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Mistake #1: No real goals set
In the business world, nothing is achieved without goals. The only goals an organisation should set are ones that will move the business forward. Many B2B bloggers make the mistake of setting the number of comments and the number of subscribers as their goals.
| | “The biggest focus of B2B blogging should be search engine optimisation. Blogs are very popular with search engines and prospects want to land on content that is relevant to their search” |  | | In practice, these goals are very hard to quantify objectively and they do not directly contribute to the bottom line. In a recent report by Forrester, the question was asked, "What is the nature of success you have achieved with B2B blogging?" Brand awareness was the number one answer at 24%. Brand awareness is of course another goal that’s very hard to quantify.
Top Tip #1: Choose Search Engine ranking as the main goal
The biggest focus of B2B blogging should be search engine optimisation. Blogs are very popular with search engines and prospects want to find content that’s relevant to their search, with content displaying “the human touch”. The biggest mistake most B2B bloggers make is not making “blogging for search” their number one goal.
Mistake #2: Poorly chosen blog titles
The most important piece of content you'll write on any blog page is the page title. Search engines expect the blog’s page title to indicate what can be found within the page content.
A common mistake is to try to be clever with the blog title. An example would be to use "Technology thoughts" instead of using "Computer developments" as the title of the blog. The first example lacks focus.
Top Tip #2: Choose page titles relevant to popular search engine keywords
The page title is extremely relevant to search engines and also to your prospects. When you consider your blog strategy, it’s vital to choose titles for all of your blogs which incorporate the most popular keywords that your prospects will be searching on.
Mistake #3: The content is not focused on keywords
B2B blogs are very often far too broad in their content. Marketers make the mistake of writing about the big picture and not focusing on particular content that interests the potential reader.
Top Tip #3: Write copy that’s relevant to popular search engine keywords
Just like page titles, the most popular, relevant keywords need to be focused on. Research what keywords people in your market are searching on, and produce content about that matches.
Always keep it simple. Popular keywords are the guide to what your blogs should contain. Research the keywords that people are actually using, then write those words into your copy.
However, beware of overusing the keywords - use the phrases only where they make sense and try to keep them to less than 7-10% of total content so you don't look like a spammer to the search engines and to your readers.
Mistake #4: Blogs are too infrequent
When blogs are focused on specific keywords, a common mistake is to leave too big a time gap between blogs. Two mistakes that hinder content production are over-thinking every blog and not utilising enough people in the company as potential bloggers.
| | “As a rule, it's impossible to write too often. The more frequently you write a new blog, the more successful you will be in attracting qualified traffic and new prospects” | | | Top Tip #4: Blog as often as possible using as many colleagues as possible
As a rule, it's impossible to write too often. The more frequently you publish a new blog, the more successful you will be in attracting qualified traffic and new prospects.
The best advice is simply "be more concise" A blog post is not a full-blown article, it's not a White Paper; it's a story. The best blogs have an interesting image and they outline a short story about a product, a technology, a customer, a development etc.
Always "write for the web" - use popular, relevant keywords and understand that most people will be simply scanning the blog before deciding whether to read it (or not). The goal is to establish credibility - the most credible online advertising format is the article format. B2B blogs provide the opportunity to relay useful and interesting stories.
The next content mistake is not including enough company individuals in your B2B blogging strategy. Who are the best people in your organisation to write stories about how customers are using your products? Is it the company MD or the sales team? The answer is probably both.
You should encourage as many people as possible in the company to participate in your B2B blogging strategy. Encourage everyone to relay the stories that occur every day in the organisation. This will not only generate more content with a lot less effort, but you will also discover that employee content adds the personal touch that is trusted by your prospects. Employee bloggers have much more credibility than MD bloggers.
Mistake #5: No calls to action
| | “The goal is a relationship and every blog is an opportunity to take a prospect to the next step in forming a potential relationship with your organisation” | | |
The greatest value that B2B blogs can provide is new customers. To become prospects and then customers, readers need to act upon the content they find. Many marketers make the mistake of offering too few calls to action (or even none at all!). Blog comments and conversations are great, but you can't control them, and it's difficult to gauge whether they drive your company’s business forward.
Top Tip #5: Insert many calls to action into the content
The goal is a customer relationship and every blog is an opportunity to take a prospect to the next step in forming this constructive relationship with your organisation. The goal is to treat each and every blog as an "organic web landing page" and continually work to improve conversion rates. The value of comments is hard to measure, but everyone knows what a conversion is worth. This is where your focus should be aimed.
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