Blogging: keywords that come back to bite your bum

I’ve waited a long time for TV stardom.  Not since my BBC appearance with Prince William have I received so much media attention…

I’ve run training courses on the art of blogging and, obviously, driven home the importance of incorporating keywords into website content so that businesses can be found easily for that particular thing. Websites benefit from blogging due to increased traffic, businesses benefit by establishing their expertise, and potential customers benefit by being offered the product or service they require in a smooth, seamless fashion.

When I blogged about my Club 18-30s holiday I didn’t mark the tour operator’s name as a keyword, as I aim to be found for social media marketing, training, LinkedIn coaching and plain English business writing.  They’re my keywords. The 18-30s story was just a bit of fun.  But what GOES ONLINE STAYS ONLINE! When 18-30s decided to close its doors on 24-hour partying, cocktails and banging on the beach, the media did a quick online search for its own keywords – and bingo! Up I popped!!

So it was this blog, written a few years ago, that led to Radio 5 interviewing me – and, subsequently – to BBC’s The One Show requesting my presence at a filming session to be shown on a Friday night’s prime time TV.

Filming was a lot of fun! The crew met me at the allotted location with their cameras, lights and boom boom equipment, and presented me with a delicious cocktail. (Mocktail actually – well, it was only 9am and we’re not in Ibiza in 1984 now.) I was astounded by the amount of time it takes to put together a one-minute snippet of film. Three hours later I was recounting my story for the umpteenth time and we were all firm friends.

So, three questions….

1. Are you using your keywords to their best advantage?
2. Can you create interesting stories that may not be directly about your business but link back to it in some way, giving a new audience the opportunity to find you?
3. Do you stay mindful that what you post on social media stays there for a very long time?

If you’ve answered no to any of these, I’ll be happy to give you some tips to set you on the right path – the path to social media marketing success, I mean, not to wild teenage holidays!