Frequent, meaningful blog posts can drive clients to your website

Don’t have a brokerage blog? You should get on that.

Businesses with blogs produce 67% more leads per month, according to Demand Metric; and HubSpot customer data found they get 55% more visits to their websites than businesses without blogs.

Blogs are important because of what’s called search engine optimization (SEO), said Richard Heft, president and co-founder of Ext. Marketing.

“You want to be high on the search-engine ranking, and when you post regularly, fresh content tends to get picked up by search engines more frequently,” he said. “Their algorithms pick up content that’s in wide dissemination.”

Although there’s no rule of thumb on how often you should post, Heft said it should be fairly frequent — once or twice a week. “Otherwise, people won’t get into the habit [of reading your blog].”

And be consistent by posting at the same time every week, he added.

Kyle Paterson, director of business development and culture at Bryson Insurance, posts two blogs a week on average.

“We post business-related content early in the week and personal insurance or lifestyle content later in the week to be read on the weekend,” he said.

But the content must be meaningful. “It’s not about what you’re selling or the services you offer,” Heft said. “You could do a bit of that but think about what your clients need.”

Paterson added, “We post advice for our clients, usually sourced from their needs, from what they’re asking us about or what we’re providing advice on already.”

 

No comments, please

Though Bryson doesn’t have a comments section on its blog, Paterson has considered adding one.

Comments could provide clients with a space to ask questions, said Paterson, and for brokers to “learn where we could have provided better advice or have been more clear.”

However, Heft sees comments as risky.

“I don’t always believe comments are great because they’re hard to control, and you have to check [them] frequently,” he said.

“You can have a client with a sensibility your other clients and prospects may not share,” he continued. “It may come off as somewhat offensive, or critical of your work.”

For Heft, a blog doesn’t have to be a discussion forum. “If somebody has something to say to you, they can email, text or call,” he said.

And remember to use different types of media — infographics, videos, lists — because “people take in information differently,” said Heft.

Bryson Insurance’s blog does have written articles but also features webinars and podcasts. “We provide the same content in different platforms to engage different audiences in the way they want to be engaged,” Paterson said.

 

Final tips

To keep your blog organized, remember these important points.

“Use an editorial calendar, so you know what you’re writing about each week,” said Heft.

Create a workback schedule. “Know exactly how long it’s going to take and what you need to do to get it ready and approved for the publishing date,” he added.

And always share snippets on social media — Twitter, LinkedIn — to drive traffic back to your site.

 

Feature image via iStock.com/stockworldr