Creating and maintaining an effective business blog is hard work – and don’t let anybody tell you any different.

A successful blog, over time, creates an online legacy of Google-friendly content, attracts and retains readership, converts visitors into raving fans, and allows a business to nurture thought-leadership via credible content marketing methods. It also creates empathy, trust, and builds sales.

But, some business blogs look like a horror story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take The Exorcist, perhaps the most famous horror movie of all time, and inspired by true events. Sure, people have been talking about it since it’s release in 1973, but your business blog needs to inspire readers and generate new commercial opportunities, not repulse your audience on a mass level.

Here’s a few reasons why a horror story approach for a business blog doesn’t work as an element of successful, long-term social media engagement:

* Bells & Whistles, not Bravery

The Exorcist had truly incredible special effects – or bells & whistles, for want of a better phrase. We were all fooled and horrified at the same time. But a good business blog needs to be brave. It needs to be transparent, easy to read, clear, and totally open.

* Folklore, not Facts

The Exorcist was a movie full of folklore, superstition, and demonic hearsay. We were taken in by it all, because it was so utterly, convincingly, and thoroughly well-presented to us. But a good business blog needs to be Fact-laden, with compelling debate.

* Style, Not Substance

The Exorcist was an incredible horror movie for its style, that’s undeniable, but movie-goers didn’t walk out of the cinema impressed by its substance. We were moved, and not positively. But a good business blog is packed with great substance.

Happy Ending?

So, ask yourself a brutal and horrific question – is your blog a horror story or an inspiring piece of social media content?