Creating Content is Just the First Step

These are the first steps for using blogging and social media to attract leads to your business. Most importantly, you’ll want to ensure that the blog posts you write and share on social channels like Twitter and Facebook are optimized for search engines so that you aren’t just attracting any kind of visitors, but the targeted audience that can convert into a customer.

4 Tips to Make the Most of Your Content

1.     You have first-hand control of your on-page SEO – so no excuses. Optimize for it.

Make sure you target the right keywords and search phrases for your business, and that you are consistent. The areas you’ll want to do this with are in your meta tags, page titles and page descriptions. You’ll also want to do this throughout your blog post copy, and especially in your H1 text, or blog post headlines.

Here’s something to think about: Google doesn’t laugh. A cutesy phrase or rhyme appeals to humans in your headlines, but Google may not recognize its relevance. But later on, when humans Google your keywords, you’ll want your content to show up – and it won’t if it isn’t optimized for search engines. You can work around this though by rewriting your page title as a more literal description of the content and keeping an entertaining headline that draws your audience in when they see it shared on social media.

You can use tools such as Google’s Keyword Research tool to identify the right keywords and alternative phrases to use in your content, and research what popular search phrases there are for you to use with Google Insights. Additionally, HubSpot’s content management software includes a Keyword Grader tool that analyzes which keywords are performing best.

2.     Set an editorial calendar and stick to it.

Our research shows that companies with blogs get 55% more website traffic, and that number goes up exponentially whether you post once a week, twice a week, and then up to several times a day – wherein you become a thought leader in your field. Our advice? Blog as often as you can while keeping the content valuable for your prospects.

3.     Include calls-to-action on every post.

You’re going to give away plenty of information for free with your blog content and through the social channels you share it on. You want to optimize that content with calls-to-action so you get something in return: prospects converting to leads. Include calls-to-action for eBooks, webinars, newsletters, podcasts or events – anything more substantial than a blog post that warrants a prospect filling out a form where they can get more valuable content from you, and where you can get closer to converting them into a customer.

You want your calls-to-action to match your content, like completing your outfit by matching your shirt to your shoes. If you’re offering nutrition tips in a blog post, offer a call-to-action for something related, like a nutrition seminar. It’s related content and valuable to your target audience, so you’re not only attracting them in the first place but also keeping them engaged further down the funnel.

HubSpot’s content management system includes a module for your calls-to-action, making it easy for you to organize them and plug them right into your blog posts before you hit “publish.”

4.     When it comes to social media, share often.

Search is now social. In addition to keywords, search engines like Google consider Tweets, Facebook “likes” and Google “+1’s” in their algorithms. So the more that your content is shared, the higher it will rank.

Remember that not every prospect lives in your time zone, so one Tweet of a blog post is not enough. If you’re in New York City and you Tweet your blog post at 9:00 a.m., your prospects in San Francisco are still asleep and they will miss your content if they aren’t subscribed to your blog through RSS or email yet. Space out a couple of Tweets and Facebook posts of your blogs articles to ensure that all of your target audience members see them. And last but not least – don’t forget that the weekend is often a time when people catch up on the reading they don’t have time to do during the week. So a few Tweets of your posts on a Saturday afternoon can certainly help your traffic.