A business blog is an exciting Internet marketing tactic you can use to engage your audience to new levels with your products and services. It all comes down to your content, but it’s sometimes difficult knowing where to start. Below are five great ideas for content to help you engage the most potential customers as possible.

Develop posts featuring any current sales and deals. People visiting your blog are showing interest in your brand, so they are one step away from being a legitimate customer, if they are not already. Content that features a current deal, especially one that may only be promoted on the blog itself (an exclusive), can catch your readers attention and drive them to purchase.

Write content that reports on big company news, news products and service updates. Many people visiting your blog have already invested in your brand. They are at the blog because they want to know more about the company and what big things are on the horizon. This helps them feel confident in their purchase, especially if the product they bought was a big ticket item. So to help them, report on everything that is going on with your company. Give them the details, no matter how small, on product and service updates. This also helps build trust with potential customers, so it is a win-win situation.

Write articles about relevant topics to your brand and overall business. You want to use your blog to build brand loyalty with current customers and trust with any new potential customers. To do that, there is no better content strategy for your blog than writing original content relevant to your industry and brand. This positions you as a thought leader within the industry, a company that cares to pass on knowledge as much as it does selling a product. This type of trust is hard to come by, so use this strategy wisely.

Build contests and give-aways into your blog. People love to get things for free. Blogs that invest in give-aways have often seen big jumps in overall traffic and interactivity with its readers. These give-aways do not need to be big. They could be for a basic product you sell, a free two week service package or even a generic gift card. The important part is being consistent with it. You need to build a contest strategy into your overall blog strategy and stick to it.

Report on your successes, failures and challenges. This strategy may not be for every company, product or service, but when you feel comfortable sharing, put it out there on your blog. By being transparent with the trials you are facing in product development and ultimately your company wins, you are building a dramatic story around your brand. People love stories. They love to root for the underdog. They get excited when they feel involved. They are invested in seeing a brand succeed. If you can find this voice in your blog and be comfortable with this level of sharing, you can win over customers for life.

If you utilize these five tips, you’ll see that the opportunities for your company blog are endless! Begin today, and start building those loyal customers other companies only dream of.