5 Types of Blog Content for Small Businesses

Business blogs are essential for a successful content strategy. 

Theyhelp you build a stronger relationship with your audience by showing them exactly who you are and why they should engage with your product or service.

Fresh, engaging content shows that you’re a trustworthy voice in your industry and keeps readers coming back for more.

There are so many different topics you can explore on your business blog - regardless of the service that you offer and the target audience that you want to attract. 

Whether you’re new to writing a business blog, or you’re looking for ways to refresh your content, here are 5 tried-and-tested types of blog content you should consider.

Content Pillars

Content pillars – or cornerstone articles – are posts that cover a broad topic and lead readers to other related, but more niche, pieces of content.

Content pillars tend to be lengthier, informative articles. They offer an in-depth guide to a general topic, then guide readers to other related topics that cover a specific point in more detail or answer a particular question about the subject.

These can exist as a ‘Complete Guide’ to a subject on your website. You can keep the content fresh by continually adding to it, and updating it with new links each time you write a related blog post. 

Content pillars tend to be the most high-ranking blog posts, and internal links encourage readers to explore other pages on your website. 

Thought Leadership Content

Thought leadership shows readers that you’re an expert in your field.

These blog posts should focus on specific areas where you have the most expertise - such as new trends or emerging topics in your industry - so that your audience see you as an authoritative, trustworthy voice that they should listen to.

Thought leadership content gives you the opportunity to bring together research and knowledge, both from your own background and from other professionals in your field.

It should focus on problem-solving and using your professional understanding of a subject to demonstrate your value to your clients.

One example of this is fact-checking. If you’ve noticed conflicting information out there about a topic relating to your business, write a thought leadership piece to set the story straight. 

By standing out as a trustworthy source of information, customers will see your business, products or services as reliable too.

Educational Content

People turn to Google with most of their questions nowadays, and your blog can provide the answers that they’re looking for. 

One way to make educational content is to find out what your audience wants to know through social media or websites like AnswerThePublic, and then present the answers through explainer articles or how-to guides.

You can inject some of your personality into these posts by using your own stories and experiences to help your audience understand a topic.

Lists

List articles – also known as listicles – have been a long-time favourite for business blogs. 

Their simple, scannable format makes them attractive to readers.

The easier your content is to read, the longer you will keep a reader on your website! They also tend to be the quickest type of content to write and publish.

You can write lists to share ideas, offer step-by-step guides, or give the reader reasons why your product or service will be valuable to them. 

It’s clear, concise content that your audience will want to click on.

Guest Posts

Finally - don't feel like you need to write all of your business blogs yourself!

Freshen up your business blog by inviting guest bloggers to contribute content about their knowledge and experience.

Guest blogging keeps your content interesting, and introduces your business to a new audience.

First, work out where there are gaps in your knowledge, or if there is content that your readers would be interested in where a guest blogger could share their expertise. 

I recommend reaching out to people with whom you’ve already established relationships through networking, and those with services that complement what you offer.

This content has advantages for both the host business and the guest blogger.

It gives the guest writer a new platform to share their knowledge and establish themselves as an expert on.

In turn, by sharing the post they introduce your business to their audience too. You could even write a guest post for their website in return to give yourself even more exposure!     

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I hope this post has given you some inspiration for your business blog. If you’d like to find out more about generating content ideas, check out this blog post. 

And if you still feel lost with your business blog, I’d love to help! Get in touch, and let’s have a chat about how we can share your voice with the world.

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