Social networking - 5 Common blogging mistakes

Blogging for social networking, includes content that, if written correctly, will match up with your customer searches. Here are my top 5 common mistakes you should avoid when blogging.

1. Not engaging anyone: Blogging is a way to regularly communicate with your costumers and an opportunity to get their feedback. Try to encourage your readers to comment. Whenever you can, ask questions or ask for opinions. Try to start discussions…don’t be afraid of criticism.

2. Your article is long and boring: Don’t turn your blog articles into a thesis; try to highlight your most important points using bold text or a different color. Make it more interesting by adding images or even video (don’t forget to find images that use a creative commons license – that means FREE!). Remember most of us don’t read…we scan, so having highlighted words and images will help you communicate your key points and make it more engaging to read.

3. Your blog sounds too corporate: Try to avoid speaking in your corporate tongue. That’s boring and fake. People want to talk and listen to the real you. Remember that people buy from people, companies don’t buy anything. Your articles are your opinions about your area of expertise and it should demonstrate your personality. Make them authentic and personal, don’t sound like you’re marketing.

4. Don't talk about your company: When you're writing a blog remember: you’re not trying to sell anything. In fact your giving useful information for FREE, therefore you should not be talking about your company or products.  Instead you should write about your industry best practices and answering common customer questions about higher level product issues.

5. Don’t write because you have to: Blogging requires a long-term commitment, success will come only if you're willing to  put in the time and you stick to the plan. Articles don’t need to be lengthy, but you need to keep in mind that your content should be informative and helpful. Ask yourself what will your costumers learn from your article and how will this help you build a relationship with the reader. And finally, don’t forget to implement as many keywords as you can, that will help increase search traffic.

I'm sure there are a number of other common blogging mistakes, if you have any we'd love to hear from you. We are currently writing a blogging 'best practices' document and we encourage your comments and feedback.