Last week, a potential customer said that although he saw the merits of business blogging, he did not see how a corporate blog would be great for his a business. This potential customer was in the real estate industry.
Real estate (although those in the industry may protest) falls into that category of "boring" industries, industries that may seem uninteresting to most people or as industries that consumers may want to interact with as little as possible. These industries know who they are and there's no need to list them. The point is that business blogging can work well for "boring" industries as well as non-boring or interesting industries. Here are three good reasons why business blogging can really work for you:
Business Blogging Allows You to Inject Passion
The fascinating thing about these boring industries is that there are many people who work in them that are very passionate about the industry and the work that they do. Thank goodness for them, or else there would be no one out there who finds these things interesting. Anyway, business blogging is a way to illustrate that passion, to get your potential customers engaged in a way that they haven't before, and perhaps in a way that your competitors aren't.
I know this works because I used to be freelance writer, and before that, a journalist for my college newspaper. I covered topics and events that weren't necessarily about things I was interested in, but by the end of the interview with a source, I was engaged in the conversation and eager to learn what I can. The reason is that the source, whether it was a club president or an event coordinator, was naturally excited and passionate about the issue, spreading it to me and allowing me to inject it easily into my articles. Do this in a business blog and you'll engage based on the fact that you honestly believe in what you are doing and that it's such a great thing to do.
Business Blogging is a Form of Education
Another reason why many may consider these "boring" industries, well, boring is because to those outside the industry, the topics can appear convoluted and complicated. Really, they find it boring because they don't understand it. Business blogging enables you to make it understandable and approachable, to reach out to people in a safe and friendly manner. You wouldn't expect the people to be reading your business blog to be reading a textbook about your industry or an industry publication, so don't write it like those materials. Break concepts down, avoid the lexicon, and explain your industry so that any semi-intelligent person can get the basic concepts or know what's going on.
A good way to do this is to find a relatable angle in your content. If there's a big news story going on that your company could offer a really neat opinion about, do that. If you can do a fun, pop culture twist on some valuable information about your industry, do that. If you can connect your industry to something that your target audience cares about, whether that's family or a specific hobby, then tie that in. Your readers and potential customers will love it!
Business Blogging Can Have Personality
Boring industries are seen as industries without personality, kind of like how boring people are perceived. There's nothing cool about them. Business blogging can change that by adding a bit of humor and personality, by showing the human side to your industry and your company. People like working with other people, and one thing that will make your industry a little less boring is showing potential customers that there are real people behind it all getting things done. Real people who can crack jokes, or have good taste in online viral videos, or care about the things that your potential customers care about. That's the cool stuff that ought to be showcased in the business blog.
The big thing to keep in mind with business blogging is to keep it about the potential customers. Avoid the temptation to talk about your company and its products and services. Not only is that information on the rest of your website (or at least it should be), but that's the boring stuff, the stuff that no one wants to hear about anyway. Yeah, your marketing, but you also want to get out of that "boring industry" category, and talking about yourself won't do that.
