Blogging matters for every type of business, no matter the size or industry. Many people underestimate the importance of blogs, assuming it’s something you do for a hobby or it’s only worth it if you’re a writer. However, you could be missing out on a vital tool for your business.
What kind of tool do you ask? To answer that, we need first to take a look at what a blog is.
Business blogging is the tactic of writing useful content in articles and sharing it on your website for your reader to view. You also share your business blogs on social media and in emails. This helps drive online traffic and your visibility across the web. Blogging about your business is one of the best ways to drive traffic to your site organically. But that may raise two questions you might ask yourself:
Let’s start with what blogging is. No, blogging doesn’t only include sitting at home, in your PJs, talking about how you like coffee and books. True, that is a form of blogging (and can be very entertaining), but it is not the only way to blog. Simply put, blogging is the act of creating short-form content about your business. Blogs have become a significant way we find information.
Think of the last time you Googled something and found the answer for it on a website. More than likely, you found the solution on a businesses blog page. Blogs are valuable tools for giving helpful and quick information to your audience and prospective customers (even current customers, but we will talk more about that). It shows that you are an EXPERT at what you do and build trust with anyone who reads it. Think back to when you last read a how-to or informative post on a companies website. Were you more likely to hire them or purchase something from them? If you said yes, then you see exactly why you need to be blogging for your business!
It’s important to note that your posts need to be beneficial to your audience when you are blogging for your business. What do I mean? Well, if you are an auto repair shop, it wouldn’t be the best idea to blog about how to market online. While marketing is a good subject and useful, it isn’t really what your customers are looking for. On the other hand, if you made articles discussing automotive maintenance, best tires to buy, benefits of types of oil, and other things relevant to your industry they would have a much more significant impact.
The more relevant and useful your content is, the more people will keep reading your post, ultimately increasing traffic to your website, which eventually converts to a sale. When coming up with content, think of the frequently asked questions within your industry and write about them.
Even though we went over how simple it is and what to start writing about, you may still be skeptical about the benefits it can bring to your business. Let’s take a look at 4 things that you can see an improvement in.
I think it’s safe to say that we all want more website traffic. It’s why we have a website in the first place!
But how in the world do people find your website anyways?
So, what other ways can you get website traffic? Queue in the business blog! Let’s take a closer look at blogging, social media, and search engines and how they are all connected to bringing in more website traffic.
Every time you write a new blog post, it creates one new page on your website that Google can index. Plus, when you add tags, keywords, and categories that specifically highlight the blog post’s content, Google also recognizes it, which is beneficial for your site. This means that you have more opportunities to show up in search engines and gain more traffic organically. In addition, it shows Google that your website is active and changing, which means they will crawl your site more often to see what new content you have.
Blogging also helps you get discovered on more social media outlets. When people like your blog post, they are likely to share it with their friends and followers. Every time you create new content, you create opportunities for readers to share this information on major social networks, which exposes your business reach to a larger audience that may not know about you yet. Don’t be afraid to ask your readers to share your content. Make it easy for them to stay connected with you by having your social media accounts easy to find on your blog.
Blogging also helps keep your social media fresh and provides you with new content. Instead of asking your social media manager to come up with brand new original content for social media, have them use content from your blogs to create engaging social media posts. By doing this, you’re strengthening your social media presence as well as leading traffic to your website. It’s a win-win!
Now, what do we do with all that traffic we have? Turn them into leads! Every time you have a new visitor, you have an opportunity to turn them into a lead.
Like we mentioned before, when you create blogs, you are giving search engines (such as Google) new content and pages to index. This opens more opportunities to be found by people searching your keywords. So how do we turn visitors into leads? Simple: make a lead-generating call-to-action.
What exactly is a call to action (CTA)? They tell your readers what to do next. Usually, these are free things like free downloads or a free ebook, or a free practice sheet. They can also be links to follow you on social media or a link to book a call with you.
For anyone unfamiliar with how traffic-to-lead conversions work, here is how it works:
You should take advantage of CTA’s (Call To Action’s) and grow your leads in your blog posts! If you’re unsure of what would be a good CTA for your business, click here for a free 30-minute consultation, we would be happy to work with you and come up with ideas to improve your lead conversions!
However, we would like to note that not every person who visits your blog will become a lead (and that’s perfectly fine). No one converts 100% of the people who read their blog into leads. The important thing is to get blogging, put calls-to-action on every blog post, set a visitor-to-lead conversion rate benchmark for yourself, and strive to improve that each month.
As we mentioned at the start of this post, your blog posts should be relevant to your industry. If you write posts that answer questions your readers have or give them valuable information, you are more likely to build trust with them, and it will be easier for them to become your customer.
When a potential customer comes to your site, they usually aren’t just taking a look. They want real information that benefits them NOW. If your blogs answer their questions and give them the information they are looking for, you begin building yourself up as an authority. Later, when that lead goes into the sales process, they are more educated and trust you know what you are talking about.
While “Establishing Authority” is hard to track, you will still be greatly impacting your business by answering the questions of current and potential clients.
Bonus tip: Writing blogs about commonly asked questions can also help save you a lot of time! When you send your clients to posts answering these questions, you don’t have to spend the time telling them the answer yourself. Simply direct them to the post and clear up any questions they have! This allows you to spend your time more effectively and helps your customers find the answers they’re looking for quickly.
When most people begin to write a blog for a business, they look for an immediate turnaround. Newsflash- this is NOT how organic growth through blogging works! While it’s true you may get some traffic from a fresh post, you are looking for leads on a long-term basis.
For example, if you write a blog in January (Month 1), you may not see that post’s full potential until April (Month 4). With this mindset, remember that you should consistently be putting fresh new content out at least every month. That way, current readers will have something to look forward to, and newcomers will see that you put out consistent quality content.
As you continue to put new content out, you have opportunities to capture leads on the newest blogs and past articles. In addition, it provides excellent opportunities to link articles to each other, which improves your SEO and helps readers stay on your website longer. Remember to be patient and enjoy this door that allows you direct communication with your target audience. You can be sure that a dedicated business blog will go a long way for your online presence.
Now that you understand how a blog can help your business, it’s time to get writing! Take time today to brainstorm your first business blog post. Don’t rush into it. Instead, take time to plan out what you want to say and what will be useful to your website visitors.
The more you blog about your business, the quicker you will see why business blogging matters!
Need help with your business blog? Click here to contact us, and we can get started helping you with your content marketing!
