So what’s all the buzz about blogging? It seems everyone blogs, but not everyone is sure to what level they should go and how much success they can have with it.
The benefits of blogging are numerous. According to HubSpot, companies that blog enjoys over 50% more visitors to their sites, almost 100% more inbound links, and well over 400% more search engine recognition in the form of indexed pages. In fact, it might surprise your clients to hear that business blogging is one of the most cost-effective of all marketing tools.
Want to know why? Keep reading!
Blogging Boosts SEO:
Paying to get to the top of the page with pay-per-click? That’s an okay strategy short term but ranking for certain keywords over time is driven by good SEO practices. Fresh, optimizes content tells the search engines what your page is about, repeatedly. They reward this by lifting you higher over time. Not to mention, other sites may link to you. Stop trying to cram your “about us” page with every new tidbit of information. Instead start blogging to stay ahead of your competition.
Blogging Defines a Business:
Many blogs have a tendency to be ego-driven. Avoid this if you can. Voicing where you stand on an issue in your industry is fair game however, particularly if you are B2B. Vendors or partners will be glad to know your stance and what they can expect from your business going forward. If you work in the B2C space consumers can see you as a thought leader. Blogging doesn’t just define a business, it engages a community. Content that informs, entertains or delights is highly shareable. Besides utilizing social media for branding, links from social media also help your page rank.
Blogging Updates your Site:
A blogging platform is a great way to get new information up on the site without a lot of technical knowledge. Add a video of an event from last weekend, or pictures of a latest completed project without waiting on a web designer. Should you decide to build your whole site on a user friendly platform like Wordpress, you have an easily manageable CMS anyone in the company can learn to navigate.
Blogging Drives Sales:
Blogging can help you build authority in a field, boost your search engine results and garner more community engagement via social media. But what does this really all come down to? More sales! When done appropriately, blogging can drive leads. In fact, a study by HubSpot shows that over 55% of businesses have gained customer directly as a result of their company blog. Blogs build trust and give a window to how your establishment conducts business, before the point of sale. Blogs answer questions and inform the prospect.
Sounds a lot like when customers just walked through the door, right? With the sales process moving online and with little knowledge about the customer on your end, a content marketing strategy is the roundtable for business discussion. Better SEO placement through blogging is like being on a busy corner, and social media sharing is your new “word-of-mouth.”
As you can see, a business blogging strategy works in a circular fashion solving many marketing and sales conundrums. So tell your clients to not worry about perfection, just start writing. The entry level to blogging is very low and they can learn as they go. Have them start out trying to blog once a week. After all, they have a lot of knowledge to share and even more business to gain.
