Today, with the increasing popularity and unique benefits of social networking, more and more B2B companies are deciding to get in on the action - in particular with blogging. Bloggers are no longer limited to posting personal journal entries in efforts to connect and socialize with friends and family. Blogging is becoming a wide-open opportunity for businesses to submerge their brand into a populated pool of current and potential consumers. Lorel Marketing Group suggests these 6 steps for building your brand and business with blogging.

1. 6 Steps to Building your Brand and Business
with B2B Blogging
by Lorél Marketing Group

2. • “Marketers perceive blogs to have the highest value of
any social media in driving traffic, brand awareness, lead
generation and sales – as well as improving customer
service.” -Senior Analyst, eMarketer
• 43% of US companies will
• be blogging by 2012.
Source: eMarketer.com

3. • Today, with the increasing popularity and unique benefits of social
networking, more and more B2B companies are deciding to get in on
the action – in particularly with blogging.
• Bloggers are no longer limited to posting personal journal entries in
efforts to connect and socialize with friends and family.
• With it’s online exposure, branding potential, and relationship
establishment and retention abilities, blogging is becoming a wide-
open opportunity for businesses to submerge their brand into a
populated pool of current and potential consumers.

4. • B2B companies are budgeting more money for blogs than other marketing
services
• direct mail
• Tradeshows
• Sponsorships
• print advertising
• Many companies fail to understand the
crucial aspects of building an effective
blog.
• So whether your just starting, or already
• have one, here the 6 steps in developing
• and maintaining a successful blog.
Image: eMarketer.com

5. 1. Develop the Strategy
• Just like any other social media initiative, it is imperative to first build a strategy.
• The strategy should outline the “why” and the “how”
you plan to leverage the social media platforms
to reach your marketing.
• Why do you want to start a B2B blog?
• What will be its purpose?
• What fundamental contributions will
your blog offer your company, and
more importantly, its readers?
• Answering these questions efficiently will assist you
in developing a more refined plan of action.
Image: information-management.com

6. 2. Understand the Important Features within a Blog
Business Benefits of Blogs:Business Benefits of Blogs:
• Increases SEO Value
• Increase traffic
• Gain a following
• Build Credibility
Effective Blogs:Effective Blogs:
• Reflect soul
• Connect with the audience
• Reflect who you are (as a
person and a business)
• Are informative
• Will position you as the ‘Go
To’ person within your industry
• Are active blogs (posts made
consistently - once or twice a
week)
Image: blog.silex.co.in
Always maintain a connection between your post topics and the
products/services you company offers, but Do Not continuously
promote your company directly within your blog.

7. • Who do you want reading your blog? How wide is your target audience? What type of
people/businesses would be interested in your product or service?
• Initiate audience categorization…
• to assist in determining topics
for discussion
• to engage your listeners
• to reach different audience types
• to retain relevance to your varied
targets
3. Find your target audience
Image: thelostjacket.com

8. 4. Listen and Engage
Leverage the marketing tools you may already be using – email, direct mail, whitepapers, etc.
- What is your audience interested in? What topics are they responding to the most?
Use your blog to expand upon the topics that are already getting your audience’s attention.
• Listen to what’s being said about your company
• Observe current discussions relative to your industry
• Monitor the topics being discussed within your target industries
• Allow an open section for comments to be made under each post
• Leave one or two open-ended questions in each post
If your audience comments on your blog, return the favor by personally responding to each comment made.
Continuous engagement is key, even after your blog is written and posted.

9. • Unlike whitepapers and articles, blogs create the opportunity to give a human feel to your company
• Establish a unique, engaging voice to your posts
• Avoid technical & business language
• Humanize your posts
• Give a face to your blog - provide a photo and short bio about the writer(s)
5. Give your Blog Personality
You need to come across
as a human being who is
knowledgeable, can relate
to and approachable - take
advantage of the opportunity
for continuous discussion.
This creates loyalty and
drives the size of your blog
followers.
Image: http://blogs.forrester.com/augie_ray

10. Image: eMarketer.com
6. Understand & Strategize your Business’s Blogging
Benefits
Blogging is a great resource to implement to improve search results and drive traffic
to your company website, and should be promoted similarly to your company
website:
• Utilize Google AdWords: research & implement keywords your target audience
is searching for on similar topics to your posts
• Promote your company's link in your blog profile
• Reference other blogs for credibility, cross-linking and further promotion
• Provide your company’s link within your blog, and
your blog’s link somewhere accessible within your
company website.
• Include social media sharing functionality for
blog homepage and each post
• Include links to your specific company pages
only when appropriate to the content
• Promote your blog link across your other
marketing platforms

11. A Closing Remark:
If your information is helpful and worthwhile to reader,
your company’s internal goal will evolve naturally over
time – whether it’s visits to your blog site, visits to your
company site, conversion, etc.

12. Thank You
Want to jump start your marketing strategy and programs?
Lorél Marketing Group can help you get started with a no-cost
discovery meeting that can align your goals with a vision for your
success. Care to learn more? Contact us today.
Lorél Marketing Group
Email: info@lorel.com
Telephone: 610-337-2343
Website: www.lorel.com