Blogs are written by various people for various different reasons. Many people choose to write blogs to express their opinion on matters they are interested in with no commercial intent. Blogging for business however, could result in a high conversion rate and its potential impact cannot be underestimated.
Writing a blog is a fantastic way for businesses to engage with their customers, as well as a whole host of other benefits. Keep reading to learn more about the benefits of blogging for business and how you can get started.
7 benefits of blogging for your business
As well as helping your business to grow, developing your authority and becoming a go-to place for people to learn about your products, services and industry, starting a business blog can bring a variety of benefits including:
1 – Improved SEO rankings
A business blog is an ideal way of driving traffic to your website because the content you include fuels SEO. Search engines like Google, look favourably on good quality content that serves a purpose for the users intended search, and this has become a particular focus following their ‘helpful content update’ in 2022. A blog gives you the chance to create relevant content for your readers, which is likely to drive traffic back to your site and increase the likelihood of conversions. If you are wanting to advertise a certain aspect of your business, you can drive traffic to specific landing pages on your site by including inbound links in your articles.
In addition to this, blogs can be the hub from which your social media content is formed. Posting links to the blogs on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc., will give readers a reason to click through to your site. Repurpose the introductions to the blog to ensure they are relevant at times where your topic is trending for maximum exposure.
2 – Builds relationships with customers
Blogs are an easy way of gaining brand exposure and connecting with existing and potential new customers. Being a trustworthy source of information will direct readers to your site, and will allow them to get to know your business and brand. Blogs also allow for comments to be posted by customers, which is a great way of instigating a business/customer relationship and increase the chance of potential leads.
3 – Positions you as subject leader
A business blog is a great way of demonstrating your knowledge within a certain field. A stream of informative posts gives authority to your brand and is likely to create a loyal following of readers. Whether you are writing a blog about a product or service, it’s vitally important that you build trust and show the customers that you are the hub of knowledge for that industry – this will gain repeated visits to your site.
4 – Gives your company a voice
If you are wanting to show people what your company is all about, a business blog is the ideal place to do this. It offers you the opportunity to discuss a range of topics, including market trends, news items, company updates etc. on a platform away from your main website, offering the freedom to be more conversational and to display the characteristics you want your company to portray. This can be a very effective method of separating yourself from the crowd and really can help your business shine.
5 – Gives insight into your audience
Analysing blog performance is an incredibly effective tactic as it offers you the opportunity to study the trends and patterns of your readers. Whether you are looking for what articles were the most read, which blogs received the most click-throughs, shares, comments etc., this data can be vitally important in driving future decisions that will maximise chances of customer interaction and subsequently conversions.
6 – It’s free!
Business blogging is a cost effective method of maximising your brand’s exposure, so there’s really no excuse for not having one! A blog not only helps to build awareness and trust, but is also a long-term asset that will work day and night for you on search engines, like Google., ensuring your expertise, products and services can be found any time of the day.
7 – It works!
According to HubSpot, companies who blog receive 97% more links to their website. Assuming this is true, and all the evidence suggests it is, business blogging is not an option; it’s a necessity. Ensuring you produce enlightened news from within your industry, will help you gain trust and a following as well as increase your reputation and links from other websites to yours.
How do you get started with a business blog?
The first step to starting a business blog is to create a content strategy. This allows you to understand what type of topics you want to cover and how frequently you’d like to post. From here, you can also look at the creative content you want to accompany your blogs such as video and graphic design for example. Whilst you’re developing your strategy, it’s also important to conduct some competitor research to see what your rivals are writing about and get a feel for their tone of voice.
When creating your blogs, it’s important to be you, but you also want to ensure you offer content that serves a purpose and offers value for users. Here are some tips that can help you achieve this:
- Create unique, high quality content – you want your blogs to represent your brand and what you have to offer, whilst giving searchers what they want.
- Write for your audience – stick to topics that relate to your audience. If you want to talk about a related subject, keep it interesting and read-worthy.
- Answer questions – most people ask a question when searching, so be sure to answer them, or create blogs around commonly asked questions in your industry.
- Optimise your blogs for SEO – strategically incorporate keywords throughout your content, but make sure it flows naturally. This will help you rank better in search engine results and increase visibility.
- Share your blogs on your social media pages – maximise exposure and increase visibility of your blogs by sharing them across your social media channels.
Speak to us about your business blog
Don’t worry if you think starting a business blog sounds a little daunting. Get in touch today and we can help. We can create a content strategy that is unique to your brand and even create the content for you including copywriting, graphic design, video and more.