What is business blogging? It’s a marketing tactic where your small business can use blogging to get more visibility online. Think of your business blog as a marketing channel, similar to social media or email marketing, to help support business growth. If you’re not blogging for your business already, then you should consider starting. The Blogosphere is not going anywhere, and more and more CEOs are blogging to give their business a push. Here we list some ways you can use blogging for your business.
Publish Relevant Content
As a small business owner, you could even write and maintain two separate blogs, one personal and one corporate. You can use outlets like Quora to publish content and re-purpose that for your blogs on LinkedIn and Medium, for example. Of course, all that content that be combined and published on your company’s website blog as well. You’ll find that it broadens the reach of your content and connects you with potential partners, customers as well as prospective employees.
Demonstrate Expertise
You have expertise. A blog is a great way to demonstrate your expertise on any topic. By sharing your experiences and tips, you are in a position to add to the collective knowledge as well as position yourself as an expert. Keep in mind that adding anecdotes that aren’t found on your usual resume, will draw people in. The personal touch is what attracts readers. Go ahead and catalog the different challenges you’ve overcome for your clients or for your business. In a way, you’re adding to your resume by doing that, and establishing yourself as an expert in your field.
Build Long Term Relationships
One of the most effective tools that can be leveraged by small businesses across all industries, that allows them to engage with their audience beyond social media feeds, is blogging. There are so many ways to use your blog – you can publish valuable content and educational information; you can showcase new products; you can answer questions and give away how to tips. Creating high value content, which evokes a response from the reader is what keeps your audience engaged and keeps them coming back for more.
Increase Visibility
Not everyone has the resources to launch big marketing campaigns, or buy billboard space. That is not typically part of a small business’s budget. Blogging on the other hand, is free. You can use your business blog to court new business, demonstrate your expertise, and creating awareness about your services. Creating content around the conversations you have with your clients can do all of the above, and bring in new business for you.
Provide Updates
Your clients and potential clients do want to know what you’ve been up to. You can do that in your blog, or transform that content into News and Updates. Either way, you’re getting the message across to your audience. Someone visiting your site for the first time will be informed on what you’ve achieved lately and what you’re involved with. You can publicize all of that perfectly through blog posts on your websites.
Having talked about the ways to use your business blog, let’s look at some of the benefits of having one. If you’re still not sold on the idea of maintaining a blog for your business, here are some of the benefits it can bring.
Increases SEO
In terms of search engine rankings, blogging can be like fishing. The more hooks you have in the water, the more likely you are to catch a fish. In the same way, as you add more content to your site, more pages from your domain become indexed in search engines. This improves organic search visibility and increases website traffic.
Humanizes Your Brand
A carefully crafted website with good content is important, however it pales in comparison to a carefully crafted blog post, that shows the personal side of your business. Blogging gives your business a way to touch on issues and concerns of interest to your prospects, while also sharing what you and your employees are passionate about. Your blog posts give you a unique opportunity to share your voice and personality, building up trust and increasing your brand’s likability quotient.
Ultimately, blogging makes sense from the practical standpoint of running your business. It takes minimal effort and expense, and goes a long way towards building your credibility, boosting your SEO and website traffic and fostering relationships with existing and potential customers.