Social media, mobile messaging, and tools like Google Glass provide us a platform to document our experiences, tell stories, and share information. However, in today’s one-hit-wonder world, few things have as longstanding digital success as the blog. That’s not to say that the other sources of communication are any less valuable — they each have a role — but the blog is a vital piece of mindshare real estate that businesses can’t afford to ignore.
Blogs work well for sharing frustrations, insights, reviews, good news, and analysis. A business with a strong blog presence can generate invaluable SEO for their site based on the conversations they share on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. You’re already doing research and answering questions for your customers every day. Why not share this valuable content with a larger audience and reap the marketing benefits as well? It’s a win-win! These posts serve as an indicator of expertise, leadership, even company culture. A business with a blog has the ability to share with the world just who they are, what they do, and why they should be seen as an authority and a thought leader.
So why are so many companies still asking, “Should my business have a blog?”
We completely understand anxiety about the time it takes to maintain a blog (we recommend blogging once or twice per week), . Regardless, there’s a host a reasons why a blog is vital for YOUR business.
A Brand with Personality
Blogs are a great outlet to personalize your brand. Your business is people, people with ideas, people with expertise, people with a voice, and it’s on this level that readers want to connect. Rather than a website that lists information, blog posts done well are more approachable and feel like a conversation to your visitors, especially if they are about technical topics.
A Website Provides You A Platform – Use it
We recently discussed the topic of how a Facebook page is not a substitute for a website, primarily because you own your website and not the Facebook page. If Facebook decides to shut down, you lose everything. On your website, you own the content, and if you choose to make any changes, it all goes with you. This is why a blog is so important because it’s on a platform you own.
Blogging gives you a platform to share company news, insights, and awards. Potential clients who see you as a resource in your field are much more likely to do business with you. Further, sharing information on your products/services means existing clients and others in your network can learn about your abilities in a much more interesting way than reading the “Our Services” section. A successful blog can be the most popular entry point for website visitors, since blog posts can and will be shared far and wide if they contain useful information.
Don’t Lose The Traffic
Part of engaging in the social space is a give and get mentality. Sharing content from partners and other like-minded individuals is always a good thing. But without a blog, where you’re sharing all that information that you know so well, you don’t even have a chance with your competitors. It’s great to share your OWN content and send readers to your website, which ultimately allows you to build a relationship with them.
Proof Positive
Our own experience with blogging has produced a significant increase in visitors and increased time on site. We’ve worked hard to become a small publishing machine, producing original content on a regular basis. The undertaking requires a lot of planning, but it’s possible.
Blogging success is bigger than us. One of our clients, Bankers Anonymous, started his blogging and podcasting site only a year ago, from the ground up. He’s a one-man show who has been consistently blogging and sharing his original content. One of his goals was to be syndicated by the Business Insider and within four months he achieved his goal. His site receives more than 13,000 visitors per month and is growing.
Here are a couple of other articles about we like about why blogging makes sense:
Blogging For Your Business Is Worth It, Even If You Get No Traffic
Is Blogging Worth It? Even If No One Is Reading It
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