Increase Brand Awareness by Feeding Your Blog a Well-Rounded Diet

In the filthy, weedy backyard that is the internet, growing a beautiful blog is key in your company’s quest to increase brand awareness.

If you’re still thinking, “Do I really need to start a blog?” then please return to step 1, which is:

START.

A.

BLOG.

To those suffering from an invisible brand, blogging might seem like a passive course of action. Be patient. Blogging is one of the most effective ways to improve your long-term visibility.

So feed it. Pet it. Give it a name. And prepare for the long journey ahead, because you must weather the drought before you can grow a beautiful blog.

Feed Your Blog Regularly, Increase Brand Awareness

The most important way that blogs increase brand awareness is by driving traffic to your site. This is doubly important if your website is new.

Sharing crisp, helpful content on a regular basis will encourage potential customers to actually spend time on your website early in the buyer’s journey -- otherwise, what reason is there for anyone to come back before they’re ready to buy? Certainly not to look over a lame brochureware page. A study by Marketbridge once showed that 95% of buyers prefer brands that provide content throughout the purchasing process.

(p80 tip: Make a blog topic calendar ahead of time. It’ll keep your thoughts organized and make consistent posting less daunting.)

(Photo courtesy HubSpot)

Reap Your Benefits

As the posts begin to pile up, you’ll have your brand out there more and more. Search engine results improvement will follow. Viewers posting comments on your blog will add another layer of discussion -- with your brand right in the middle.

The brand growth will become exponential because in addition to your company popping up in search results, you’ll have social media posts on multiple channels blasting your name over the digital airwaves.

And if your blog is able to answers visitors’ questions, they’ll think things like, “Golly! These guys sure know what they’re talking about!” Once that happens, your brand has become a thought leader in your industry. When consumers understand the value of your company’s brand, your leads will end in a better conversion rate.

Consistent blogging for an industry where there’s plenty of open real estate (manufacturing is one) can especially stock the fridge with your product. When a potential buyer gets hungry and opens that fridge, you’ll be on every shelf.

Mix It Up

Variety is the spice of life. Technically you could survive on eating the same thing every day, but it would be a miserable existence.

There are so many ways to frame a blog post and keep things fresh. Some common angles include:

• How-tos (ex: How to Snag a Sweet Deal on Lawn Gnomes)
• Lists (ex: 5 Cheap Made-in-the-USA Lawn Gnome Vendors)
• Interesting facts (ex: Hidden Health Benefits of Lawn Gnomes That’ll Save You Cash)
• Negativity (ex: Stop Wasting Money on Crappy Lawn Art)
• What/why (ex: Why Can’t I Afford Both Lawn Gnomes and Flamingos?)

If you’re really starving for inspiration, try HubSpot’s blog topic generator. And our awesome blog post.

If you’re stuck in a rut, you can also try guest blogging. Bringing in a new voice -- and you reciprocating the favor, too -- is a great way to get your brand in front of a new audience. Your guest’s followers will see your brand on his blog, and vice versa. If those followers post on social media, your brand will reach their entire base.

Growing Takes Time

Once again: Do not fly the coop after a month just because your brand reach didn’t immediately increase by 300%. Make your company blog a priority -- consistent TLC will increase brand awareness month by month, year by year. Feed your target audience what they need, and they’ll hang around like stray cats waiting for scraps.