Last month, we discussed how to measure engagement on your company blog. Now, we'll talk about how to increase engagement. Take note of where you started, and implement the following strategies to get your content read by more people. Remember, though, more important than getting more shares/likes/retweets is your ability to attract and convert the right kind of people (your target personas). So take the following advice and increase the impact of your content!
How to Get More Shares/Likes/Retweets:
- Find the top 20 or so posts from the last year. Copy and paste the titles into a new document. What do they have in common? Are they around a similar theme? Do they answer a specific problem? Are they worded in a particular way? Use your observations to come up with 20 more titles. Link back to the originals (that’ll make your new post more search-engine friendly!).
- Share good content (and not just your own). Did you find an article that resonated with you? Share it with your network. Mention the author so they know you’re sharing. Make sure your social media strategy isn’t simply broadcasting your own blog posts. In other words, actually be social on social media!
- Make friends with your peers. You’re not blogging in a vacuum. There’s a whole world of people out there doing the same thing you’re doing. Network with them! Find out how you can help them, and see how they can help you. I’m always surprised to find out just how many people are out there blogging and have yet to reach out to a network. Start by sharing posts or striking up a conversation on Twitter. Who are your peers? Don’t think only of your competition, which may not work for this purpose; find people who serve the same target persona you serve, but in a different way. For example, if you’re a marketing firm in Detroit, you may not want to reach out to other marketing firms in Detroit, but you can reach out to other local businesses in Detroit (e.g., insurance providers or accountants who target the very same kinds of businesses that you target). Talk about the best local printer or web host. Get out there, and get friendly!
- Create more premium content. If your premium content is not being downloaded enough, maybe it’s time to offer something more, something new. Maybe your audience has already downloaded all your great premium content, and they want more. They might not be ready to schedule a phone call, but they want to see new thoughts, new ideas, new advice from you. Think of things you could repurpose as premium content. Did you deliver an amazing presentation? Rework the slides and turn them into a downloadable PDF.
- Keep writing great content. If you’re not seeing the engagement you want, you may need to write more interesting, relevant content for your audience. Write in a way that connects your target persona to you as a person. You might write about how you started the company. Or about your big roadblocks in the past and how you got through them. Or about a frustration you have in your daily life. Write so people know who you are. Find your voice. Connect readers to your story.
If you’d like to build your knowledge of inbound marketing, sign up for our Inbounders Weekly newsletter: 52 weeks of inbound marketing lessons, delivered via email, in easy-to digest pieces. No charge, of course!
