The blogosphere is booming. And it’s not just cute cats and celebrity mishaps. Blogging for business is increasingly acknowledged as being an essential element of a company’s marketing campaign.
As a specialist WordPress agency, we know how important a good website is if you want to gain traction amongst your competitors in this wired world, and we’re dedicated to building the perfect website for your business needs.
But a good website will only get you so far. Search engines such as Google want to know that your website is an ongoing concern, and in order for them to see that, it needs to be updated regularly. Of course, you can keep tweaking the content on your site (don’t we all?) but this can get tiresome and there is a much better way to keep you and your customers entertained and engaged.
The answer? By regularly posting quality content on your website via your blog.
For those of you who are unsure about the benefits of blogging for business, we’ve put together the top five reasons why your business needs a blog.
#1 Build Brand Identity
Your website is your online shop front. As such, it needs a professional tone and much of the business content ends up being quite formal. A blog, however, is the perfect opportunity to show your customers who you really are.
A blog is naturally a more informal and conversational space. It gives you a chance to humanise your business and give your audience a glimpse of the people behind the brand.
If you regularly post content packed with personality and quality, you’re making your brand more accessible, and giving your audience the chance to put a face to your business (literally!). By keeping your blog friendly and inviting conversations with your readers, you will naturally establish long-term relationships with your customers. Which is brilliant for business.
#2 Establish Brand Authority
By regularly posting a stream of interesting, informative content on your blog, readers will begin to view your blog, and therefore your brand, as a credible, reliable source of information. And by keeping that content relevant to your industry and demonstrating your knowledge and expertise, you will elevate your brand’s reputation over that of your competitors.
The key to blogging is regularity. Don’t worry about following a particular format – mix it up a little. Discuss recent industry developments, promote special offers, demonstrate little-known product features, and disclose helpful tips and tricks.
What matters is showing your customers that you’re dedicated to your business, and giving them something of value every time they visit. So that next time they want to purchase the products or services you provide, your name will be the first one to pop into their heads.
#3 Boost Your SEO
Having a beautiful, new website feels very satisfying. But there’s little point in investing money and time on it if it’s lurking in the internet wilderness. The key focus for any online business is ensuring that your target audience can find you. Which is where SEO comes in.
Blogging has a huge impact on Search Engine Optimisation. Regular, fresh content, sprinkled with keywords, not only keeps you on Google’s radar, but each page you post with a unique URL is another opportunity for a search engine user to find you.
So blogging increases the reach of your website, and gives you a fantastic opportunity to extend your audience.
#4 Interact With Your Customers
As well as being a creative outlet for your brand, a blog also provides an additional source of customer service. Do you repeatedly receive the same question? Write a blog post about it. Is there a clever feature of one of your products or services that isn’t immediately obvious? Give a demonstration on your blog.
It’s inevitable that over the life of your business, your products and services will evolve with the needs and demands of your customers. So use your blog as an opportunity to get ahead of the game. Ask your customers what they would like, and request feedback on any new ideas you have.
Use your blog to encourage a sense of community centred on your brand. Invite comments, start conversations, ask your readers if they would like to write posts for your blog, and you will form a group of people who are as passion about your brand and mission as you are.
#5 Focus Your Social Media
Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn… Today, social media is as essential as having a website and blog, but it can be tough to sum up important news in 140 characters or less, or consistently think of witty status updates. And that’s where a blog can help.
Every time you post a new blog, use it as material to promote on your social networks. If you receive an interesting comment or response, repost that too and encourage a conversation. Using social media to promote your blog will generate traffic to your website and keep your social media accounts active.
In addition, blog posts are some of the most shared online content, so take advantage of your customer’s wider networks by encouraging your readers to share your blogs. And remember, the more entertaining and useful your blogs are, the more shareable they will be.
These are just five of the reasons why blogging is excellent for your business.
Do you blog for business? What are some of main benefits you’ve seen? We’d love to hear about them.