Blogging For Business: A Vital Marketing Strategy

Every business should have a blog on their website. Here’s why blogging for business is the best marketing strategy for online visibility.

Do you have a blog on your business website? If not, you are missing out on a goldmine of opportunities to generate new leads and revenue for your business.

Blogging for your business is a vital marketing strategy that every business owner should master and take full advantage of. Chances are good that your competition is already blogging on their business website. You can not afford to miss out on this opportunity.

Maybe you own a sole proprietorship, an online store, a small business, or a large corporation. You could be a lawyer, a contractor, an artist, a writer, or a veterinarian.

It doesn’t even matter whether you’re selling a product or a service. You should be blogging for your business.

The simple fact is, no matter what type of business you own, your business will benefit in multiple ways if you add a blog to your business website.

New, and often even established, business owners ask me all the time:

• How do I get more traffic to my website and social media?
• What can I do to establish myself as an authority in my industry?
• How can I stand out from my competition and connect with my customers?
• Can I market my product or service without spending a lot of money?

Believe it or not, my answer to all of these questions is “Start a blog for your business!”

Let’s Talk About The 10 Powerful Benefits Of Blogging For Your Business

1. Blogging For Your Business Brings New Visitors To Your Website And Improves Your SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Who doesn’t want more visitors on their business website?

Think about how visitors find your website now. Maybe they know the name of your business and type it into the search, but those are going to be people who already know about your business, so they’re not new traffic.

Maybe they’re searching for a business like yours in your area. Your competition could just as easily grab their eye in search instead.

You could pay for traffic by purchasing ads, but that gets expensive fast. And the second you stop running those ads, the new traffic stops coming, too.

When you have a blog on your website, each individual post is another page for search engines to index. Think about it… you probably have 4 or 5 pages on your website now that you update once a year or so.

With a blog, you could have an unlimited number of pages, and you are updating your website every time you put up a new post. Search engines love active websites!

And think of all the additional opportunities people will have to pull you up when they search for a topic related to your business that you have a blog post about!

In order to take advantage of this benefit of blogging for business, you will need to make sure that your content and graphics are search engine optimized. Know what your target audience and ideal client need and want and make sure your content speaks to them.

2. Blogging for Your Business Helps You Convert Your Website Visitors Into Leads By Building An Email List Using Sales Funnels

A sales funnel is a valuable freebie that you offer to people who subscribe to your blog. It could be anything from a coupon to a checklist or some other printable, or even a short eBook.

The point is, you want to give them something of value to get their email address so that you can stay in touch with them through newsletters and other email updates later.

Building an email list of potential customers has huge value for your business. Having email addresses for existing customers is great… but they’re existing customers.

The goal here is to grow your customer base. Having email addresses for potential customers is even better because it gives you the opportunity to build a relationship with them, gain their trust, and eventually make the sale!

Did you know that most people won’t make a purchase the first time they visit a website? If you don’t have a way to contact them later, how are you going to get them back for that second visit and potential purchase?

3. Posting Quality Content Establishes You As An Authority In Your Industry

Posting quality content that solves a problem or teaches the reader something new establishes trust and shows that you are an expert in your industry.

People will come back time and time again for helpful, useful, and interesting content, giving you more opportunities to show your expertise and gain their trust, and ultimately to sell your product or service.

The ideal blog post should be 1,000-2,000 words in length. It should offer useful information that will help the reader solve a problem or achieve a goal.

Your content should be interesting and engaging. You want to encourage the reader to interact with you and you want them coming back for more.

Learning everything you can about your target audience and your ideal client is crucial for creating content that keeps them coming back for more.

4. Each Blog Post Will Continue To Benefit Your Business For Weeks, Months, And Even Years

When you publish a blog post on your blog, you usually go to your favorite social media platform and share it. Then you send out an email blast and maybe a newsletter telling all of your current subscribers about it.

Your current followers get excited about it and share it with their friends. That’s how you generate a buzz about your post! For the first couple of days, you get lots of hits on that post, which then generates new leads for you.

Well, here’s the cool thing about blogging for business… that blog post is now indexed by search engines.

So for weeks, months and potentially even years to come, that blog post will continue to bring new traffic, new leads, and additional revenue to your business website.

The effort you put into your blog today can continue to pay off for as long as you have your business and website. That’s some serious ROI!

The key to using this strategy successfully is creating search engine optimized, “evergreen” content that will still be relevant for years down the road.

5. Having A Blog For Your Business Humanizes Your Brand

When you post your own unique thoughts and insights, you stand out from your competition. It shows the human voice and face behind your business. Blogging for your business is an opportunity to show your personality and increase your brand’s likeability.

Talk about how you got into the industry you’re in. How did you learn your trade? Where did you go to school? Tell them about your values and beliefs. Include a funny or interesting story here and there. Let them see your personality!

6. Having A Blog for Your Business Supports Your Social Media Efforts With More Opportunities For Sharing

Most business owners know they need to be active on social media. But how many times have you sat down to post something, only to realize you have no idea what to post?

Your blog is a wealth of unique, interesting content that you can share and talk about on your social media.

When you send people to your website through your social media, you are increasing your traffic and generating leads. And when people share your content on their social media, it’s an even greater win-win for you!

Be sure to share every post on your social media. Even go back to your archives and share old posts regularly. Chances are, new followers haven’t seen those older posts.

7. Blogging for Your Business Develops Relationships With Your Clients And Keeps Them Engaged

Reviewing and responding to comments on your blog is a great way to build relationships with your clients and gain valuable insight into their needs and wants.

When you take it a step further and share your content on social media, you have more opportunities to connect with your clients and build trust.

Commenting on and sharing your content keeps them engaged and interested in what’s going on with your business.

Use the comments on your business blog and social media to get to know your target audience and ideal client better.

8. Blogging for Your Business Connects People With Your Brand And Helps You Stand Out As Different From Your Competition

This is one of the most powerful benefits of blogging for business.

People can get a better sense of your brand, business, and values by reading your blog posts.

Your posts are unique and personal, and that makes you stand out from the crowd.

Let’s say your dog is due for his annual vaccines and check-up, but you’re new in town and not sure where to go.

Then you remember this great blog post you read last week from a local veterinarian. It was all about fun things to do with your dog in your new town. You could tell from the article that the doctor was a true animal lover. He really seemed to enjoy hanging out with his dog.

Good thing you followed that vet on social media! You can tell from their blog posts and social media that they are knowledgeable and friendly with a good reputation, so you decide to call them and make an appointment.

In this scenario, the blog post made a personal connection with this potential client and got you the future sale.

When a potential client makes a personal connection with a business, they are much more likely to choose that business over any others. Even ones that are more convenient or have lower prices!

9. Blogging for Your Business Helps You Grow Demand And Interest In Your Products Or Services

Use your blog to tell your target audience about new products or services your business is offering.

Explain why your product/service is so great and why your client can’t live without it.

Tell them about the work you have done and show them pictures of your work. Turn your blog into an online portfolio for your business.

A contractor could talk about and show pictures of his latest remodeling job.

A hairstylist might show photos of the latest spring haircuts and talk about why they’re so great.

Restaurants can show mouth-watering photos of items on their new menu.

I’m sure you can see where I’m coming from… Use your blog to build interest and excitement for your products and services. Show off your hard work!

10. Blogging Can Provide Free Marketing For Your Business

Starting a blog on your business website is usually free since you already own the platform.

That’s why I say you can’t afford NOT to have a blog for your business!

When you bring people to your website with your fantastic blog posts, you are marketing your business, for free, with results that are more personal and effective than you would ever get with paid advertising.

It is important to note that your blog MUST be on your business website in order to take full advantage of the benefits of blogging for your business. You can’t start a blog on a separate platform and expect to achieve the same results.

Still not convinced? Here’s what the experts at Forbes magazine have to say about the benefits of blogging for business.