Blog Three Times the Potassium of a Banana

Dave Cook, fellow member in one of my early morning business networking groups, was telling us about a nutrition product he represents that’s made out of moringa leaves. Listening to him, I was sure he’s been reading my blog posts about putting statistics into perspective for readers.

Moringa leaves, I learned, have 4x the calcium of milk, 3x the potassium of bananas, 2x the protein of yogurt, 4x the Vitamin A of carrots, and 7x the Vitamin C of oranges. There were other statistics (the product contains 46 antioxidants, 36 anti-inflammatories, Omegas 3, 6, and 9.)

It wasn’t so much the numbers that were packing the punch in these claims, I realized, but the comparisons with things already familiar to readers. My networking friend is not a blogger, but because he made those comparisons in his presentation to our group, everybody was able to relate to what he was saying.

We business bloggers are, in a very real way, interpreters. Effective blog posts, I teach, must go from information-dispensing to offering perspective.  Before a reader even has time to ask “So what?” we need to be ready with an answer that makes sense in terms with which readers are familiar. I call it blogging new knowledge on things readers already know.

Later that day, I heard the Dean of Butler College of Business use numbers in his talk to parents of prospective Butler scholarship students who were visiting to check out our campus. He began with zero (number of graduate teaching assistants that lecture in College of Bus. classrooms), and worked up through average class size (29) to the number 94 (% placement rate after graduation).

There are several strategic ways to use numbers to educate your blog readers and demonstrate your own expertise, I teach. 

• Numbers help debunk myths. If there’s some false impression people seem to have relating to your field or your product – bring on the numbers to prove how things really are.
• Statistics can provide factual proof, by showing the extent of the problem your product or service helps solve.

Does your blog post have three times the potassium of a banana?