You’ve heard people say, “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.” While ironing your slacks and wearing a nice pair of shoes won’t necessarily get you a promotion, and dressing like a police officer because that’s what you’ve always wanted to be will only get you into legal trouble, that old adage offers pretty good advice.
It’s about identifying what you want to accomplish, and figuring out a way to help you reach your goals. If you want to work your way up the job ladder, you need to present yourself in the best possible way. Good hygiene and attention to your wardrobe might show how much you care about your job, but that’s only part of it. You can’t throw on the world’s nicest suit, nap at work, and expect to be made vice president.
Blogging for the audience you want is no different than dressing for the job you want. It’s a matter of recognizing a goal, and taking the appropriate steps to see it through.
You want your company blog to reach and resonate with the people who need your products and services. If you write about the wrong topics, you won’t be found by people seeking your goods and services. If you write with the wrong voice, people who find your blog won’t be moved by it to take the action you want, whether that’s making an appointment or making a purchase.
The first step is figuring out who your audience is. If you’re blogging for an ice cream parlor, your audience could be people who eat lots of ice cream, but your audience can also be more specific. Maybe you’re trying to target parents with young and spoiled children, or hopelessly romantic men who like to take women on dates to ice cream parlors. A blog written for parents will be completely different from a blog written for couples.
Once you have identified your audience, you want your blog to resonate with them. What are your audience’s interests? What information will they find useful? What’s does your audience value? These are the types of things to consider when blogging for a specific group.
You also want to make the blog accessible for your audience. Things like the language that you use and the subject matter of your blog will dictate how well it will perform with your audience. An ice cream parlor whose target audience is people who like to eat ice cream won’t necessarily want to blog about the business end of making frozen deserts. Sure, there might be some people who find that interesting, but the targeted audience would rather hear about new flavors, toppings, or recipes.
And the people you want to have slurping up your sundaes probably aren’t interested in your company news. They’ll celebrate your awards with you and may be intrigued by your chocolate buying trip to Central America, but a steady diet of who got promoted and what happened at the company picnic will reach your workers, not your customers.
Blogging for the audience you want is an important step in a successful blog. Just like dressing for the job you want can help you work your way up the ladder, blogging to the audience you want can help get your business where you want it to be.
Author: Gideon Haden
Courtesy: www.hadeninteractive.com