SEO (search engine optimization)
Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines love to see new and relevant content being added to your website regularly. It helps them feel like your business is alive and well. It also helps them know what web searches are relevant to your website. And in today's market, being on the good side of Google and other search engines is a necessity. Regular and relevant blogging helps your business in a wide variety of ways and I highly recommend that businesses consider adding a blog to their website .
Social media
Social media is more important than ever and you should definitely be sharing your blog posts across your preferred social media platforms. Blog posts give you relevant and original content to share across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and any social media network and expands your exposure to a much wider audience.
There are other great SEO benefits to posting your blog posts on your social media accounts. We will use Facebook as an example. When you publish a blog post on your Facebook feed, many people will see it that would otherwise never get to see your blog or website normally. Then when they click on the post in Facebook, they will be taken to your website and you now can expose them to more of your business information. Also by adding a great post to Facebook, other people will share it on their Facebook timeline essentially spreading your post like a spider web.
More blog posts equals more website traffic
Blog posts bring more traffic to your website. And more traffic means more business. Potential customers and clients have questions and are searching for answers and your blog posts are the perfect way for them to find the answers they are looking for and to find you. Here are some interesting stats.
- "B2B marketers that use blogs receive 67% more leads than those that do not."
- "Marketers who have prioritized blogging are 13x more likely to enjoy positive ROI."
- "By 2020, customers will manage 85% of their relationships without talking to a human."
- "Companies who blog receive 97% more links to their website."
Click here for more more interesting stats.
Blog posts only costs you time
It doesn't take long to write a good blog post. And that is the only cost to you as a business owner. There are not many activities you do that require no financial investment but produce measurable returns. I usually blog on the weekends when I have some free time. It is actually fun and therapeutic.
But it's not a "one and done" investment. Your business will continue to reap the benefits of that blog post for years. Once you write a blog post, it keeps working for you 24/7, 365 for years. You will never have to write that blog post again. Now that's the kind of ROI we can get excited about.
You become a trusted advisor
When you help educate your customers and clients, you become their trusted advisor. This elevation of trust means more sales and conversions for your business. Your customers might not read all your posts, but that doesn't matter. Sharing interesting and relevant information helps them know that you are actively engaged with the latest and greatest in your industry. I love going to a blog and seeing lots of great information. It let's me know that a business is alive and well.
"Blogs have been rated as the 5th most trusted source for accurate online information."
Karma
I can't tell you how many times I have had a question and found the answer in a well written blog post. There is something magical in giving back to the wonderful World Wide Web. It's good karma and just feels good.
There are many more valuable benefits to making blogging an important part of your marketing strategy. But theses are the few I wanted to cover in this post.
Comment with how you use blogging in your business.