While some may think blogging for a business is a dying practice, they would be mistaken. As different forms of content come and go, blogging has remained a constant. There are many reasons to blog for your business, but the bottom line is that your target audience craves information, and that fact is not changing.
Here, we address just a few reasons to establish and maintain an active blog for your business:
Demonstrate your expertise
In this time of a million messages, it’s hard to cut through the “noise” to get your message in front of your audience. Yet, sharing information with your customers or potential customers is critical. As a business expert, you stand to gain the trust of your audience by sharing your specific knowledge. Readers will come to see you as a thought leader and a valuable resource for useful facts, figures and insights. If you are a medical practice, for example, share your medical knowledge about common conditions, treatments and new advancements. If you are an architecture firm, share the latest trends in building design. Posting these types of informative articles builds customer loyalty. Who will they think of when they need an expert? You! A well-written blog will help you stand out from the competition as a specialist in your industry.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Businesses who actively blog generate 55% more site visits than those who don’t.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Drive website traffic
Blogging is vital when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO) and increasing visits to your website from organic search. Google recognizes blog content and pushes this type of information to the top in search, so more people can benefit from your professional advice. Businesses who actively blog generate 55% more site visits than those who don’t (HubSpot, 2017). When thinking about blog topics, keep in mind what users are interested in and are actively searching for.
Generate quality social content
After search engines, social media platforms drive the most traffic to websites. Social media thrives on shared blog content. In fact, 23% of today’s social media posts include a link to a blog post (HubSpot, 2019). Your social media platforms are the perfect place to promote your blog. Not only does it drive traffic to your website, but it also gives you quality content to share with your followers – and a way for your followers to pass it along to their friends and connections.
Share testimonials
Another powerful way to utilize your company’s blog is to share stories of your happy customers’ personal experiences. People are more likely to trust the opinion of a third party than to take your word for it, so taking advantage of user-generated content is a must. As much as 93% of consumers say online reviews impact their purchasing decisions (Podium, 2017). So, spread the word about your positive reviews by turning them into personal testimonials.
With the permission of the customer, creating a detailed blog post about their experience can result in an emotional response from the reader. Emotional responses develop a sense of urgency and will help build trust between you and your customer.
So, yes, you should blog!
If your question is should you be actively blogging on your company’s website, the answer is most certainly, yes. The four main reasons we listed above, coupled with multiple other advantages, all show that blogging can have a positive impact on marketing your business if it is done right. Blogging gives you a stable platform to provide useful information for your clients and prospects, showcase your capabilities and position your business. With so many marketing strategies and tactics continually coming and going, blogging is a sure bet.
But blogging takes time
Yes, it does. And that’s why many companies never get their blog off the ground. They may launch a blog on their website and do a few posts in the beginning, but finding their voice and sticking with it takes time and resources. The essential part of any blog is being consistent when it comes to developing good content and posting. Remember that you have a lot to offer readers as an authority in your field, and informative, quality content is key.
Although blogging may be important to you and your business, you may not have the time to commit to getting it done. As a digital marketing agency specializing in content marketing, we have seen the multiple benefits consistent blogging has provided our clients. Contact us for more information on how blogging and other content creation can help you grow and expand your business.
