Since computers have taken over all things business, communication has made the world seem smaller. You can talk to people from the other side of the world at a click of a button, and reaching people who are far away has become far easier than ever before. One of the best ways a small business can reach people is via blogging for business, and as a strategy for brand profile, blogging for business has become very popular!
Blogging for business: benefits and success factors
Personal blogs are on the rise, with more and more people looking for a platform to talk passionately about the things that they love. There’s something wonderful with seeing your words written down, journaled and in the cloud space where anyone can access it. It can help you to link together with like-minded people and share inspiration and ideas. For businesses, the benefits of blogging are huge.
You can outsource your digital marketing and social media to a company such as Sticky, but when it comes to content creation and blogging for business, that responsibility should be all yours. If you haven’t yet started writing a blog for your business, then you need to get a move on. People want to see your website and know what you are doing on a professional level, but your blog can help them to understand you on a personal level, and that type of engagement is priceless.
Blogging for business can invite new networking opportunities, collaborative opportunities with companies in a similar field and major amounts of new traffic to your site. You don’t even have to write if you haven’t got the knack or the typing speed. Vlogging is another up and comer for businesses, with many business owners choosing to have videos on their main company websites that explain what they do, show a tour of the office and even do a ‘day in the life’ of their company.
Blogging for business gives someone a chance to regularly visit your website, and that quality content delivery is absolutely essential for your company to progress in the right way. The better you get at content creation the more customers are going to arrive at your website. The more that you do this, the more conversions into sales you will get. It’s all a great way to earn you more loyal customers and more profits than you could have anticipated.
You want to have a blog that people arrive at to read at their leisure. People love a good blog, especially if it’s about something that they are inherently interested in. Need-based blogs that help customers to find answers are fantastic, but if you have the right compelling content, then people will want to read about what you are doing for fun. Turning your website into a destination is exactly what you need to be a success in the eyes of your customers.
Your blog is also your company portfolio; when you meet new networking contacts, directing them there is how you can show off your business personality. Incorporate photos, music and fun and you can have a blog that draws people in!
The myths about blogging for business
Now that you know the value blogging for business brings to you, let’s dispel some of the myths. For small businesses, there are 3 myths that are still floating around.
You have to blog every day
While it’s true that companies that blog at least 15 times a month get significantly more traffic, you don’t have to blog three times a week to get visible in search engine results. With the amount of content being created today, it’s a strategy that works. Small businesses need to balance their time between working on your business verses and working in your company. Customer work comes first, life gets in the way and sometimes you just need a break. And in this case, your blogging frequency will depend on what works for you.
The frequency of blogging for business is important so that your blog doesn’t become out of date. But you need to choose the right amount for your business and be consistent. Set your readers’ expectations. It is better to know that you are delivering high quality content once a month than to receive a lot of posts and then be silent.
You don’t write well, so you can’t blog
Once you understand your industry, you can start creating content for your blog. Writing is not a skill that many have by nature. Many small business owners need help here. You know the topics your target group needs. Get this information as an audio file, a video, or record the information and let an author create the post. It is your knowledge that is still showing up on your blog. Just because you have an author doesn’t make it any less valuable.
Nobody will read it, so why bother?
When you first start blogging for business it feels like you are speaking into a black hole. Your posts are out there, but nobody is listening. But with the right advertising, you can help make your posts more visible. Your optimization will take a while to take effect, but you can help it for a long time.
- Use social media to share your post. Pick the right platforms and share them.
- Upload your posts to Google My Business. Your posts will now become part of your profile and will appear when someone looks at your knowledge panel.
- Submit your posts to your email list (if you have one). You want to keep in touch with your subscribers and sending your posts is a great way to do that.
Many people looking for a solution read blog posts to find out about the topic before making a decision on a vendor. If they read your post, you have a better chance that they will contact you than your competitor.
Benefits of blogging for business
But marketing for your business needs to take place, so let’s get rid of the “why not” of blogging and talk about the “why should” blog as a marketing activity to help your small business build a strong online presence.
Increases your reputation as an expert
Content that helps your audience solve a problem makes you memorable. If the challenge is bigger than they can handle on their own, they reach out to you for help.
Helps with search engine optimization
Writing unique content related to your ideal customer will help your blog get visible in the search engines for your top keywords.
Facilitates inbound links
A blog encourages inbound links from other blogs that find something you are saying interesting. I link to quality content and love finding great post from someone I’ve never heard of before. Providing a link will help them and will help my readers.
Allows you to show your personality
Blogging with your own voice will help people get to know you. Write as if you were having a conversation with someone. Make it easy for your reader to get the message quickly and easily.
Helps you stay up to date in your area
Researching and blogging will help you stay up to date with the latest news. This becomes valuable to your customers as you are now the person they consider the leader in your field.
Makes you the central source for quality content
Content marketing involves creating your own content and sharing other people’s content. When you are followed by people on social media and you share other useful content, position yourself as a content hub. They provide a service for those who are too busy to read lots of blogs on their own.
Encourages people to bond with you
Finding information is a passive activity. But a well-written post that shows that you can solve someone’s problem will encourage them to turn to for more information.
Keeps your website fresh
Outdated website content is the death knell. People who want to do business with you are looking for the most up-to-date information. Some content is evergreen – meaning it never becomes out of date. Unless your industry changes quickly, your content can stay fresh for a long time. If you’re in an industry (like mine) that is constantly changing, you need to date your materials and post updates when things change.
Conclusion
A website built on WordPress with an active blog is just the recipe for a strong online presence. The ease of updating content in WordPress will encourage you to add new, fresh content and keep your pages up to date as well. Remember, every new blog post adds another page to your website that can be indexed by search engines. With every contribution you expand your digital footprint so that you have more chances of being found.
