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Does your company want to start a blog, but you're still struggling with reasons why? Have you wondered what the value of a blog is? Do you wonder what impact a blog can have on business development? The bottom line?
Wonder no more! Here are 14 stellar reasons why you should add blogging to your marketing mix.
1. Gain More Exposure for Your Business
A company blog that’s full of helpful, relevant content increases your opportunities to meet sales prospects, possible business partners and future employees. Someone may find your blog content through a search on Google; perhaps an industry peer shared your blog post on LinkedIn. Ultimately, by creating great content that people want to save and share, you can put your brand in front of scores of new people—people you may not have met otherwise.
2. Get More Leads
By starting a blog, you can drive more traffic to your website and get more leads. Research shows that businesses that blog get 55% more traffic. They also generate 4 times as many leads.
3. Build Stronger Relationships
Most people aren’t ready to buy when they first arrive at your website. They want to learn more about you and your products/services first. By having a blog, your company can satisfy a prospect’s need for research.
Your blog can be there to answer questions when you’re not available.
Plus, a blog is non-intrusive. People can interact with your content on their terms; a blog offers welcome relief from more traditional “push” forms of marketing.
4. Provide Better Customer Service
Today, customers crave dialogue with companies. One-sided communication is a turn-off. A blog creates a two-way conversation. It encourages customers to interact with you and provide feedback, and it gives you another avenue where you can respond to their comments.
5. Have More Control Over Online Reputation Management
Your company blog can help with online reputation management efforts. You have the ability to respond to urgent events or criticism in more depth than a Facebook post or a Tweet.
Also, when you have a blog as part of your company website, you have direct control over the platform. At the end of the day, Facebook, Twitter and similar sites still control features and content of your profiles.
6. Showcase Your Personality
People like to do business with other people. Your blog can show the personality of your brand; people can put a face with a name. By showing your human side, you can earn your customers’ trust.
7. Improve Search Engine Visibility
Blogging offers a variety of search engine optimization (SEO) benefits. People and search engines both favor fresh content. It demonstrates relevance.
You can also improve your rankings in search results. Say you have a page on your website that talks about blue widgets. As you blog about blue widgets, you add more content to your site that incorporates that target keyword.
You can also start to incorporate related keyword phrases (e.g., blue widget maintenance), which can help you expand your reach and target additional search traffic.
Awesome blog content can also help you gain links as people share your content on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social networking sites. Google and other search engines are starting to look at social media signals in their ranking algorithms.
8. Grow Your Knowledge Base
Blogging makes you stay up to date on your industry; you have to be “in the know” about news, trends and advancements. And by evaluating and synthesizing all this information, you’re exercising those brain muscles and critical thinking skills. Blogging keeps your mind sharp and expands your knowledge.
9. Boost Your Credibility
So your About Us page says you’re cutting edge and you put customer education first. This About Page tells prospects about you; your blog shows that you mean it. Your blog posts will speak to your commitment to learn and stay on top of industry developments. And it will demonstrate that you do share resources, tips and other information that benefits and helps others.
10. Gain A Competitive Advantage
Better customer service, a unique voice and personality, expertise, credibility, better search rankings—all of these give you a competitive advantage. They all help differentiate you from your competitors.
11. Lower Your Marketing Costs
Blogs are very cost-effective. Inbound marketing costs 62% less than traditional outbound marketing (e.g., TV ads or direct mail). The average cost per lead for inbound marketing is $143; the average cost per lead for outbound marketing is $373.
12. Understand Customers Better
Blogging can help you gain additional insight about your audience and gain a deeper understanding of what your customers need and want. Check out your analytics; see what topics are covered in your most popular posts. Give people more of what they like. Read through customer comments, and see what questions need to be answered or what other help people need.
13. Improve Your Sales Skills
Constantly blogging means you’re constantly talking about your products, services and industries. You learn the best ways to explain a concept and speak to your target personas. You learn just what to say or just what to do to make a person respond. You know what follow-up questions to anticipate and always have an answer. Blogging can make you a better salesperson.
14. Build A Better Company
You can lower your expenses, while increasing the number and quality of leads. You can test new ideas or products and get feedback directly from customers. You can keep your knowledge and sales skills sharp. Ultimately, a blog can help your company find the best ways to improve and grow.
What are other reasons to start a company blog? What benefits has your business seen after you started blogging? Share your experiences in the comments!
