On the heels of our Social Media for Construction Webcast and Panel Discussion, with experts from Caterpillar, USG and Emerson Electric, one thing is for certain, BLOGS are a very important component of an internet and social media program.
Why? Because no other single marketing tool can have such a demonstrable effect on search engine results while positioning you or your brand as the thought leader or subject matter expert (SME) for your product or service.
Blogs drive search results for several reasons. First, blog posts are picked up by search engines quickly and broadly. When blogs are integrated with websites (in primary navigation, and/or subdomain), each post builds search engines indexed pages for that site. Links on Blogrolls of relevant blogs and websites, when reciprocated, build a website’s authority, increasing page rank, another key ingredient to search optimization.
In 2010, the reach of excellent blog content is growing faster than ever. Why? The now omnipresent Twitter retweet button, and the recent addition of the Facebook Like button (see both buttons above). In addition, Twitter can now integrate with Facebook so tweets automatically populate a user’s corresponding Facebook page. AND tweets or retweets can now automatically populate LinkedIn users UPDATE features. With the multiplier effect of Twitter Followers, Facebook Friends, and LinkedIn Connections, it’s easy to understand how the reach of compelling blog posts can build quickly.
Getting Started With Your Blog
Now that you too are convinced of the power of BLOGS, how can you implement a great blog? There are many free blogging software and hosting applications to choose from with excellent features. WordPress is the most popular, however, some companies prefer Typepad or Blogger. Other companies want more customization or control, so they develop a custom platform that fits their needs. Mashable has a great list of 40+ free blog hosts to get you started blogging, but before you do – think of a topic that would be interesting for you and for your readers.
The Hard Part
The reason most construction industry companies or brands DON’T have blogs is because developing content on an ongoing and frequent basis is difficult. Your product or service might not be that dynamic. Or you get busy with RFPs and drop your blog content research and writing like a hot potato. Start with a list of themes and topics, then rough out an editorial calendar. Construction Marketing Advisors manages this ConstructionMarketingBlog.org with such a calendar. To help you get started, following is a List of 21 Topics (and growing) to Blog About:
- Product/service features, benefits, applications
- White papers on industry topics
- How you solved a customer problem
- Tips, how-to’s, best practices for your product or service
- Upcoming trade shows, programs, and industry events
- Frequently asked questions (FAQ’s)
- Videos, seminars, and presentations
- News announcements, news releases, editorial
- New products, programs, promotions
- Industry news (economic, trends, new technologies)
- News from relevant partners or alliances, associations, trade unions, etc.
- Customer case studies and/or testimonials
- Profile a staff member or industry leader
- Share resources that customers might be interested in
- Conduct industry surveys with free tools like Survey Monkey
- Blog about company history
- Provide technical info
- Write about a government program or legislation
- Share a new ad campaign
- Publish results of a recent research project
- Welcome customers and detail your content ideas for the blog
Remember, blogs don’t require editorial perfection. The personal perspective can build credibility. And in fact, blogs should err to shorter subjects and a quick read. But do blog regularly. Depending on the scope of your company and customer base, a good frequency could be daily, weekly, or bi-weekly. Experts say it takes 50+ posts to achieve blogosphere traction.
Build your blog user base with an RSS subscription tool. Promote your blog through Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Cross-promote your blog in all print and internet campaigns. Do Retweet, Facebook Like and bookmark this blog post! And please comment on this post with your suggestions for blogging topics, or other suggestions.
Happy Blogging!
Good post Pavel!
This really helps companies get started. For the sake of the reader, I did want to clarify a few points.
1. Blogs drive search results for several reasons. First, blog posts are picked up by search engines quickly and broadly.
They do, and you kind of mention it later in the post, but only if the content is updated regularly.
2. Links on Blogrolls of relevant blogs and websites, when reciprocated, build a websites authority, increasing page rank, another key ingredient to search optimization.
Today’s linking strategies are more beneficial when your site recieves a “one way” link back to it. Most blogrolls are discounted at best, not counted at all by search engines. And whatever you do, don’t buy a link, that is the fasted way to find your site on page 300 of Google!
3. Other companies want more customization or control, so they develop a custom platform that fits their needs. Mashable has a great list of 40+ free blog hosts to get you started blogging.
The free sites are great, just remember you don’t own them, and you are limited on customization and add-ons.
4. DON’T have blogs is because developing content on an ongoing and frequent basis is difficult.
A good rule of thumb is to be able to have a posting calender with at least 50 posts. In other words, if you can’t say 50 things about your company, industry or customers then don’t even launch the blog. No one wants to come across a blog that hasn’t been posted to in 3 months.
Thanks for your time!
-Darren
A Blog Post About Construction Blogs :0
thank for the honest blurb on youre niche company
I agree with everyone here, great post about construction blogs.
I also agree with everyone here very good informative article, was a great read keep up the good work!
Great stuff, will definitely use this on my construction blog, which you can take a look at here!
http://www.hiebbsconstructionanddevelopment.com/plugin_blog/blog
This article is unique and informative. You captured my attention immediately with your viewpoints. I have to say I agree with a lot of your views. This is good reading.
I really enjoyed reading your blog. It was really informative because i have less knowledge about this kind of stuff than you do so it really helped me a lot. Keep up the good work!
Great post. Having just started our South Devon Builder website up we have been looking for ways to enhance its attraction to our customers. We have now added a South Devon Builders Blog to the site, in the hope that this will achieve what we are after. We do agree with you that content can be an issue, although we hope that we can keep the blog interesting by posting progress reports and photographs of our ongoing projects.
I’ve been meaning to update my blog. Thanks for the motivation.
Thanks, google droped my site way back and I was told that blogs will help get me back to the front page. I have house designs but don’t charge very much for them so I don’t have a lot of money for someone else to work my site.
This blog post was very informative. I enjoyed it. As the Social Media Coordinator for my company, I strongly agree that the blog platform as well as all social media sites are an asset to building a brand, connecting with other like-minded individuals and companies.
Thanks for the post.
It can definitely be difficult to write about a topic like construction, which the public might not find particularly compelling. Nice post!
Thank you for your feedback Colorado Roofing and Siding! Let us know what topics you discuss in construction that make for a great read for your audience!
Thanks for sharing this about blogs, it’s really helpful advice.
I completely agree with you. Blogging doesn’t take a professional. It just takes effort and consistency to make a decent blog that will attract readers. Thank you. Great article
Great article about blogs. We started a blog on our website a couple of months ago, and it’s been a great exercise to research a subject worthy of posting on our website. Great way to show your knowledge of a field.
Thats a very nice post you have written. I think the construction blogs should be entirely focused for new constructors who are starting with their first or second project, tips for them and the problems they might face in the beginning and their solutions.
This blog post was very informative. I enjoyed it. As the Social Media Coordinator for my company, I strongly agree that the blog platform as well as all social media sites are an asset to building a brand, connecting with other like-minded individuals and companies.
This is a great resource! It is hard to find good blog posts about construction !
Great post! Surely this will help construction marketing become a success.
This is really helpful, thanks! We have just set up our blog, and I definitely agree with you on the fact of starting with a list of topics and using a calender. Instead of making it a chore cramming in pointless information just because you feel you HAVE to post, I decided to spend a couple of days gathering information and interesting topics and creating numerous blog posts to schedule over the next few days, and used a calender to help me know which are being posted and when! I think this is so important as it gives you time to put in the effort and show your passion throughout your blog posts! http://www.evabuild.co.uk/site/
Blogs are great for link building purposes and in the construction industry there are more than enough roofing website to build links from to appear extremely high in the search engine ranking results. Blog give people a person side to the things that they are interested in too.
Developing regular content can be so difficult. Especially when you’re already working full time. Guess I need to step my game up.
I enjoyed the blog. Thank you for all of the pointers. It is definitely something worth reading. The algorithm that is used by the search engines can get pretty difficult and blogging is a very powerful tool.
Great list of ideas. We are updating our website to include a new blog section and this list will sure help.