More dynamic than a website, a blog means you can publish articles about your SME and your industry—and establish your expertise. Infographics can be used to communicate important information visually.
Blog posts allow entrepreneurs to present their skills in their field, highlight their products or services, interact with their customers, and reach a wider audience via social networks. Although this method is relatively cheap, it requires a certain time investment to ensure a quality result.
An effective blog includes the following:
- Simple presentation
- Short and varied articles
- Articles are published at regular intervals
- They present a different and original point of view
- The blog uses an RSS feed to enable other websites to reference it
A blog can be created on different platforms. The most well-known include WordPress, Blogger and Tumblr.
Bringing a blog to life
To bring a blog to life and interact with its customers, an SME must produce articles on a regular basis. The ideal is to publish between one and three posts a week. You can prepare them in advance or even write several at once, to avoid having to worry about them continually. An effective post includes the following:
- A title that attracts the customer’s attention
- A subtitle that summarizes the article content
- A meta-description which improves online referencing
- Correct and accurate information
- Links to other webpages
- Calls to interact such as “What about you? What do you think about this product?”
- Quotes and credits
- Bylined articles
The main objective is to create a feeling of community that brings your customers closer to you. For example, the coffee shop chain Starbucks regularly asks consumers what they think about a new product and how it might be improved. They receive a large number of customer responses which are then used to create the chain’s future products. Customers are then happy to consume a product they have helped create.
How to maximise the impact of articles
Here are some best practices to follow to maximise the impact of blog posts:
- Choose relevant topics: Write about topics that are of interest to the target audience and related to the area of expertise. Use keyword search tools to identify popular topics.
- Optimise for SEO: Integrate relevant keywords in titles, subtitles, and throughout the content. Use meta tags and image descriptions to improve SEO. See SEO: how to improve your online visibility and Referencing on search engines.
- Create catchy titles: A good title attracts attention and encourages readers to click. It must be clear, concise, and give a precise idea of the article's content.
- Include CTAs: Encourage readers to interact with the content, whether by leaving a comment, sharing the article or subscribing to the newsletter.
- Add visuals: Images, infographics, and videos make the content more attractive and can help illustrate complex points, provided you use high-quality and relevant visuals.
Infographics
Communicating important information in a visual and accessible way is a good way to capture public attention. Some infographics are relatively easy to produce using software such as Canva, Picktochart or Visme. For more sophisticated content, it is better to call on professionals, such as a team of graphic designers, web developers or even data analysts.
In general, content should be prepared properly to make it engaging and easy to understand. You will need to:
- Mention the sources of data used to strengthen the credibility of the infographic.
- Optimise for sharing by creating infographics that are easy to share on social media and integrate into blogs. It comes to using image formats adapted to the web.
- Test and adjust the infographic before publishing it by asking competent people to assess its relevance. Make adjustments based on their feedback.
- Adapt the format: Ensure that the infographic is legible on different devices, including mobile. Adjust the size and resolution accordingly.
Sources: Marrone R.; Gallic C.; Le grand livre du marketing digital, 2018; Banque canadienne de développement; Eugénie Delhaye, Agence "My Little Big Web"; Hiam, A., Heilbrunn B. "Le Marketing pour les Nuls", John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2021.
