"Blogging is one of the best ways that you can help your business."
I'm sure you have all heard this line copious amounts of times from friends, co-workers and even business relations. For some of you this may have been all the convincing you needed to give blogging a go. But there are still many of you out there that are just not certain blogging can really have that much of an impact on your business.
Instead of just listing impressive statistics like "companies who blog receive 67% more leads every month than those who do not" I'm going to show you ten reasons why you should be blogging and the direct benefits it can have on your business. Trust me, if you were sceptical about blogging before, after reading this, you will be shouting the benefits of blogging from the rooftops.
1. Blogging Is Not Just A Quick Fix - It Is A Long-term Solution
Writing a weekly or even a monthly blog can have dramatic impact on your business. You may find the prospect of writing a blog every week extremely daunting - but do not panic. There is plenty of content out there to inspire you; it is simply knowing where to find it. Ensure you follow and read as many blogs as you can, they do not have to be related to your business but they will allow you to familiarise yourself with the different styles and formats that blogs can have. Also, try and keep up to date with the latest industry news, there may be a new piece of technology introduced or a new piece of legislation brought in which you may feel you want to write about.
Once you begin to find your feet, it will become apparent that the world of blogging really isn't as complex as you may have first thought. The one key thing to remember is that you must establish a routine when it comes to posting your blog. Give your readers a day when they know a new blog will be posted. Try once a month to begin with and slowly increase it to every week if possible. Remember, the benefits of blogging will not make themselves known immediately. If you are only able to blog once a month, it will take some time before you see results. However, if you are consistent and follow the rest of the tips in this blog, you will be amazed at the benefits blogging will bring to your business.
2. Blogging Can Drive Traffic To Your Website And Your Other Online Platforms
Blogging is one of the best ways to drive traffic to your website. By providing suitable links from your blog page back to your main website you are ensuring that those audiences who have enjoyed reading your blog can easily visit your website. As well as this being a real positive for increasing traffic, this movement in traffic will also noted by Google and can significantly improve your businesses SEO.
By ensuring that you also include your businesses social media logos on your blog, you are again encouraging audiences to visit your other online platforms. The main thing to remember here is that the more information you include for your audience, the easier you make it for them to interact and engage and the more likely it is that they will. Include small call to actions, encourage audiences to 'Like you on Facebook' or 'Follow you on Twitter. Blogging is a great way to start off a chain reaction from one online platform to another, just remember you need to pave the way to make it easy for audiences to do so.
3. Blogging Is A Great Way To Convert Traffic Into Customers
One statistic, which demonstrates this benefit of blogging, is that 92% of companies who blogged multiple times a day acquired a customer through their blog. Although posting a blog multiple times a day may not be possible for you and your company, this statistic demonstrates the benefits that blogging can bring to your business. By capturing audiences via your blog, they are more likely to visit your website and your other online profiles. It all leads back to diverting traffic to your website and encouraging that traffic to invest in your business.
Still not convinced? One of the best success stories comes from a business that was propelled from 0 to 100,000 customers through the use of guest blogging. BufferApp are a social media app that makes publishing on social media sites easier for users. All customers have to do is create an account with which they place all their content and then Buffer posts the content to their different social media sites throughout the day, automatically. Eradicating the need to have an employee sit and manually post on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or any of their other social media platforms. The company achieved 100,000 users within 9 months solely through writing approximately 150 guest blogs for other sites. This is an incredible achievement and something that as you can see, takes time, persistence and demonstrates that blogging is not a quick fix. However, it shows the huge benefits that guest blogging or simply blogging can have on your business.
4. It Can Help Give You And Your Business Authority Within Your Industry
Writing a blog is an excellent way of making your business stand out in your industry sector. By showing your peers that you take an interest in events or developments within your industry can quickly ensure you are considered the 'go-to-business' for advice. Blogging and demonstrating your businesses knowledge often guarantees return custom. Readers will return time and time again to your blog because they understand and appreciate exactly what they are going to get.
5. Every Time You Blog, You Are Improving Your Business' SEO
SEO is extremely important for any business operating on the web and is something that many find confusing. However, blogging is an extremely easy and efficient way of improving your business' SEO.
When someone types a question or query into Google, the search engine automatically looks for articles with similar keywords. Therefore, if you have written a blog which shares the same topic and uses several of the same keywords mentioned, there is a good chance that Google will notice this and your article will be shown as a result. Therefore, you are expanding your demographic and improving your SEO without having to spend any money. Also, by including links within your blog, either to your own website or other blogs, this can also have an extremely positive effect on your SEO. It is about your website linking to other relevant online sources and hopefully other relevant online sources linking back to you.
6. Blogging Is A Sure Fire Way To Create Great Content
Blogging is all about content, and I'm sure you have heard many people say 'Content is King'. One amazing thing about writing a weekly blog is that you are instantly creating great, original content. Your latest blog can become a Facebook question supported with a link to your blog, a tweet informing followers that a new blog has been posted, or a LinkedIn debate. What else better to post on your own businesses social media pages then your new business blog?
By posting your blog to your social media pages, it also ensures that those people who follow you on Twitter, for example, but are not familiar with your blog or your website, may take the time to visit your site and read your blog. Remember to encourage interaction and engagement by posting your blog with a call to action.
7. Use The Opportunity Of Writing Blogs To Create Great Public Relations
Another brilliant benefit of blogging is that it can also greatly improve your businesses public relations, but best of all, at no extra cost! Blogging is a great way to create a positive online image for your business and it is also an opportunity to build upon and improve business relations. If you have recently read a blog post written by another company and it has provided you with inspiration for your blog post, then ensure you add a link back to their blog. This is something that is greatly received by bloggers and even more so by businesses. It may also ensure that the business thinks of you the next time they post a blog and provide you with a link back.
8. Blogging Allows You To Strengthen Business And Customer Relationships
Encouraging engagement with your blog is something that most definitely should be done every time you post. Do not be shocked or surprised if this occasionally includes the odd negative comment. When someone takes the time to comment on your blog, it is considered courteous to comment back - even if it is negative. Blog engagement is something that is viewed highly by Google and it could increase your chances of being found on the search engine. Even negative comments, which can be difficult at times to deal with, should be answered in the same way as comments of praise. Answering negative comments shows your business in a positive light, and many readers will appreciate you for taking time to deal with complaints. It is also vitally important to take on board comments left by customers, especially if it is regarding your products or services. They can often provide you with a great insight into what they feel needs altering or what products they would like to see introduced.
9. Blogging Allows You To Give Your Business Personality
It is often difficult for businesses to show personality at times, however, when you write your own blog, it provides you with an opportunity to inject some life into your online profiles. Your website and many other social media platforms are usually kept professional and corporate, however with a blog, you allow audiences to interact with your business through the use of comments, likes and shares. It is important to consider your brand personality when writing your blog. How can you make your business seem more approachable? More likeable? Use your blog as a gateway to showing a different side to your business.
10. Blogging Gives Your Business A Voice
By writing a blog weekly or even monthly, it gives your business a voice and an opportunity to inform people about your latest news and business happenings. Due to their personal natures, blogs have been rated the 5th most trusted source for accurate online information - this is because the consumer is being given information straight from the horses mouth. It is your chance to have your say as a business, so make sure that you give the right impression. What is it that you want your readers, audiences and clients to know and what lasting impression would you like to make?
So there you have it, the top ten reasons why you should be blogging to help your business. As you can see the benefits that can be achieved can have a major impact on your business, they often just take time to appear. Like everything, blogging is never and will never be a quick fix. It will take time to find your feet and gain a trusted following of readers. However, once you are prepared to invest that bit of time and hard work at the beginning, the effects will continually be felt so long as you keep blogging. And the best bit about all of this is - it will not cost your business anything, as blogging is completely free. So what are you waiting for? You surely can't need any more persuading? Get out there and get blogging.
Top 10 image by sam_churchill