Almost 4 billion people worldwide currently are connected to the internet now. So it has never been a better time for companies to include blogging in their marketing strategy. Blogs initially started off as personal online journals. Now, that has changed to not only improve personal brand but also to improve business. Nowadays people blog for almost all sorts of reasons. Be it writing their personal experiences, making money, driving traffic to their websites, or engaging customers. But before getting into the study: how it can be useful, let us get a brief idea of what it is.
What is Blogging?
Blogging is an inexpensive way for small businesses to drive traffic to their site. It enhances inbound marketing and attracts more customers. It is like maintaining an online diary or journal located on a website. The content typically includes text, pictures, videos, and scans from old physical diaries or journals and other hard copy documents. A blog can exist solely for personal use, sharing information with an exclusive group, or for business purposes to engage the public. This is why a blog owner can set their blog for private or public access. Blogs focus on content, usually called “blog posts”. Those need to be updated regularly. Blogs also may have a comments section below the blog posts. These allow direct interaction with the buyers.
The article that you are reading is one such example.
There are some people that wonder why it is important in today’s social media marketing environment. Note that whether you own a small business or a multinational company, blogging is vital. According to a recent report, nearly 80% of companies that use it reported gaining more customers through their blogging ventures.
Does your business really need regular blogging?
Business Blogging is the marketing channel through which businesses get online visibility. So, when a company chooses it as a marketing tactic, they create blog posts that inform their target audience about their business. For example, suppose you are a food brand. You will surely blog around topics delighting the foodies. You can promote your blog post using Facebook business page, Twitter, and Instagram. Now you know how important it is. Business blogging is a way to reach out to people looking for your product or services on the internet.
8 biggest reasons why Blogging is needed:
In this current period, one question many people ask after starting a business. Is blogging worth it? The answer is Yes! Here are the reasons.
1. Blogging helps to drive traffic
The most important reason why blogging is important is that it gives you the opportunity to create relevant content for your audience. Use this as a marketing strategy to push traffic back to your website. Your business might be on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or anywhere else. If you post links – with relevant visuals – of your blogs to your social sites, you will start seeing positive results. So give your social followers a reason to click through to your website. Additionally, you can post inbound links directly in your blogs, to push traffic to specific landing pages of your website.
Many companies do not have the time or manpower to provide such a number of blog posts. But fortunately, professional writing services can be used to provide the content. When writing a blog post, carefully embed links to your main website and specific product/service pages. With this, you can surely drive traffic to the pages of your website, you want.
2. Helps convert traffic into leads.
Now that you have the traffic coming to your site through your blog, you have the chance to convert them into leads. Each blog post is a new chance to generate new leads. The way this works is very easy. Just add a lead-generating call-to-action to every blog post. Often, these calls-to-action lead to things like free ebooks, whitepapers, fact sheets, webinars, trials, or basically, any content asset for which someone would be willing to exchange their information.
Anyone who is unfamiliar with how traffic-to-lead conversions work: Visitor comes to your website, they see call-to-action for a free offer. They click call-to-action and gets to a landing page, which contains a form for them to fill in with their information. They fill out the form, submits information, and receives the free offer. That is how you turn your website traffic into leads for your sales team.
3. Helps you climb the SEO Ranking
Regular blogging can help you to increase your search engine rankings. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a long term process comprised of a number of different activities. It is true that a business blog will not get you on the first page of Google overnight. But it will significantly enhance your search engine rankings over time. This is because search engines reward you for producing fresh content, using relevant keywords, and meeting the needs of online searchers. Blogging provides you with opportunities to do all three of these.
Note that blog posts are an ideal place to include your company’s chosen keywords. They also provide a space for you to provide real insight and information for your customer base.
4. Can boost your brand identity
Sometimes, business owners feel their money is better invested in things like operations and management of the brand rather than advertising and promotions. But then how do you build brand awareness without spending resources to promote it? Branding no longer simply means your company logo and trademark. Branding now also includes how potential clients emotionally and psychologically respond to your brand. By using the same style, colour scheme and motifs in your blog, you are solidifying your company’s branding that you have established through your website and social media.
If your blog truly creates value for users, search engines are going to pick it up. No matter what. This strategy is a great way for brands to house information about new products and services on their website. Where users will visit not just to get the information they are looking for, but will also learn about your business. Having a blog is, therefore, essential for your business as it helps to build your brand identity.
5. Drives long-term results
The best business blogs answer the common questions that their readers have. Suppose your prospects find answers to their everyday questions through your blog posts. In that case, they are much more likely to come into sales trusting you because you have helped them in the past. Even before they were interested in purchasing anything from you. Prospects that have been reading your blog posts will typically get driven into sales with more knowledge of your products and services and your industry. That makes a far more productive sales conversation than one held between two strangers. So if you consistently create valuable content for your audience, it will establish you as an industry leader in their eyes.
Though many businesses, especially those who are in the growth stage, are hesitant to start a blog because of the workload, especially content creation. You may connect to a renowned advertising agency who with the right marketing strategies, can get you many benefits from blogging.
6. Helps in better customer relationship
Blogs provide a great source to develop the connection with your customers. By connecting directly to your website, your buyers are able to get to know your business or product from the comfort of their homes. You can also build trust by being a source of information. Consumers like to be informed. They also appreciate that you are the one guiding them.
Additionally, just like on your other social sites, you can respond to comments and interact with your consumer. If they have questions about a product that you are writing about, respond to them directly on your website. Unlike many social sites, a blog is generally searchable on your site for some time. Your website comments last longer than on a Twitter response or Facebook post. Other customers will be able to see your interactions too.
7. Blogging can help you in advertising
You may operate a niche business or have a lot of competitors. But you must be able to prove your industry expertise. Customers will feel much more comfortable making an order with you or hiring your services if you can evidence that you are an expert in your field. But for that, you need a proper advertising channel to showcase your expertise.
Research shows that around 80% of companies prefer to have an ad in the form of a series of articles instead of the traditional “buy now” agenda. And customers are also getting a little tired of the conventional ways of commercials and advertising. Blogs can contain not only articles but also news that highlight what a company is up to. So blogging is a creative way to present your services that are crucial to the modern business environment.
8. Provides social media content
If you are struggling to come up with ideas for social media posts, blogging can bring you relief? One blog post does not equate to just one social media post. In fact, the information contained within a single post can be redesigned in many ways, into social media posts. Blogging for your business promptly helps you to get discovered via social media. Every time you create a new article, you are creating content that people can share on social networks — Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest. This helps to expose your business to a new audience that may not know you yet.
So instead of asking your social media manager always to create brand new content, a blog can serve you better. Not only will your audience appreciate these pieces of information that are easy to digest; but also these quick and easy posts will help you to maintain a consistent and valuable presence, which are the two most important social media practices.
How to use a Blog?
A clear view about the benefits of blogging may now make you feel the urge to know the usage. With the right approach, a blog can generate outstanding results for a business. Firstly you need to know your purpose. Try to identify your target audience and what are they up to. Try to provide relevant content and tutorials. Showcase your offers and discounts. You need to highlight a great customer. By doing that you will reveal the human side of your business. This will also help you to build a deeper connection with customers and the audience in your blogging community. Promote your blog on your website and via social media. Make your content creative and embed links to your recent posts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Follow these steps and you are good to go.
Need Help in Blogging?
With the above-stated benefits of blogging, you can figure out the importance of blogging for business. Business blogging has always been a question by companies that how blogging helps businesses. With small efforts, you can achieve great results that are recurring in nature and will benefit you lifelong. Using the blog promotion tips listed above to promote your content, increase exposure, and drive larger audiences back to your site. For more guidance and content creation resources, you may connect to a renowned agency that can provide you with professional writing services.