Whether you sell skin care, cosmetics, supplements or personal care products, there are many reasons to host a dedicated blog on your brand’s website. You want to crawl higher — then stay high — on Google. You want your customers, both existing and prospective, to trust you and look to you for advice. You want incredibly content to share on social media. The list goes on. But you’re probably painfully aware that you are seriously competing with some dazzling content out there. But there are some very effective, yet surprisingly underused, ways to stand out.
1. Spend a lot more time on your blog posts.
If you treat your blog posts like an afterthought, so will your readers. Too many times I see unoriginal blog posts that are clearly brain dumps disguised as information. As a beauty writer and editor, I can easily write an article off the top of my head about numerous topics — but that doesn’t mean I’ll do that just for the sake of quickly and hastily producing a blog post.
You don’t have to come up with unprecedented topics every single time. In fact, a headline like “5 Quick Tips to Perfect Skin,” although written hundreds of times before, still remain very click-worthy and popular. What matters is what’s inside. What personal tips do you have to offer? What is your perspective? Did you research the latest trends and studies and videos to keep your readers as updated as possible?
Bottom line: Spend more time to thoughtfully create a blog post. Make like a journalist and think about experts in your circle you can interview. Tell a story. These extra hours will go a long way and your customers will definitely notice.
People will only share your blog post if it makes them look good or represents what they really care about. So ask yourself, “Will my blog post make them look good?”
2. Make your blog posts look sleek, professional and on brand.
Professional-level lifestyle photography is no longer limited to the high-fashion world — you can find breathtaking shots simply by logging on to Instagram. Since pretty pictures are so accessible and prevalent these days, they’ve almost become expected.
Support your blog posts with fun imagery, preferably original photography that showcases your products or your surroundings.
On top of photos, make sure your font is readable and aesthetically pleasing. Also consult with a designer who can help you with colors and other elements of your blog posts. I can’t emphasize enough how many times I’ve seen wonderful articles go neglected simply because they didn’t have a nice “house” to live in. Trust me, imagery can make a world of difference!
3. Talk about other people, including your non-competitors and customers, directly on your blog posts.
Google will look at your site more favorably when more people comment and share your posts. No matter how big or small your company is, an excellent way to encourage interaction is to talk about other people. You might not be Allure.com, but people love being acknowledged and recognized and are very likely to share your praise with their own networks.
Brands, especially newer ones, tend to feel territorial and are afraid of linking out to other brands on their blogs. But there is no harm if you include brands that are complementary to you. For example, my client COVER FX Skincare frequently posts how-to tips that involve using the beautyblender to optimize application of their foundation products. COVER FX sells their own makeup brushes but they don’t sell sponges. They could have easily created a rift by only promoting their own brushes, but now the two brands have a very friendly “BFF-level” relationship that offers mutual benefits.
Another group of people you can acknowledge are your own customers.You’ve probably thought of targeting journalists and vloggers, but think about the collective influence your customers have. If even a small fraction of them shared a blog post on social media, that’s a lot of new eyeballs and credibility! The easiest way to go about this is to include testimonials and quotes from customers. If you want to uplevel, ask them for their lifestyle tips (trust me, people absolutely love talking about themselves).
Do you need a professional to take over your blog? Click here.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.