Today we set up a new blog for Family Dog Central. Looks good, fits their brand image and other marketing materials including their website (as it should!). You can check it out here. Here are 10 tips for using your blog as a tool for marketing yourself as an expert in your field and for marketing your business in the world of social media and buzz marketing:
- Start with a unique domain name like www.blog.com or www.website.com/blog. Why? Using your site or places your blog posts into the page as fresh, relevant copy which the search engines love.
- Design your blog to resemble/coordinate with your current brand identity. Use your logo, colors, fonts and style. Be consistent!
- Write often, but be sure to keep your content current, relevant, fresh and original to your business or industry. Be a value to the reader!
- Use links to resources, supportive materials, other blogs, and your own previous posts.
- Always be on the lookout for things to blog about - events, news, industry info, new products, experiences, travels - anything goes, as long as it's fresh and original!
- Optimize your blog for the search engines by adding keywords, title tags, description and if you can, a sitemap. Don't forget to use your keywords in your content and your category names, and your post titles.
- Submit your RSS feed and URL to popular directories and the top search engines.
- Build links to your site (on-way and reciprocal). Including links from your current website!!
- Write a press release to announce your new blog.
- Include your blog (just like you do for your website URL) on business cards, advertising, and all your marketing material.