Why do Businesses Need to Start Blogging?
Think of the digital marketing world as a gala event; everyone wants notice. To get that, just making an appearance is not enough, you have to really get in and make your presence felt. Now, you might ask, “How do I make my presence felt?”
To answer this is one (okay two) words I would say ‘Start Blogging’. To elaborate, “Write content that addresses the problems of people in your (business) community, and write it in so compelling a manner that people would want to share it with their friends. This sharing gives your brand and company publicity and respect.”
I have a website, isn’t that enough?
No, it is not! A website gives you is a virtual office space, and an opportunity to tell people who you are and what you can do for them. However, there is only so much content that you can share on your website.
A recognition as a knowledge authority in your business domain would come only if you share relevant content regularly with your community. A blog would help you do that.
Heck, these days just a blog is also not enough, but at least it will give you a kick-start. Therefore, any business that wants a significant online presence needs to start blogging actively.
What visible benefits will I get when I start blogging?
1) More (relevant) website Traffic – Where do people look for solutions to their problems – Internet, of course! If you have been posting relevant and value adding content on your blog, it would rank in the search engines, and that is how your potential customers would walk in to your office (website). Use Google Analytics to check the change in traffic.
2) More Inbound Leads – Inbound is how all the good businesses get leads now, and blogging is at the heart of inbound. With increased traffic on your website, your business leads would increase too.
3) You’ll become a knowledge authority – If you share solutions to specific business problems that your community faces, you would get recognized as a knowledge authority in the domain. Result: Respect and Recognition for you and your company.
4) You’ll make New Friends: Blog is a medium to share knowledge and ideas openly. Comments section allows people to engage in healthy discussions as well. So, you are giving the people a space to interact.
5) More Social Presence – Your readers would engage with your content (if they find value in it) by commenting, and sharing it in their own communities. Thus, more social exposure for you.
6) Quality Back-links – If your content helps people, they would link back to it, by citing your references on their own blogs. This is how you get quality back-links, which is the most important component of off-page SEO.
Who can blog? I am not sure if I can!
You do not need to be a “Shakespeare” to be successful at business blogging. However, there are a few things that you do need:
1) Subject Matter Knowledge.
2) A knack for experimentation and analysis.
3) Some inclination towards writing.
4) Time.
If you lack even one, outsource the work while you concentrate your time and efforts on the traditional modes of lead generation – Tele-prospecting, PPC Marketing and the likes. Just remember, if you decide to outsource the work, make sure that you employ someone who understands your business.
How frequently should I blog?
As much as you can! Easier said than done, I know. But, how visible you are in the digital marketplace would depend on how frequently you blog. So, don’t shy away from those extra work hours. If you are one of those once in a month people, speed up. Stuff in the virtual world gets stale by the hour.
I hope all your initial doubts about blogging are answered now. The next step will be to actually get down to business, and start blogging.
