Liz Papagni — July 13, 2017 — July 13, 2017
Starting—and maintaining—a business blog is hard. We know. Creating a content calendar, conducting research, and setting aside the time to write and publish can take a huge chunk out of your time. That’s why so many companies end up forgoing a blog altogether or only contribute a few times per year. Sure, anything you add to your website can help, but a back-burner blog means you’re missing out on one of the most powerful marketing tools available.
There are probably dozens, if not hundreds, of reasons to blog for your business, but we think these six are the most important. Let’s take a look.
It’s Actually Pretty Easy
Sure, the thought of researching and writing can be overwhelming, but when compared to many of the other marketing activities you do for your company every day, it’s actually pretty easy to get a blog going.
Most website themes include a blogging portal, so you don’t even have to have someone redesign your site or add new pages. All you have to do is click “add post,” and you’re off and running.
Share Your Expert Status
Did you know that 96% of B2B buyers want content from industry thought leaders? That could be you, building credibility for your products, your services, and your expertise.
Think for a second: What makes you trust one company more than another when you’re making the decision to buy? Don’t you want to know that you’re putting your own company in good hands? The same is true for consumers, too. Before they buy your products, they want to be sure they can trust you. Show them with your blog.
Increase Your Qualified Leads
More than 74% of companies say that regular blogging increased the quantity and the quality of their sales leads. The reason for this is increased traffic, because B2B companies that blog sixteen or more times per month see up to 3.5 times more traffic than those that blog zero to four times per month. If you’re a B2C company, statistics show that eleven or more blogs each month can bring up to four times as many leads as a business that blogs fewer than four times per month.
It just makes sense that more traffic would result in more leads, right?
Get and Keep More Customers
Those leads are more likely to turn into customers, too. In fact, 92% of businesses that blog more than once per week say they’ve gained at least one customer through their content.
So, it’s easy to see how more leads could lead to more customers. How can your blog help you keep those customers? Well, many readers will happily offer up comments when they’re done reading. This gives you better insight into your idea customers’ needs. Learn what you can from their input, tweak your buyer personas, and provide a better service or product for your target audience. That’s what keeps them coming back.
Make More Sales
Buyers who read your blog do so because they trust you. That means they’ll give preference to any suggestions you might make. That trust leads to purchases that can soothe their pain points. It’s true; 61% of buyers say they’ve made a purchase based on something they read in the company’s blog.
SEO
You might think we’d lead off with this one, especially since SEO is on the lips and fingertips of every speaker and blogger. The truth is, however, that quality information that inspires trust in your buyers is much more important to Google than your keywords.
Still, you can use your blog to drive traffic according to specific search terms. Just be sure to think through the things your buyers are most likely to search for, create the content that will answer their questions, and the SEO will take care of itself.
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