Or, "11 Ways to Give the People What They Want"
What can a 1980s English rock band teach you about writing B2B blogs that click with the social media reality of 2010? A lot. Just listen:
The Kinks’ hit song Give the People What They Want includes the lyrics:
“Give the people what they want
You gotta give the people what they want
The more they get, the more they need
And every time they get harder and harder to please.”
What do they want?
The goods new is that in the age of Google searches, it is easier than ever to figure out what people want. They type it into the World Wide Web for all to see. Your job is to make it easy for people looking for your products and services to find you by using the same words they use.
Don't say llamas and give me ponies
In other words, if you offer llama grooming, you need to focus on washing, trimming and brushing llamas in the words your customers use. Lots of blog headlines that include these keywords will indicate to Google spiders that people who type in “llama, makeover” might be happy if they were sent to your site.
Lose/lose
If, however, they find stories on horse care and feeding, the search engines will not bother to send llama enthusiasts your way. Which is a good thing. Because if they did, the owners of dirty camelids would not be satisfied or buy your services. Lose/lose.
Focusing on relevant topics is not always enough, however. Remember, in this age of information overload, visitors are getting harder and harder to please. So what else do people want?
Headlines that kill
A Captivating (and relevant) Headline: Check out The Seven Deadly Sins of Blogging, or any of Copyblogger’s entries. They know what makes people – and search engines – click. Lists (five ways to, 12 tips for, etc), references to pop culture (even if it is a stretch like our headline above) and controversial statements can draw traffic like a sticky cotton candy to white pants.
- Mind-warping stats: Social media expert Seth Godin knows how to get your attention. In the first sentence of this blog, he catches your attention with a mind-warping stat and then intimates that you, too, could have similar success. It hooked me.
- A great story: Good Magazine bloggers know that a compelling story with interesting characters, a problem and a concluding solution will keep readers going to the end.
- Access, access, access: This ongoing Inc. blog series called the Successful Soloist lets readers in on a conversation in the classic Q&A style with Personal Branding Expert Dan Schawbel. Who are the superstars in your industry and how difficult would it be for you to get them to answer a few questions for your readers?
- Advice: Entrepreneur health expert Harriet Diamond shares her passion for helping women executives feel their best so they can drive their business forward.
Wrap up your offering with a great conclusion, an identifying line at the end that links to your bio, an eye-catching graphic and links to similar stories on your site and elsewhere, and you have a blog that would make the Kinks proud.
More importantly, when you give people what they want, they come back, they comment, they share your link and buy your products. What more could you want?
JT Long is Content Marketing Manager for Business Communications Group, a veteran storyteller for local and national publications and a longtime blogger. You can tweet with her @b2bjt.
