Blogs have been around for quite some time now. Although they were not widely used by businesses at their conception, they have been around since the 1980’s and 1990’s. Business blogs just started to go mainstream about 10 years ago. To put things in perspective in relation to the other digital marketing extras you might have for your business (in addition to your website), Facebook was opened to everyone in 2006, Twitter also launched in 2006, and LinkedIn launched in 2003. Blogs have been around for so long because they can be a very useful communication tool for businesses. Unlike your website, your blog can communicate news, events, and up-to-the-minute details with your customers and target audience.
Here are 10 reasons why you should maintain a blog for your business:
- Blogging is easy. Although blogging sounds like it is technical, even those businesses owners, managers, and employees that are not as tech savvy can write for and keep up a blog. Writing a blog post is much like writing a Word document and can always be edited, even after publishing.
- Blogging is free or very low cost. The two most popular blogging platforms are WordPress and Blogger. Both are completely free and easy to use. Both can even be integrated with your website so that your blog URL is within your domain name, as in yourdomain.com/blog or www.blog.yourdomain.com.
- Blogging helps your website ranking and improve your online reputation. For many years, adding content to a blog and linking it back to examples on your website would be an excellent way to boost your website ranking. Even though the algorithm rules have changed, there is no substitute for quality content. In fact, many experts would argue that content is more important than ever; even more reason to build up information and content on your business blog. Then there is the online reputation assistance. Your blog can help bolster the online reputation of your business by establishing you as an authority and showing that your company is real, and even has a personality through your writing style and content choices.
- Blogging can help you communicate special events and information with your customers quickly. For many companies, especially small companies, updating the website is a process that involves contacting the web designer or web design firm to get changes made. In many cases, updating the blog can be a way for your company to quickly get a message out about a special event, new product or service, seasonal favorites, top ten lists, or special sale information. A blog post can go from conception to execution and completion within an hour or two.
- Blogging can showcase different products and services in a unique way. This is an especially great benefit to your website if you have a static website that is not very flexible as far as content goes. The blog does not have any restrictions and you can add in extra images, customer reviews, video, and much more to highlight your products or services. If you offer a service such as food preparation, different images and descriptions can help you sell your services. For salons, you can show before and after pictures of actual customers to help showcase what you do and entice blog readers to come in.
- Blogging can be an avenue for your employees to get involved in marketing or communicating their favorite things with your customers and blog readers. You can also showcase your employees by giving them an employee spotlight, which, for many employees, the recognition and attention can be a job perk.
- Your blog can be a tie in between other social channels. Oftentimes social posts need a landing page to go to for more details or information. Your blog is a perfect landing page for social media posts. When you need a little more space than 140 characters or need to include details, images, etc. then a blog is the perfect vehicle to be linked to social content. Similarly, you can use a blog post as a landing outlet for your email newsletter.
- Your blog can add content and information about your company and your products or services. In addition to adding content and details about your products and services, you can tell your audience about your company. You can give insight into your company culture, company events, and give a “behind the scenes” type of tour.
- Your blog can showcase your industry and can be how you exercise your expertise in your industry and your business. If there is important news about your industry, you can highlight that in your blog. Being on top of industry news can show how you are an expert in your field. Is there anything in the news or pop culture that ties into your business or industry? That makes a perfect blog post.
- Your blog can be the hub for contests and other special marketing announcement from your company. Just like we talked about a blog post being an excellent avenue for a social media post link, you can also use your blog to detail contests and other special events your company might be running.
Conclusion
Don’t count out blogging just because it is an older medium for marketing your business. There are many benefits that can come to a business from blogging. After reading the 10 benefits of blogging, we hope that you feel empowered and motivated to start a blog or pick it back up again. Blogging can help tie in your marketing efforts and is easy to execute. What’s even better is that many blogging platforms can be subscribed to so that your audience will be automatically notified when you post a new blog via and RSS platform or similar broadcasting avenue.
