Best Practice Blogging Ideas As Seen On One Kings Lane

August 24, 2016 Michael Conway

Blogging Best Practices For Interior Designers

When It Comes To Marketing an Interior Design Business, Writing Blog Articles Generates a Higher Return Than Advertising. Period.

Back in the early days of content marketing, blogs were used primarily to sing the praises of a company and its products or services. Today, blogging has evolved into a way to create meaningful conversations with customers. Where other website pages serve to inform and educate readers about how a product or service can help solve various problems, blogs give you the flexibility to appeal to customers in a new way: by selling a lifestyle.

The Key Blogging Ingredient: Lifestyle Content

Marketers know the importance of building buyer personas to tell them what prospective customers are thinking as they weigh their options to address their particular need or problem. But a buyer persona is not merely a description of your potential lead. It also gives valuable insight into who your customers aspire to be and how they see themselves. Brands like One Kings Lane have mastered the art of lifestyle content. Here’s how you can, too.

Sweet Dreams Are Made of These

The best content speaks to a customer’s aspiration. While solving a problem gets you off to a strong start, brands that align themselves with an individual’s dreams and goals will forge the deepest sense of loyalty. One Kings Lane does this by starting out asking one simple question: what does their typical customer need from it at this time, and what stories can the brand tell to offer her or him inspiration?

Harness Social Media & Celebrity

Once you decide on the lifestyle you want to sell, use what you’ve learned about your customers to produce content that caters to their ideal way of life. Discuss important trends that impact their lives and incorporate images and “celebrity” into your blogging strategy so to increase awareness and cement your brand as a leading authority.

Choose photos that depict the lifestyle your audience desires. One Kings Lane succeeds brilliantly at this by using lush, magazine editorial-style images with links to their site. There’s no need for lengthy text or CTAs when the right picture says it all.

Nothing says credibility quite like celebrity. For lifestyle retailers, there are TV and movie stars. For other industries, it may be influential bloggers and other thought leaders. Partner with your industry’s particular celebrities to create distinctive visual content.

Nothing builds a community faster than shared interests and passions. Social media posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest offer a two-way communications channel that can be used to your marketing advantage by encouraging customers to contribute to your campaigns. One Kings Lane fosters this philosophy by making it easy for fans to share images and other content with one easy click. It's Instagram feed is regularly updated with customers showing off their latest purchases from the retailer.

Keep It Subtle

The use of what is sometimes called periphery content means targeting interests over products. In other words, blogging that emphasizes content over buying takes the focus off hard selling and, instead, works as a suggestion. Millennial consumers, in particular, are keenly aware of when they’re being peddled to. They much prefer being wooed by shareables, playables, and usables.

One Kings Lane takes subtlety one step farther by including a broad range of price points to convert window shoppers into email subscribers. This inclusive element lets a vast spectrum of consumers buy into their particular lifestyle dream at a cost they can afford. So while they may not be able to buy the expensive outdoor deck lounge, they can own the pillows that will give them a similar look with their patio furniture.

Expand Your Reach

For lifestyle marketing to work for you, know how your company’s brand aligns with your individual customer’s values, and then become an extension of those values. Use blogging to share content that provides customers with helpful information and inspires them to live the life they aspire to. Remember to focus on lifestyle over specifics – it will make for longer-lasting campaigns that benefit everyone involved.

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