Three Biggest Mistakes B2B Companies Make in Blogging

Many business leaders and marketing professionals have recognized that blogging is an ideal way to communicate their unique perspective to customers and prospects. People who are actively exploring purchasing a product or service may not be willing to schedule a meeting with a sales person, but they will educate themselves about potential solutions by reading relevant content they find online. 

Unfortunately, many new bloggers make avoidable mistakes that hinder the potential positive impact their blog can have. Below are the ones we see most often.

1. The Dead End

Many blogs attract potential new customers to their sites by writing clear, concise articles that are jam-packed with relevant content and expert advice. They whet the appetite of their prospect and leave the reader wanting more. But they don’t provide a path for the reader to access more information. The only option the reader has is to stumble through the website in an attempt to find additional relevant material. 

Make it easy for the reader to stay engaged. Each blog article should provide multiple Calls-to-Action (CTA) buttons and navigation links that direct the reader to more information and other relevant web pages, and that facilitate communication with the writer or other solution experts.

2. A Tree Falling In the Forest

If a brilliant blog article is written and posted online, but no one is around to read it, does it make a sound? Does it impact to the organization’s marketing objectives? Does it attract any new visitors? Does it educate any prospects? Does it influence a prospect to further explore? Does it produce leads? 

A blog article is only as effective as the audience it attracts. A lot of great blog content is ignored by the masses simply because it wasn’t promoted. You have to let people know it’s there. Sharing it with your social media networks (e.g., LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter), posting it in LinkedIn groups, or emailing links to the article to your customer and prospect databases are great ways to get the word out. You also want to make it easy for the reader to share the article with their network. If you can get even a few readers to share, like, or retweet, the number of eyeballs that view your content will grow exponentially.

3. Running Out of Steam

Many organizations have started blogging, but then lack the discipline and/or resources to consistently post new content. New posts become sporadic and more time passes between updates. Eventually, the blogger stops altogether. As Director of Client Solutions at LeadG2, I have the opportunity to review a lot of company websites. It’s amazing how many organizations have started a blog and then haven’t updated it for over a year. The last article they posted, which was meant to share relevant current information, is now ancient history. What message does this send to your prospects? Many may be wondering if you’re even still in business.

We recommend that blogs targeting a B2B audience post new articles 3 to 5 times per week. But once per week or even once per month is better than nothing. If you start blogging, don’t stop. If you’ve already stopped, then start again. 

Blogging is the foundation of any inbound marketing strategy. If you can avoid these common mistakes, you will maximize the impact it makes to your new business development objectives and marketing ROI.