Most small businesses today have a website. But many of them don’t have a blog attached. This is a mistake! There are many benefits of blogging for business, and by not having a blog, you’re missing out on all these benefits.
For those of you who don’t know, a blog is a section of your website where you add regular content that’s helpful and valuable for your audience. Such content usually comprises of how-to articles, tips, tutorials, and insights.
If your business already has a website (and you should), adding a blog is pretty straightforward. Once your blog is up and running, you can use it as a powerful marketing tool to grow your business and brand.
Keep reading to find out how blogging benefits your business.
#1 Get traffic from search engines
A blog is essential if you want to get traffic from search engines. It’s proven to help boost SEO (search engine optimization) efforts. On your blog, you can write content that provides answers and insights to search queries your target audience is performing on Google and other search engines. Eventually, (with some good SEO), your blog posts might appear at the top of search engine results for these queries.
#2 Become an authority in your niche
Creating high-quality content helps you become an authority in your niche and industry. You will make a name for yourself and stand out from the competition. It also helps you build trust with your target audience, and if you’re a trusted voice, prospective customers are more likely to buy from you.
#3 Grow your email subscriber list
The money is in the list, is an expression often used in the marketing world. It basically means that your email subscribers are worth money because they’re a captive audience that you can market to repeatedly.
But, people don’t just give you their email addresses without gaining something of value in return. However, if you provide quality content on your blog that your visitors enjoy and find valuable, it’s easier to get them to sign up for your newsletters or other email opt-in offers.
#4 Generate more leads and sales
I already mentioned that a blog helps you position yourself as an expert and authority, helping you gain more sales and leads. But, you can also create strategic blog content such as guides and case studies that act as digital salespeople that push blog visitors into your sales funnel.
#5 Keep existing customers engaged
Return customers are essential for any business. It costs less to retain existing customers than to find and acquire new ones. However, retaining existing customers requires that you keep them engaged, and one of the ways you do this is through a blog. You can send customers on your email list a link to your latest post; this encourages them to visit your website and keeps them engaged with your brand.
#6 Endless content for social media marketing
Smart small businesses have a social media presence because they know that their audience is using these platforms to discover products and find information. However, maintaining active social profiles requires lots of content, and many small businesses struggle to keep up; they continuously have to find new content worthy of publishing. When you have a blog, you can create an endless stream of content for your social profiles.
#7 Gain valuable audience insights
Once you build a solid base of blog posts (30 or more), you can use this content to gain audience insights. The blog posts that attract the most visitors and gain high engagement metrics (comments and shares) offer insights into the problems your audience face and their interests. You can use this data to engage your audience better and improve your content marketing strategy.
Over to you
Now, that you know the benefit of blogging for business, it’s time to add a blog to your site. It’s easy to set-up a blog If you’ve built your site with a popular platform like WordPress, Wix, Square Space or Shopify it’s easy to set-up a blog. However, if you have a custom-designed website, consult with your web developer.
