OK, maybe not guaranteed interaction but if you’re a beauty business or any other business and you’re looking for ways to get people involved with the blog that you spend so much time thinking up ideas for, you need to make them feel like it’s written for and about them.
That leads me rather beautifully into my first tip for blog interaction;
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Remember who’s reading your blog!
It’s quite tempting when you’re given all this lovely space and a place to publish it to treat a blog or vlog as your own online opinion piece or diary. While this can be entertaining, you need to think about the OTHER people you want to read it. That is, your intended audience of potential new customers.
If you make your blog into one long rant, here’s the thing: Nobody will want to read it. An opinion piece is fine, especially if it’s on a topic that’s relevant to your readers, but think about how it’s going to apply to them and what you’re giving them, information wise. Give them something they’ll want to comment on because it makes them think about their own business, or something they’ve thought about already. Be helpful and people will comment, share and come back for more.
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Ask lots of questions
People won’t always comment on your posts if you’re presenting your information as a fait accompli, this is how it is kind of post. Make sure that you sign off with a question that you can leave the reader to think about – try “So do you think beauty therapists should be able to train in dermal fillers?” after a piece on why training is so difficult and expensive to come by. Get people thinking and stimulate discussion with questions that actually matter.
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Get busy on social media
Social media platforms are helpfully set up to easily connect with blogs, most of them have lovely share buttons and blogs have helpful ‘follow me’ icons too. Use this to your advantage and share the hell out of your posts all over as many social media platforms as you can. Invite people to comment on your Facebook page, boost your post to get more views and then link to the blog so people can read, follow and comment there, too.
Build up your own little tribe and TALK to them, don’t just sell at them. Ask them about which is their favourite ever OPI polish name, which treatments they have had, their most embarrassing spa experience. Get to know your audience as the more you do, the more loyal they become and the easier it is to sell your services and products when you want to.
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Stay on the level
You might know more about your subject than the person who’s reading your blog post, but you don’t want to talk to them as if you know it. Patronising your readers will turn them right off and trying to be ‘cool’ is also a big no-no, just be who you are and let that come through. Talk to your readers as if you assume they are intelligent people who know what you’re talking about. They probably do, and you can always ask ‘any questions’ afterwards so people can find out more.
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Don’t try to blog as someone you’re not.
This one follows on from the ‘don’t try to be cool’ tip. Unless you’re a superstar blogger like Zoella – who I’ve probably proved my level of uncool by referencing here (is she cool any more? I have no idea) – you don’t have to pretend to be anything you’re not.
The same goes for your blog tone, be approachable and natural, don’t try to assume an air of superiority or authority over your readers. Relax and talk to them as if they were your friends, perhaps not quite so confessionally, but in a friendly way that makes them believe you’re approachable and dare I say it, ‘normal’.
It’s easy to get into the swing of blogging once you start, and you’ll build up your own voice and hopefully a following by being authentic and not trying to put on an act. What sort of things would you normally comment on, on a blog? Think about those and see if you can incorporate those into your own…