5 Keys to B2B Blogging

This week I'm working on a presentation for the Webtrends Engage conference. My topic is quite specific and the time slot is very brief (10 minutes), so it's challenging me to do one heck of a presentation! I've been asked to speak to successful B2B Blogging.

I've narrowed the keys to Business to Business Blogging down to 5 distinct strategies for the presentation:

1. Be in front. It's not enough to blog, you must be in front of all the other competitors and other noise out there. You have to be in front of customers, in front of relevant social networks, in front of competitors' search engine results. No longer can you simply wait for people to find you.
2. Provide a path. Every page of your blog is effectively a landing page. You must supply ways for visitors to contact you, must supply reasons for them to contact you, and you must make it simple and easy.
3. Feed the Senses. People don't read blog posts, they scan them. Some don't read at all, they look for visual and auditory mediums. If you're not using white space effectively, doing sound and video, you're not connecting with a large percentage of your prospective audience.
4. Capture Information. A blog is a fantastic way to provide information and build authority with prospects and customers. You don't have to do it for free though… it's okay to survey and request information about your reader. Providing additional resources such as whitepapers or webinars requires registration.
5. Measure in Dollars. Engagement isn't measured in comments, it's measured in dollars and cents. It's essential to integrate a business analytics tool that can accomodate accurate measurement of your blogging efforts.

Each key, of course, can have an associated presentation… but don't lose sight of the big picture if you're blogging for business with other businesses.