Since their inception over 20 years ago, blogs have and continue to serve a wide variety of purposes, and they’re more than just reading material. Whether by an average Joe or Jane logging their daily experiences, a popular artist sharing new work, or a company making its latest announcement, most blogs have one thing in common: they help shape one’s brand.

Of course, blogs take time and energy to maintain, as posting infrequently can make it hard to keep an active audience. Do you need a blog for your business? Maybe, maybe not (we’d need to know your brand to say for sure). But if you’re ready to start one – or for tips to improve your current one – here are four approaches to building content and readership.

Be an Industry Resource

Use your blog to share your expertise in your field. By sharing regular, insightful posts, readers will return to your site because they know they can rely on you for information that’s relevant to them. Sprout Social and Buffer are great examples of this, with their consistent posts on the world of social media and how brands can make the most of various platforms. Notice also how they’ve named their blogs: Not Blog, but Insights and Resources, respectively.

By sharing content that benefits social media managers and marketers, Sprout and Buffer (and others like them) build trust with the core audience that would want to use their product. When those people need a social scheduling and/or monitoring platform, they’re more likely to think of one who they already know has a finger on the pulse of their industry.

Provide Exclusive Perspective

A blog can serve as a direct line to the people from individuals who maybe don’t see the spotlight as often as, say, a community manager or brand ambassador. Think of how many game companies use “developer diary”-style posts to share details about the game: what went into the design of a new zone, or a new character or skin players can look forward to, all from the perspective of someone working to create it.

TV channels like Bravo and AMC provide perspective with sneak peeks, behind-the-scenes footage, episode recaps, and interviews. Viewers come back for content they won’t see as part of regular programming but give them deeper looks into their favorite actors, characters, and shows.

Add Personality

Your blog should be more than corporate announcements and white papers. In the same way as you can use your blog to give the CEO a direct line to your audience, you can also use it as an opportunity to celebrate the people behind the screen. Showing off your company culture and the passions of your employees allows current and potential customers to connect with you on a personal level.

Engage Meaningfully

This goes for both the content you create and the way you respond to comments: write in a voice your readers can relate to. You can still keep things professional without filling your blog with jargon and corporate-speak. Your customers are more likely to read something that “speaks their language” and to comment back because they feel like they can have a conversation with you.

Blogs are going the same way as influencer marketing, trending away from huge names and more towards micro-influencers whose followers may not be as many but are more loyal and thoughtfully engaged. Take the time to respond to and moderate the comments on your blog so they reflect the community you want to foster.

We’ve written before about how customer service and engagement drive brand loyalty, and brand loyalty can help increase sales. Blogs work the same way, but with the added benefits of SEO. Strategic content writing drives SEO (search engine optimization), which in turn drives web traffic, and ultimately sales. By building trust in your brand’s industry expertise, readers are more likely to spend with you when they require your products or services. Those sales ultimately lead to referrals from the customers who now value you as more than just a service provider. And from there, well, just watch that referral snowball keep rolling.

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