by, Lesa Seibert, President, Xstreme Media
A blog can be important to the success of many businesses. Blogs provide a way to communicate with consumers, gather feedback, increase brand awareness and influence search rankings. While promotion is vital to the success of the blog, the content of your business blog will be the deciding factor for readers to return to the website and continue their relationship with your business. A blog can establish you and your business as an expert in your field. The main thing to remember is it's not all about you but it is all about your customers.
There is a major difference between writing articulate, intelligent sentences that address industry-specific issues, and stuffing sentences with jargon to appear as an expert on a topic. Not only does excessive jargon confuse the audience but it gives the impression of over-compensating for material you don't understand.
Another major problem with jargon is that it alienates potential new readers. Feeling overwhelmed after reading the first paragraph is extremely frustrating and will most likely lose readers for you. So, dial down the jargon and make content more approachable but effective.
On the opposite side of jargon is being too casual. While it depends on your audience, it is almost always a bad idea to step outside of the corporate mindset. Even if your target audience is young and casual, blog posts still need to be professional. Otherwise, many people, business and most media outlets will fail to take you or your business seriously.
There are times when casual is appropriate, but only a deep understanding of the target audience will determine if that is the right approach. Even in this case, don't be too casual.
Next week we will look at more tips for writing business blogs.
A blog can be important to the success of many businesses. Blogs provide a way to communicate with consumers, gather feedback, increase brand awareness and influence search rankings. While promotion is vital to the success of the blog, the content of your business blog will be the deciding factor for readers to return to the website and continue their relationship with your business. A blog can establish you and your business as an expert in your field. The main thing to remember is it's not all about you but it is all about your customers.
There is a major difference between writing articulate, intelligent sentences that address industry-specific issues, and stuffing sentences with jargon to appear as an expert on a topic. Not only does excessive jargon confuse the audience but it gives the impression of over-compensating for material you don't understand.
Another major problem with jargon is that it alienates potential new readers. Feeling overwhelmed after reading the first paragraph is extremely frustrating and will most likely lose readers for you. So, dial down the jargon and make content more approachable but effective.
On the opposite side of jargon is being too casual. While it depends on your audience, it is almost always a bad idea to step outside of the corporate mindset. Even if your target audience is young and casual, blog posts still need to be professional. Otherwise, many people, business and most media outlets will fail to take you or your business seriously.
There are times when casual is appropriate, but only a deep understanding of the target audience will determine if that is the right approach. Even in this case, don't be too casual.
Next week we will look at more tips for writing business blogs.