In the digital world, content is king. It keeps your clients interested and engaged in your product services, helps you reach new customers, and shows Google that you mean business (thus helping increase your SEO rankings).
But when you’re busy trying to run your tech business, answer helpdesk requests, get repairs done on time, and finish that large networking project you just landed, blog topics aren’t usually at the top of your “to do” list.
Most IT business owners know the importance of keeping fresh blog posts and articles posted to their website and shared over their social media but coming up with fresh engaging topics each week can be difficult.
If you’ve been stuck on topics for your blog posts, we’ve got some tips that will make it easier for you to come up with fresh and engaging content that drives traffic (and buyers) to your website.
Come Up with Amazing Blog Topics with these Simple Tips
You’re racking your brain at the end of a long day, and nothing is coming to mind to write your blog about. Here are some ideas that are sure to get your creative juices flowing.
1. Look at Questions Customers Ask
If one customer is asking you a question, there’s a good chance that others will be interested in the answer too. Just going through your contact forms, emails or social media feeds for questions can give you a lot of great blog topics.
For example, if you’re asked how to set up a new admin user in Office 365, you could turn that into a blog with instructional Office 365 How To tips.
A question about adding memory to a laptop, could turn into a blog with tips on where to find out how much memory your system has and how much can be added.
2. Explain Little-Known Facts about Your Services
Everyone enjoys feeling like an insider and learning those “secrets” that many people don’t know. What are some of the little-known facts about the IT business that you take for granted, but when you tell your friends and family, they’re intrigued? You might think it’s boring, but to those that don’t work in your industry it could be fascinating.
3. Talk about Tech-Related News Events
Give your take on the newest Apple iPad release, that major data breach that just hit the news, or explain how Europe’s new privacy regulation (GDPR) could impact your clients. Just looking through the technical news of the day can give you a constant pipeline of blog topics.
4. Look for Trending Hashtags
Looking through any trending hashtags (#) on Twitter can sometimes jog new ideas and also allow you to hop into the social media conversation, benefitting from a topic that’s already got lots of eyes on it.
An example might be #NationalCameraDay, your IT business spin might be a blog about the best ways to connect digital cameras to your computer or backing up smartphone images properly.
5. Share a “Day in the Life” Story
Did you have something funny happen while on a service call? You can share your experience (without divulging names) and give it an educational twist at the end. Storytelling is the most powerful marketing medium there is. People love a good story! Use one to both entertain and educate your customers about your services. Plus, they’ll get to know you better and develop a deeper level of trust.
6. What are Other Tech Businesses Writing About?
It never hurts to check out others in your industry to see what types of topics they’re discussing in their blogs. Of course, you want to keep your content original, but you’d be surprised how many different takes there can be on backup and recovery strategies and managed IT services. Once you get a few topic ideas, run with them and put your own twist on it.
7. Ask Your Customers
A great way to engage your customers, make them feel appreciated, and get a “touch point” out to them is to ask them what topics they’d like to know more about. You can pose the question in a number of ways:
- Send an email
- Ask on social media
- Ask them in person
- Put a sign at your front desk
TIP: If asking in an email, you are likely to get a better response if you use a graphic template (i.e. Mailchimp), a fun headline like… “What is Your Burning Tech Question?” and then a button for them to click to send in their topic suggestion.
8. Think Local
Check your local city or state news to see if there are any new ordinances or guidelines coming out that relate to technology. Many states are working on their own versions of data privacy regulations, so you could get the scoop ahead of your competitors.
A post talking about your city or state can also give you a boost in the SEO rankings based upon local keywords, you’ll also be seen as a tech authority in your area, which is sure to bring you more business.
9. Interview a Customer about How They Use Technology
People love getting ideas from others in their industry or just other businesses in general. You could highlight one of your customers in a blog and ask them what technology they can’t live without and how it contributes to their business on a daily basis.
To make this something that can be easily worked into a regular feature, create an email template that you can send to a chosen client perhaps once per month. You could use questions such as:
- What are the top 3 key technologies your business uses?
- What is the one technology you could not do without?
- How does your IT enhance your business on a daily basis?
- What’s one thing you’d like to improve about your office’s use of tech?
- What is your “dream” technology? (if money wasn’t a barrier, and even if it’s not been invented yet!
10. Dive Deeper into a Bullet List
Look over one of your previous tech business blogs and look for areas where you’ve listed out a few items, then write a blog expanding on that.
For example: If you’ve written about backup and recovery and listed different types of backups, such as:
- Flash Drive
- Internal Hard Drive
- External Hard Drive
- Server
- Cloud-based
You could pull out “external hard drive” from the bullet list and write a blog about the best types of external hard drives for Macs and PCs and how to set them up.
How Important is Blogging to My IT Business?
It’s easy to push a new blog post to the side thinking that it’s not going to make that much of a difference. But before you know it, it’s been 6 months since your last post, and you’ve noticed a significant decline in new website leads.
Posting regular content on your website is akin to digital prospecting for leads. If you don’t do it regularly, you’re going to notice it on your bottom line sooner or later.
45% of buyers view 3-5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep. (Hubspot)
Is it really “just a blog post?” Not really! Content marketing is much more than that. It’s:
- A way to improve your local Google rankings
- A driver for social media engagement
- A way to sell your services 24/7
- A way to position your firm as an industry expert
- A customer service tool
- A lead and sale generation tool
What topic is your next IT business blog post going to be about?
