I think blogs are amazing – so much so that I’ve been writing them since 2007. Blogs are a versatile weapon in the marketing armoury of every business. Sadly there are still companies and organisations who don’t see the value in having a blog and so here are 9 reasons why blogs build business.
1. Increase your online presence
For the majority of websites, once the content has been added and the site goes live, nothing really changes to the text. Hence, there is nothing new to report to the search engines when their spiders come crawling in search of updated information. Blogs are a great way of adding new content to your website on a regular basis which, in turn, helps to improve ranking.
2. Cost effective marketing with the ability to calculate return on investment
Compared with other forms of advertising, blogs are a much more cost-effective way to convey your business message and the best part is that you also have the ability to calculate return on investment which is vital to remain competitive.
3. Connect with customers in a different way and share information
A blog is another string to your content marketing bow. You can discuss topics that it might not be so easy to include within your main website content. Just as a book has a contents page, you can categorise blogs under certain topics so your customers can easily find what they want to read about.
4. Learn what your clients want to know more about, through interpretation of statistics received from the blog itself
Aaah the stats package – what did we do before google analytics! A fascinating insight into what your visitors want to know about. I tell you, it’s as close to mind reading as we can get. You really can learn from it and this information is so important when deciding on the future direction of your business.
5. Create an informal way to communicate
Blogs are usually much more conversational than the more rigid structure of conventional websites. Text on a website often needs to be more formal so a blog can contrast in its delivery of information. I like to think of website text as a conversation you might have with a teacher or bank manager and blog text is how you would talk to your friends.
6. Retain your client base
By posting regular blogs, your business can remain in the thoughts of your existing customers more easily. This means when they want to buy again, your business and what it offers, will be at the forefront of their thoughts.
7. Convey what you do in more detail
It doesn’t matter what type of business you have, there will always be times when you want to discuss something in more detail – it may be a topic that’s in the news, it could be a new development within your industry. But whatever the reason, longer posts allow you to add more keywords that you want the search engines to find and more importantly, you can build trust in your products and showcase your expertise.
8. Talk about current issues connected with your business
We live in a very fast-paced world where information is everywhere and we have come to expect it to be delivered in an instant. Blogs are a great way of commenting on current issues, offering advice and encouraging the opinions of others.
9. Create a personality, voice and individuality for your business
A blog is a marketing tool which you can use to create a business presence. It can make you stand out from your competition and elevate your reputation within your chosen marketplace.
So the next time you hear someone say that their business doesn’t need a blog. Tell them to wise up and read this post.
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