5 reasons to blog for business
Of all the social media tools in our arsenal the easiest to do is blogging. Yet, time and again, I encounter businesses large or small reluctant to blog. Frankly, I am baffled by this, particularly when the very same businesses are already creating content for mailed newsletters or e-blasters.
So, why blog? Here are five very relevant business reasons to blog. If you don’t have any particularly talented writers on your team, partner with a copy-writer or someone who knows your industry and/or business.
SEO Support
This is perhaps the most heart-stopping of reasons to blog. Even with the recent changes at Google (and maybe particularly because of them), you want Google to index more than 10-12 pages of “about us”. The more pages indexed, the higher your ranking. Blogging gives you key-word content and additional indexing opportunities with Google. Further, several permalinks functions give you a chance to use keywords in your URL (the all important H1 header) while at the same time creating an engaging title. Here’s the trick: the more frequently you update, the better your search results; while it might not be practical to blog everyday, even 1X per week gives you 52 more index pages a year. Blogging also gives you the all important link opportunities too. Write timely, credible information and the blog will likely receive links, even better and more important if they are from high-impact websites like newspapers or e-zines. No, simply starting a blog will not shoot you to number one immediately, but it will increase your rankings.
Industry Expert
Blogging allows you to showcase your understanding of your industry and its trends. Whether you write to inform or you write with an opinion, either way, you send a message to your clients that you are a market leader. Your company’s blog can feature a round-robin of experts at your company, raising their profile and your company’s because you hire industry leaders.
Customers Read and Interact
Giving your customers a voice shows savvy and confidence. You’ll find your blog a more effective tool for making customer announcements than letting them hear about it on the news and you give them a way to comment and forward the information. Responding to your current or potential customers who engage your blog is a great way to show your listening and create a brand advocate. A blog is also an outstanding place to engage customers asking for their ideas or opinions on future products or suggestions. You can also grow your email list with blog registration.
Driving the press to your blog can also be a powerful tool as well, giving them countless pages of your well-controlled material, back story and access to key sources for future stories within your industry.
One more customer reason to blog: give your customers a reason to visit your website.
Social Media Support
While you want to balance your social media self-promotion (on Facebook, Twitter, etc.) having your own content to showcase gives you reasons to engage and communicate with your audience. Its just another way to show your customers that you will communicate with them in a way that’s usable to them.
ROI
Blogging is free, so the ROI is admittedly tricky. However, what would you pay to be considered a first-class resource by the press? What would you give to grow your email list? Could you pay anyone to become a passionate company advocate? How much does it typically cost for you to query your best customers. The advantages of blogging vs. the cost of blogging (time) rack up pretty quickly.
