a problem or be a solution. It is only in their latter stages the humble Blog morphs into strength and becomes more serious. It is here that the intensity, complexity, and depth appear across the page. More focused and more akin to white papers in nature, they are the instruments that take a company into the industry leader category. It is here where the leader carries the vision; the wisdom has grown into presence and your name, your brand, and your product because synonymous with quality, professionalism, and value.
All three levels of Blogs are required as this is never a one and done. We are storytellers you and me. We love to tell and read them and while we are now adults, the little child inside each of us likes to hear the story ‘again’.
To understand the options, let’s look at some examples of the 5 of the most common types of blogs.
Personal: talk about the team; the talent; the company or individuals.
Personal Brand: a personal blog or voice of a CEO/Leader.
Business: the story of your brand, your company, your products, and services.
Affiliate: stories of your suppliers, raw materials, partners.
Niche: a specialty story about some rather ‘nerdy’ part of your product or service.
Each of these blog types of serves a purpose, fulfills a need to bring your brand to life. To have a reputation of a great storyteller means garnering more posts, re-posts, and shares. To be the one that people both enjoy and begin to look forward to sets the stage for awareness growing into presence and into dominant leadership status.
Flogging a product is not a method that works but blogging a product does.
There is a technique writing easily, lightly, informatively but without the weight of a sale, a promotion or a preacher’s verse. Blogs are the perfect sweet spot between marketing/sales copy and storytelling.
Let’s us tell YOUR story through the scenic and enjoyable path of the Blog!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: DINA O'REILLY
Dina is 4xi's growth lead, project management office and ghostwriter in residence all in one. To learn more about 4xi, you can contact Dina directly at dina@4xiconsulting.com or visit our website to learn more about who we are, what we do, and how we inspire a brighter future, together: www.4xiconsulting.com
4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is a team of talented leaders from both the client-side and service provider side, impacting the Human Experience (HX) for people at work, in education, rest, and at leisure.
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