11 AWESOME BENEFITS OF BLOGGING FOR BUSINESS
It seems like more and more businesses have amazing company blogs – and for good reason. Smart businesses invest in their blog because they understand the benefits of blogging for business. But if you’re just starting out, you might be wondering how blogging can help your business.
For starters, blogging offers you the chance to show off your personality as well as provide leads with valuable information. That might not sound like a big deal, but over time this can help you to build trust – the very thing that converts leads into customers.
Blogging is also incredibly helpful for building traffic, which is a huge concern for many new business owners. According to Hubspot, companies that publish 16+ blog posts per month get almost 3.5 times more traffic than companies that only publish 0-4 monthly posts . Additionally, businesses who blog get 126% more new leads than those that don’t have a blog.
That’s why 53% of marketers say blog content creation is their top inbound marketing priority.
Not convinced? Keep reading to learn more about the benefits of blogging for business.
11 BENEFITS OF BLOGGING FOR BUSINESS
1. Blogs provide free traffic to your site.
A blog is one piece of a solid inbound marketing strategy, AKA your plan for driving traffic (read: potential customers) to your website. This traffic is organic, which means that you don’t have to pay anything to get more potential customers coming to your site (and thus more sales).
Advertising is expensive, and most new small businesses have a very small ad budget (if they have one at all). Organic search traffic is free, so blogging is a great way for small business to compete in the marketplace without a huge budget.
2. Well-written blog posts can generate long term results.
Two years ago, I wrote a blog post about hair loss for a client. The post had some initial buzz behind it when it first went live, then traffic died down. Weeks later, as the post was picked up by search engines, it began to grow in traffic. More websites linked to the post, and its search rankings continued to improve. Today, this post is THE biggest traffic driver on my client’s site. In fact, this one post makes up almost 50% of their new site visits!
This type of blog post is called a compounding post. According to Hubspot, 1 in 10 blog posts are considered compounding posts.
The best part about compounding posts? You only have to put in the initial investment of writing the article, then kick back and relax as the traffic rolls in. That’s why this is one of my favorite benefits of blogging for business!
3. A blog can improve your website’s Google ranking.
A frequently updated blog tells Google that your website is active. Google will “crawl” your site more often, and as a result, will send more traffic your way.
Over time, a blog can boost the Google ranking of your entire site. Why? Because each new blog post creates a new page of fresh content on your site. Think of it like this: every new page on your site is an opportunity for someone to discover your site through Google.
Learning how to write better blog posts, like formatting your posts so they’re more readable, will also help to improve your search rankings.
4. A blog establishes YOU as the expert.
A great blog establishes you as an authority in your industry. This means when people have a question about your industry, they will turn to you for the answer. They will trust you, and oftentimes, they’ll trust you enough to buy from you.
No matter what you’re selling, customers want to work with the most helpful and experienced businesses. So show them that you’re that business and start writing a blog!
5. Blogs provide valuable information for leads and customers, and that can save you a lot of time.
Blogging creates the perfect opportunity to provide more in-depth information on your products. Have a great case study about your latest product? The blog is the perfect place to showcase it.
Blogs are also a great place to include handy how-to guides for your existing customers. Help them to get the most out of your product so they’re satisfied with their purchases. Satisfied customers usually purchase again or share your product with their friends.
Having in-depth answers to commonly asked questions can also save you time with customer service and sales. If a customer has a question about your product or service, you can quickly provide them with the blog post that answers their question. This saves you time while still helping your customer.
A well-written blog can also provide customers with answers without them having to contact you at all. It’s a win-win for both you and your customer!
6. Blogs provide a leg up on the competition.
A blog helps you to emphasize what makes your business unique. Most likely, there are other businesses selling a product similar to yours. A blog shows off your business’s personality, knowledge, and experience that separates you from the competition.
Since blogging is a free inbound marketing strategy, it’s also a great way for small businesses and entrepreneurs with small budgets to get a leg up on bigger competition.
Not sure what makes your business unique? This will help.
Blogging also offers you the chance to pull back the curtain and reveal the people who are working so hard at your company. Being relatable (and likeable) is a great way to build customer loyalty and trust. Think about it: who would you rather spend your money with? Some faceless, sterile company or one that shows you a behind-the-scenes of what they do and how they do it?
7. Blogging builds trust and engagement.
Blogging “warms up” prospective customers, increasing their level of trust until they convert. In fact, according to Content Plus, writing custom content makes 60% of prospective customers feel better about your company.
If a prospective customer finds the answers to their questions in your blog post, they are going to be more trusting of your company once they enter your sales process because you helped them before they were interested in buying your product.
A blog also increases engagement with your customers, helping you to build relationships. Customers can comment and you can respond, thus building important relationships that lead to sales.
8. Blogs convert traffic into leads.
Blogs drive organic traffic to your site, but they can also help to convert that traffic into leads.
All of your blog posts should have some kind of call-to-action (CTA) that directs your reader to something you would like them to do next. Usually, this is exchanging some kind of free content product (like a workbook, ebook, checklist, etc.) in exchange for their email address. This way, you can continue to communicate to them and hopefully get that sale.
9. Blogs improve your offerings.
Blogs can also help you to learn more about your customer, and target your offerings to suit their needs. As you create more content, you will be able to learn through analytics and comments what resonates with your customer – and what doesn’t.
10. Blogs improve your expertise.
File this under “unexpected benefits of blogging for business”. If you write your own blog, blogging can help you to improve your expertise in your field. In the quest to create fresh content, you’ll need to do research and keep on top of industry news. The more you know about your industry, the better you’ll be at running your business.
11. Blogs generate content for social media.
Content from blog posts can be repurposed into many social media posts, so you’ll never struggle to come up with ideas for your social media feeds again. For me, this is one of the biggest benefits of blogging for business. I have a hard time thinking of what to post on Instagram, and I’m constantly pulling from my previous blog posts for inspiration.
70% of customers will learn about your company through blog posts rather than advertisements, according to Social Marketing Writing. Why? Because your readers will share your content on their social channels, thus improving your reach.
The vast benefits of blogging for business are nothing to sneeze at. Once you get your website set up, I highly recommend adding a blog as soon as possible. Even if you just update your blog once per week, you’ll start to see some of these nice benefits. As you build your content, your results will just keep getting better and better!
Do you want to start a blog for your business but want someone else to manage it for you? I have offer blog management packages, so you’ll never have to worry about updating your blog again.