Starting a business blog is fairly easy, maintaining one is a completely different story. A 2008 Technorati survey showed that roughly 95 percent of online blogs were in fact abandoned and we are seeing this trend continue into 2012. Ongoing blog development is the only way to be successful at: generating web traffic, engaging your audience, and keeping your readers coming back for more.

If you have started a blog and are not sure what to do after your first few enthusiastic posts, make sure you incorporate these critical factors:

• Time: Generating quality content takes time and effort. Not only do you need to do a little research every time you write a new post, you need to do this often. If you find it challenging to generate fresh content several times a week, consider outsourcing. Ongoing blog development also requires promotion. How do other people find your blog? Good search engine optimization is important, but it’s not enough to get your blog noticed. Take the time to comment on other blogs, develop social network profiles and develop relationships with other bloggers who post on topics that are complementary (but not competitive) to your business.

• Diligence: It is important to stay current in your industry if you want to keep readers engaged. What are other bloggers posting about? How is your spin different? Ongoing blog development is not as simple as just putting your thoughts in a post and clicking the “publish” button. Join the larger conversation to increase the profile for your business and to provide valuable information for your readers.

• Follow-up: If you are lucky enough to have readers write comments, always respond to them. Comments mean that your audience is engaged enough in your content (and your business) to participate. Nurturing these relationships is one of the keys to a successful blog. Follow-up can also include repurposing your blog material in other social media contexts. Read our blog post on ‘Re-energizing Your Blog’ to learn more tips on making your blog more powerful.

Ongoing blog development is just one small part of a successful social media strategy. The experts at Social Strategy1 can help you fill in any missing pieces and make calculated changes to help grow your brand online. Contact us today to learn more about growing your business through social media efforts.