Sometimes business owners want to trim their online marketing budget. And more often than not, blogs are one of the first tactics to go.
Since 1994, blogging has made its way into the online world. Though it wasn’t called a blog then. The term “weblog” was coined in 1997 and shortened to “blog” in 1999.
You’re probably wondering, how could something that’s been around for 23 years, still be relevant to your business’s online marketing plan. In short, most businesses underestimate a blog’s value.
Don’t rush to cut your blog out of your marketing plan just yet. Here are three benefits of blogging for business that support your marketing efforts and help you win new customers.
Blogs Establish Authority
When visitors come to your site and find a blog filled with well-written and informative posts about your industry, it establishes you as an expert in the field. Customers will trust you know what you’re talking about and feel more comfortable buying from you.
Your business blog is also a great place to share anything your company can consider a win, such as press releases, case studies demonstrating customer successes, competitor comparisons, and more. A blog gives you the opportunity to brag about your success as a company while still offering value to the customer.
The more blog marketing tactics you explore, the more opportunities you have to create compelling content.
Blogs Increase Social Media Engagement
Posting useful content on your business blog and sharing it via your social media channels is a great way to increase engagement with your customers. Good content boosts discussion and will give you new opportunities to interact with your customers online. When you post exceptionally useful content, your social media followers will become brand ambassadors by sharing the content with others and exponentially expanding your brand’s marketing reach.
Blogs Improve Website Traffic
In addition to the added traffic generated through social media sharing of posts, your blog can increase your website traffic in other ways, as well. Well-crafted blog posts can improve your website’s search engine optimization. Better SEO could result in higher rankings for your site on search engines like Google and Bing for specific search terms related to your business. Better rankings will mean more free traffic to your site from the search engines.
Posting high-quality, useful content on a regular schedule will have the added benefit of drawing repeat visitors to your website. You can also tie your email marketing to your blog by encouraging users to sign up for notifications about new posts on the blog.
Ready to Start Blogging?
Although blogs are practically ancient in digital marketing years, they are still essential to the of an overall digital marketing plan. Don’t miss out on the opportunities for social engagement, lead generation, and search engine optimization that a blog can offer just because you think it might be old news. Contact us today to see how we can put a blog to work for you as part of a complete marketing plan.
