Blogs aren't just for personal journals or hobbyists anymore. Blogs provide businesses with a wealth of opportunities ranging from announcing new products and services to interacting with customers. Blogging also keeps your website active and alive rather than stagnant (the way 75% of business websites are.)
If you're not blogging for your business, it's time to get started. But if you need a little more inspiration, here are 9 great reasons why your business should get to it's blog on.
In no particular order ...
#1 - Business Blogging Stats Say it All
Companies with a blog average 434% more indexed web pages. Every webpage, and its associated keywords, are doorways into your website (and, thereby, your business.) That means blogs throw the doors wide open to your website and invite web surfers in. See #3 below for more information.
Companies that blog have 55% more website visitors than their non-blogging competitors. All those extra visitors generate 88% more B2C (Business to Consumer) and 67% more B2B (Business to Business) leads.
With more than 77% of adults reading a least one blog post peer day (most average 5 to 10 per day,) blogging is a well established means for businesses to get themselves and their products or services in front of customers.
The numbers tell the story - people read blogs and do business with the companies who have the blogs.
#2 - Blogs Build Business Credibility
Publishing great content on your website will lead people to hold your business in high regard, viewing it as a leader in your field. Great (heck, even good) content will keep people coming back for more. As they do they will get to know your company on a deeper level. This is great because people are more likely to do business with companies that they feel like they know.
#3 - Blogging Drives Traffic to Your Website
This article is part of the Business Blogging 101 series.
Remember the 434% more pages mentioned above? Those extra pages turn into a lot of extra keywords on your website thanks to your blog. Every keyword you use increases your changes of being found by a web surfer who is looking for your product or service through a search engine.
Blogs also do pretty well with the search engines thanks to the fact that the search engine algorithms prefer active websites to stagnant ones. Regular updates to your blog help your website rank higher in importance.
#4 - Strengthen Customer Relationships
Blogging opens a communication channel between you and your customers. You update customers on your new products and services, respond to questions, and gain feedback that can help you build a better business.
When you connect with customers by answering questions or responding to comments, you connect with customers and make them more willing to spend their hard-earned money to purchase your products or services. You will also humanize your company by giving it a voice and a personality.
Telling your brand's story is a great way to show personality and continue to strengthen your connection with customers. Share your philosophy, ideas, and information about your employees.
#5 - People Will Link to Your Website on Theirs
Your quality, intersting content will engage your readers. As such, they will be likely to link to it on their websites as well as post it to social media. The more links you have coming into your website from outside websites, the higher your website will rank with the search engines. And the higher your website ranks, the easier it will be for people to find it.
#6 - Save Money on Advertising
Blogging can allow you to cut back on radio, TV, and print advertising by opening up the online market. Unlike radio, TV, and print ads, every blog post you make stays on the internet for as long as you have your website. Old posts remain open doorways into your website that can The keywords in old posts are very likely to snag customers in the future
#7 - Help People
When they go looking for help, people often turn to those who have been there before. Find ways use your experiences to inform and educate people (maybe throw in a little entertainment along the way), and you’ll build a loyal following of people who turn to you for answers.
#8 - Establish Yourself as an Expert
You (or your company) can showcase your expertise and make yourself an authority in your industry. When people share links to your posts, they proclaim your expertise to a whole new audience and advertise for you.
Additionally, journalists often turn to bloggers as sources because the bloggers have established themselves publicly as experts.
#9 - Grow (or Create) Your Email List
Your quality content will inspire people to want to be notified when you create more. By allowing them to opt in for email notifications of new blog posts and newsletters from your business, you also receive an invitation to market your products and services directly to them. Of course, you don't want to go overboard and beat them over the head with nothing but hard sales pitches. If you do, they'll quickly opt out.
The Quick Takeaway
Blogging is big business and it's one of many forms of marketing that your company should be using.
Statistics from http://www.hubspot.com