Effective Inbound Marketing Tips

Trying to break down inbound marketing ideas into a step-by-step guide is a remarkably difficult process. Blogging for SEO and inbound marketing is a circus juggling act: You aren't just juggling balls, you've got knives and tennis racquets and armadillos and everything else thrown in there, plus you've gotta keep them in the air while doing it with a bit of style. Good small business blogging means always trying to accomplish multiple goals at once.

So, since we're here to try to de-mystify this SEO stuff a bit, let's look at it from a goal-oriented view. What “types” of blogs are aimed at accomplishing what goals? And how can you start combining them so that your small business blogging ends up being more than the sum of its parts?

Let's take a look!

Five Different Types Of Goals For Different Types Of Small Business Blogs

So, what are you trying to do with your small business blogging anyway? Well...

1. Education: Customers aren't likely to care about your goals unless you give them a reason to read, so educational blogs are extremely common. In these, you're explaining a process, giving solutions to difficult problems, and otherwise imparting useful information to the reader. 

2.  Self-expression: Business blogs are generally written in either the first- or second- person, so that their authors can communicate the goals, ideas, and practices of the companies they're speaking for. Blogs with this as the focus will be very “I-centric.” (Also, doesn't it seem a bit pretentious when blogs like this are written in the third-person?)

3. Engagement. The Internet is interactive. You don't want passive readers; you want people who'll engage with you, talk back, and click on your Calls to Action. This means, in effect, leaving some holes in your blogs. Ask questions, or leave a matter unexplained, to try to encourage people to talk back.

4. Outreach. Social sharing is a big part of your inbound marketing and SEO strategies. So, you want small business blogs that people will want to share with their friends. Adding buttons generally helps, but having all three of the above combined greatly helps inspire people to Share.

5. SEO. Plus, there's the nuts-and-bolts of keyword percentages, internal and external links, metadata, along with all the other extra details that make the search spiders happy and keep your SERP rankings high. However, it's generally the worst blogs that focus solely on this. If you're only writing for robots, you'll drive human visitors away.

Creativity Ties Your Small Business Blogs Together

Computers are never going to replace real writers, because you need creative and informed writers who can find ways of combining all these goals into single blogs. While every approach will be unique and industry-specific, here are a few tips!

• Write about big ideas: You don't have to play it safe. Talk about the big picture, and invite others to contribute their views on it. Life is a puzzle, and everyone has pieces to contribute. Plus, you can't explain everything in 400-800 words.

• Integrate pop culture: Keep up with the current memes and trends. Sneaking in a reference to current popular YouTube videos can be a great way to increase engagement and encourage sharing, along with making it more relate-able.

• Be honest about your intentions. “Why am I writing this?” shouldn't go unanswered. Explaining why your blog exists gives it context and makes it more accessible, as well as pushing your own viewpoints.

• Know thy customer. You can't speak to your customers unless you relate to them. Build those buyer personas with hard data.  Look to address issues you know will speak to the needs of your readers. Write what they want to read, not what you imagine they want to read.

Small business blogging is complex and tricky. Keeping all the above goals in mind will help guide you and ensure you're focused on the goals that really matter for your SEO strategies.