5 Blogging Tactics that Produce the Best Results

Several factors impede the content creation process not only for Xerox channel partners, but also for marketers and marketing departments, even in the largest organizations. For example, finding time to write and publish blogs consistently presents a challenge for 51% of marketers. While results can’t be guaranteed, several blogging formats are sure to improve chances of long-term ROI by garnering the most backlinks and shares – both of which significantly and positively impact SEO.

Here are four elements to consider:

1. Curated content – curation is the process of grouping like concepts, tools, and advice already posted online and creating a new post using them as the basis.
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   Why content curation works: This type of blog drives sharing. For example “10 Best Ecofriendly Paper Brands” would highlight 10 different companies all of which you can later tag on social media and leverage their desire for exposure to gain shares and reach.
   Content curation tips: Large sites such as Forbes probably won’t notice one more backlink to their content but a smaller, local organization will and they will also be more inclined to boost their own exposure through sharing.

2. Long lists – list posts (10 of the best XYZ or 15 ways to ABC) are typically popular when it comes to sharing and linking. However, it’s the extraordinarily long lists (150 ways to use this-or-that or 53 things you need to know for ABC) that reign supreme in sustaining shares and likes over time.
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   Why long lists work: Obscure numbers are intriguing to potential readers and they demonstrate thought leadership on the topic. They are also easy to scan and when the topic is hyper-relevant they’re easy to share and reference in blogs posts, which are key for positive SEO and search rankings.
   Long list tips: Google your idea and aim for a larger list than the ones you find. Start with the longest list you can come up with and then cull it by keeping only the most relevant topics. Include sub-headers and images to divide the content blocks and use click-to-tweets to encourage sharing.

3. Thought leadership – It might sound like a buzzword, but at closer examination, thought leadership is simply a phrase to describe your unique ways of explaining a topic of expertise.
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   Why thought leadership works: One of the most important aspects of thought leadership articles lies in the deep research conducted upfront which builds credibility needed for shares and links.
   Thought leadership tips: Aside from covering topics in your area of expertise and citing relevant resources, it’s important these articles be well researched and unique. Once you decide on a topic, search to see who else has written about the same topic, analyze what they’re missing or what you can add to elevate it, and write the blog from a unique point of view.

4. Infographics – Visual content works well as a hook for many reasons; 65% of people are visual learners, posts with images gain more clicks, and we retain more information when visuals are added.
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   Why infographics work: infographics in particular are powerful because they pair trivia and statistics with the simplification of graphics, which makes it easier to comprehend, and more enticing to share.
   Infographic tips: When someone says “graphics” it’s easy to assume “expensive,” however that doesn’t have to be the case. Thanks to free design tools, creating an infographic is easier than constructing the concept from your own research and the layout itself. Try Canva or Easel.ly to get started making drag and drop infographics.

Success with blogging doesn’t have to be time consuming. Simply start with relevant topic ideas and apply these formats to optimize sharing and linking. Doing so will help realize the ROI you want from content development.

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