How blogs can help your business

But Neha, why should my business have a blog?

There is some debate out there if blogging is an important aspect of the social media marketing environment today. I’m here to tell you about the benefits of blogging for your business. There are many reasons that we will get into shortly but the most pivotal of them all for me is –  content marketing. Yes, I know, blogging is one aspect of content marketing and not the whole enchilada. It doesn’t matter if you run a small business or multinational company, blogging is intrinsic to your online content marketing strategy. 

Let’s start with understanding content marketing a little better. Content marketing is usually inferred as blogs, articles, and so on. But it is so much more than just the format of the content produced. Let me explain this further using my example with Chapter IV. What encourages me to write a blog every month (I know it isn’t much but I’ll get there) is creating a long term relationship with you. My content marketing strategy involves using content in a variety of formats (blogs being one) to build a stronger relationship with my audience, capture their attention, improve engagement and brand recall, all whilst showcasing my (writing) skills. Makes sense, right? 

In fact, according to online marketer Neil Patel, 70% of customers would rather read about a company through an article than any kind of advertisement. Content marketing lets you provide significant value beyond your products & service, giving customers more reasons to pay attention to you. So then my question to you is – if so many consumers are searching for relatable content, have you started leveraging it yet? While we are at it, let me also tell you that it doesn’t matter what business you are in, there is content that you can produce about it and there is an audience who will read it. 

That brings us to the next part, the importance of having a blog on your website – 

1. Content is a lead magnet: Product or service, traffic on our online platform keeps us all going. Adding that blog section to your website is one way of ensuring that you generate more website traffic and meet those traction goals. Content can be a major lead magnet for growing your business as well. Providing relevant and fresh content regularly for your audience makes you a trusted source whilst boosting visibility and traffic. 

This is especially true if you’re introducing content at every stage of the buyer journey, particularly at the top of the funnel. This includes attracting users by offering valuable content on your website using blogs, social media and google searches.  A study from HubSpot highlights that businesses who provide regular engaging content to their blog see as much as 126% more leads than those who do not have a blog. 

While “quality content” is a misty term since what is quality for one may not be of value for another at a given time. Here I want to inform you that Google doesn’t go in-depth in the context of your blog. It notices the freshness of the content. 

Bonus tip: Incorporate SEO. Using keywords, topics and ideas that are related to your business is only going to help you do better on Google’s search engine. 

2. Positioning your brand as a key resource: While consistency is key, posting blogs about topics which resonate with your market is the real deal as it displays your knowledge and solidifies your brand as a key resource in the industry. This invariably also markets your product and service. 

Blogging allows you to share information and offer thoughts and opinions on certain topics. It is a great way to give your company a voice. Doing so increases the credibility with your target audience. You could talk about your products more in-depth or identify the key selling points and describe experiences as well. If you’re in B2B you can share knowledgeable, well-researched blogs about topics related to your field and become the hub for your industry, eventually.  

Additionally, doing so means your name is constantly popping up and creating a buzz in the industry. Didn’t this immediately make you think of a brand that is already doing so? My mind immediately goes to personal growth platform  Mindvalley’s daily emailers enriched with personal experiences by the Founder, Vishen Lakhiani. 

Your customers are grateful for your services but you can ramp up the value you bring to them as you reel in their attention. The more they come to your site to read, the more they will recollect you at time of purchase. 

Bonus tip: Regular  + valuable content = more traffic & potential sales 

3. Customer relationships: Blogs offer a platform to deepen customer relationships by helping them connect directly on your website. It provides you with an easy and effective way to communicate with existing and new customers. Customer engagement is a very crucial factor in online marketing. When you write high-quality content, your audience will take note and is far more likely to share it. Once the articles are live they continue to bring traction month on month, at no cost to you. Every share puts your brand and content in front of a growing audience.

It offers a greater return on a small investment. Even if you hire someone to produce content for you, it is way cheaper (almost 62% lesser) than other forms of advertising and generates 3x the number of leads (source: Neil Patel). 

Bonus tip: Boost brand recall and engagement by leveraging content. 

Conclusion

Whatever the nature of your business, you will benefit from more website traffic, building trust with your consumer and lesser marketing costs. One of the most effective ways to build brand awareness, while providing relevant and useful content to your target audience is through consistent blogging.

And if you’re looking for someone to start on your brand blogs today, you can contact me here.